Don't you know that the Pet Shop Boys aren't really gay? Neil "came out" in the 1990s only as a marketing ploy. And I've personally spoken to some of the many women Chris has bedded through the years.
Yeah, right, whatever. If believing that and sharing your belief with others helps you sleep at night, go for it. Just don't expect me to corroborate your fantasy.
The notion that anyone working in the world of popular music might pretend to be gay as a means of presumably advancing their career and/or increasing record sales is almost too ludicrous even to discuss. OK, there were a few instances of it back in the glam-rock era of the early 1970s, David Bowie being the most notorious example. But that was an isolated, very short-lived phenomenon that capitalized on shock value du jour in the years immediately following the Stonewall riots of 1969 and the start of the modern gay liberation movement. But even then and in the years since, there are many, many heterosexual people who would "write off" an artist who is openly gay—although, admittedly and thankfully, this is less common now than it would have been in years past. By contrast, there are few (if any) gay people who would similarly dismiss an artist simply for being heterosexual. Devoted gay fans of heterosexual artists are far too commonplace to believe otherwise. So, if anything, publicly proclaiming oneself to be gay has always been far more likely to hurt one's career than to help it. Again, it's very fortunate that this is less true now than it was back in the 1990s, when Neil actually "came out." But Neil did come out in the 1990s, when it was more true. To think it was a "marketing ploy" is absurd.
If Neil himself can't convince you of his sincerity—such as by telling Attitude magazine "I am gay" (verbatim) back in 1994, not to mention countless other words and deeds since then—then there's nothing I can possibly say to change your mind. And the fact that Neil has averred at least one heterosexual relationship in his youth makes no difference whatsoever. Most gay men of his and other generations have "tried" heterosexual relationships, especially in their younger days. Many have even gone so far as to get married and father children. Heck, you'd be surprised how many gay
As for Chris, I know full well that he has never said (at least publicly) that he's gay. For all I know, he may not be. It's really none of my business. But in addition to various pieces of circumstantial evidence (which I won't bother detailing), I can point to at least two rather suggestive statements Chris has made:
- "'LA is our lady,' says Chris. 'It's about the only one.'" (from Chris Heath's Pet Shop Boys Versus America)
- "I'm a man's man" (said by Chris in reference to "Music for Boys") (from the Nightlife Tour booklet)
Besides, if Chris is indeed heterosexual, he's certainly done a magnificent job of hiding it all this time.*
Incidentally, Neil once told an interviewer (before an audience at Oxford University in 1995) that "We never pretended to be heterosexual." That's right—he said "We."
_____________________
*A prediction based on having seen it happen numerous times for almost-certainly-gay celebrities who died before ever "coming out" – If Chris passes away (and let's hope that's not for a very long time!) before he ever publically states, "I'm gay," there will be people who will assert that he was asexual, apparently viewing that as preferable to being homosexual. Yes, I know full well that there are indeed some truly asexual people. I just seriously doubt that Chris is one of them, especially since on a few occasions he has talked with surprising frankness about having sex. For instance, there's page 23 of Issue 13, December 1994, of their fan club publication Literally, when Chris discussed how much he enjoys being in bed with "a person" and how he's had sex in cars as well as "on an Underground train once, between stations," which certainly doesn't sound very asexual to me. Then again, he did once tell an interviewer that he had "a very low libido" and that "It very rarely crosses my mind, the thought of sex." Mind you, even if you take what he said on that occasion seriously—and I'm not sure I do—he didn't say he had no libido or that sex never crossed his mind. But mark my words: if Chris never "comes out," it will be said by some that he was asexual.
All text on this website aside from direct quotations (such as of lyrics and of other nonoriginal content) is copyright © 2001-2024 by Wayne Studer. All Rights Reserved. All lyrics and images are copyright © their respective dates by their respective owners. Brief quotations and small, low-resolution images are used for identification and critical commentary, thereby constituting Fair Use under U.S. copyright law. Billboard chart data are copyright © their respective dates by Nielsen Business Media, Inc.