Sketch Shop Boys - Pet Shop Boys and a Pencil

Please album cover

Please Album Cover

Pet Shop Boys - Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant in white as seen on the cover of their debut album, Please.

This is inexcusably cute, I apologize.

What Have I Done To Deserve This video shoot

"What Have I Done to Deserve This?" video shoot

Pet Shop Boys - Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant posing with the showgirls from the video shoot for What Have I Done To Deserve This. The photo appears on the cover of a Pet Shop Boys video collection called Show Business

The showgirl costumes were first used in the 007 film, Octopussy.

Happy Birthday Chris Lowe! "It's A Sin" Performance Tour Scene

It's a Sin - Performace Tour Scene

Pet Shop Boys - Chris Lowe as shown during the Performance Tour rendition of It's A Sin. Chris hangs from an upright bed, seeming to be asleep, while strange imagery and dancers as students and demons cavort in the background.

(For Alfina, who reminded me)

Chris is famous for napping. It would be a Sin not to nap on your own birthday!

Neil Tennant singing Heart on the Hightlights Tour

Beat. Beat. Beat. Highlights Tour!

Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant singing Heart on the 1989 Highlights tour, in a gold vest and the neato panda makeup.

For Mazie. (^_^)

Every time I see you, something happens to the bartender from Cheers… not Ted Danson, the other guy..

An Audience With Elton John

They decided not to ask any questions.
"It was quite a good night," says Chris. Particularly afterwards."

It Couldn't Happen Here - Neil and Chris waiting for a train

It Couldn't Happen Here - waiting for a train

Pet Shop Boys - Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant sitting on a bench outside a train station. This photo is from the movie shoot for It Couldn't Happen Here, the Pet Shop Boys' full-length film.

If it DOES happen, neither of them are paying attention.

Neil Tennant holding a baby from the "It's Alright" video

"It's Alright" video: Neil

Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant in the black & white video for It's Alright, which featured lots of babies and some beautiful videography. Neil is holding a baby while singing.

If you click the "loop song" icon, the music does, in fact, play forever.

I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing

I wouldn't normally sketch this kind of thing either, but the drawing turned out particularly squishable. *squeaky squeak!* (^_^)

"Literally" first edition book cover photo

"Literally" (first edition) book cover photo

Pet Shop Boys - Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant pose for a photograph that would serve as the cover image for the first edition of Literally, a biographical account of their first tour. Chris is wearing crazy goggles, and both are in makeup by Pierre LaRoche.

A second edition of this book has a much more somber cover photo.

Neil on the Beach in California

Neil at Malibu Beach, California

Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant stands on a rocky beach in Malibu, California during the Performance tour. This image was taken by Pennie Smith and appears in the book Pet Shop Boys versus America. The original photo also shows Dainton and Normski.

Neil standing along Malibu Beach in March, wearing a pair of New Balance sneakers that I totally owned like 8 years ago.

We All Feel Better In The Dark

For the Performance tour, during "We All Feel Better In The Dark", Chris strips down to his underpants. The hat stays put.

Whether or not this actually LOOKS like Neil hugging his dog Kevin is up for debate, but here is a super-squishy sketch. [ Here's a Birthday version ] You might even want to send the "Squeezie Hug" card to someone who needs a squeeze today.

Here are some other sketches of Kevin. He's got a nice blocky face, I love it:
[ KEVIN 1 ] • [ KEVIN 2 ] • [ KEVIN 3 ]

So Hard single sleeve

Photo on the "So Hard" single sleeve

Neil: "Chris is eating an apple just because he was eating an apple."

Go West

Go West… wait, isn't that the other way?

There's nowhere to run, boys.

I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore

W O O F

Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe posing with Weimaraner dogs in a Nightlife wardrobe. This clothing style was featured in the I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore video, also appearing on the single covers

Those wigs? Thousands and thousands of strands of REAL human hair, each individually placed.

"It Couldn't Happen Here" film snapshot

It Couldn't POSSIBLY Happen Here... could it? Jack? Huh? Hey!

Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant standing on a beach overlook during the filming of It Couldn't Happen Here. The film was directed by Jack Bond and starred Neil and Chris Lowe as filmic representations of themselves.

This photo was also used in various ways on sleeve art for the "Always On My Mind" vinyl single. I'm showing the original sketch before I cropped it, since a big square scene of nothing was a bit boring (even by Sketch Shop Standards), and you can see Neil's widdle cartoon feet. (^_^)

Neil's Ultimate Flamboyant Feather Hat

Neil's Flamboyant Feather Hat

Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant wearing the very odd black feather hat from the Ultimate album cover, and the recent Pandemonium tour

"Please, do another of Neil Tennant's Ultimate feather hat?"
OK! And here's a little Neil Featherhead Emoticon too: <<<)8}

"Yes" photo session

Style - Yes, we has it

Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe posing for the Yes album looking rather like fire and ice

Looking rather like dapper fire and ice.

"Behaviour" Roses

From the "Behaviour" photo shoot… ow. Ow. Ow. OW.

Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe holding roses as shown in the Behavior album

They reportedly bought up all of the red roses in town for the shoot, but didn't have time to remove the thorns.

Chris and the BOY cap

Chris' BOY hat - from the "Love Comes Quickly" single

Pet Shop Boys - Chris Lowe wearing a BOY hat

Oh boy!

Being Boring 7" sleeve - Neil

Being Boring 7" sleeve art: Neil

Pet Shop Boys - Neil Tennant as he appears on the Being Boring 7 inch record sleeve, holding a blank picture frame. Photographed by the Douglas brothers.

Looking customarily delighted…

Being Boring 12" sleeve: Chris

Being Boring 12" sleeve art: inflatable Chris

Pet Shop Boys - Chris Lowe as he looks on the Being Boring 12 inch record sleeve, wearing the wacky Michiko inflatable coat. Photographed by the Douglas Brothers.

The "B-boy from Pluto" in a Michiko inflatable jacket.
On this particular sleeve, Neil was (ironically enough) too boring to sketch.

"London" buskers

As buskers from the "London" video

Pet Shop Boys - from the London video; they pose as tramps, playing on the streets for money

Were they in London? Did they do it? Did they break the law? Did they tell it like it is?

The Legal Bit

You can generally do whatever you want with these, except use them to make money. [ CLICK HERE for the rules… ]

(I apologize in advance if the legality seems pretentious; I just want to avoid any unauthorized profits or vulgarity and this is the easiest way to do it.) The original artwork on www.SketchShopBoys.com by Mischell "Meech" Yost is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

YOU CAN: do lots of stuff! You may use these low-resolution sketches to make digital things like online avatars, cellphone and desktop wallpaper, or Facebook profile photos. As long as you don't produce them in large quantities, you can also use them to make kewl things for yourself like t-shirts and buttons; you can print them out and hang them on your fridge, draw mustaches on them and give them to your kids to color, or use them to clean up dog poop.

YOU CAN'T (without my permission): sell the images in any digital or physical form, print them in mass quantities, or use them in a promotional manner that could result in revenue-generation or implication of endorsement (a background for your online store, printing them on flyers to promote your kid brother's cover band, etc.).

JUST ASK! I'm quite friendly - if you're not sure about something or if you are interested in using the images in another way, just send me a message and we'll have a chat. I'll most likely be flattered and allow you to do whatever you want to do.

If you display a sketch anywhere, kindly post a link back to this site (www.SketchShopBoys.com), oh please please please do! If you alter one, just make a note of it with a link to this site. All PSB-related photographs are copyright their respective dates by their respective copyright owners. The photographs used here are of low quality and are solely for the purpose of visual comparison, which I judge to be Fair Use under U.S. copyright law. This site is not endorsed by anyone. Learn more about the Pet Shop Boys at the official Pet Shop Boys website.

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About Me(ech)

After some minor kicking and screaming, this is my official "coming out": I'm a FLAMING PETHEAD… which is a festive way of saying "mega Pet Shop Boys fan". If you want to read a bit more…

[ Ooh, I want to read a bit more! ]

WHAT IS THIS? WHERE AM I?
These are sketches of the Pet Shop Boys I've made for no particular reason. Yes, it's fan art. Yes, it's a bit embarrassing.

PET… SHOP… … HUH?…
It's hard to nail down a tidy artistic description of the Pet Shop Boys, but I think a "seething mass of elegant contradictions" * is just about perfect. For nearly 30 years they've amassed a pants-wettingly diverse and enduring archive of music — inspired by everything from political history & dirty deeds, to existentialist introspection, hilarity, & the general hopelessness of humanity… and fun and dancing and sex and all the other little snippets of life. Accompanying it all, the Pet Shop Boys' visual catalog has maintained a peculiar integrity that manages to seem both orderly and completely bonkers, like a swarm of pissed-off bees taped to a cat.

Anyway, a surprising number of people wrote to me and said they liked a few sketches I'd put up on Facebook, so I decided to make a home for the poor things.

STOP BABBLING.
Sorry.

ARE YOU A GUY?
Nope! The moustache is purely ornamental.

IS THERE ANYTHING SLEAZY OR VULGAR HERE?
No. Absolutely not, never ever, and no way.

THE INTERNET NEEDS NO MORE BAD FAN ART. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED.
If this site counter breaks 100 I'll eat my shoes. REVISION: Oh you smartypantses. If this site counter breaks 500, I will literally take a photo of myself eating shoes. REVISION B: Fair enough. Now, if the visit counter reaches 10,000, which is highly unlikely (actually, it HAS...), I will bake a giant cookie-shoe and eat it in a video accompanied by Herb Alpert's "Spanish Flea" (rummages desperately through bakeware).

THE PEOPLE LOOK DIFFERENT IN EACH DRAWING! OH, AND IN THE ONE SKETCH THERE'S THIS LITTLE BIT OF PAISLEY FABRIC SHOWING BEHIND NEIL'S ELBOW THAT WASN'T IN THE ORIGINAL IMAGE—
Quite often the drawing doesn't turn out to look exactly like the image; after finding a lovable photo I just do what the pencil tells me to do. Also, I drew these with my feet, so I'm lucky they look like anything at all.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ATTENTION?
Although I did unintentionally snag 15 minutes of fame, I'm not looking for any particular attention. I just want to make some scribbly-doos and show them to people who might appreciate or make use of them. Ideally I'd be generating more Pet Shop Boys fans in some inexplicable way.

ARE THE BAND AWARE OF THIS ABUSE OF THEIR IMAGERY?
Yes, I have just been on the phone with the Korean girl who digs in their studio dumpster. Sketch Shop Boys is apparently a favorite brunch topic. They pop in every day, tea and sandwiches and all that. Chris:"I dearly wish there were a Sketch Shop Boys fan club." Neil:"We have it bookmarked on Internet Explorer™."

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SSB Recent Updates

12/8/2011
Please have a look at the new sketch, for my (33rd) birthday. :)

10/17/2011
Ain't nothin' but show business.

10/4/2011
Happy Birthday Chris Lowe! Hearts and farts from the USA. (^_^)

9/19/2011
Beat. Beat. Beat …

9/10/2011
I just thought this was such a funny photo.

8/24/2011
You said it couldn't happen there, but how about over here by this bench?

[ Older Updates… ]

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8/15/2011
This simple sketch seemed alright to post. And I think it's appropriate for the state of our world today. ♥

7/27/2011
I wouldn't normally post this kind of thing.

7/21/2011
Chris rocks some serious eyewear for the cover of "Literally".

7/19/2011
You'll need a sweet PSB sweatshirt to hang around Malibu Beach in March.

7/13/2011
Chris shies from the press, but on stage may surprise you.

7/7/2011
This Sunday (July 10) PetHeads all over the world will say "happy birthday, Neil!" Please give Kevin a big hug.

7/6/2011
Becoming an official Pet Text today has destroyed my productivity most terrifically.

6/30/2011
It was So Hard to find time for a decent sketch this week.

6/24/2011
Going West? Bring me a present!

6/17/2011
1000 visits?? Well I have a gift for someone: If you're from the UK, and you came to the SketchShopBoys.com site on June 17th at around 1:30 AM London-time, you might have been the 1000th visitor! Was it you? Message me on Facebook with your IP address and browser version, and if it matches I'll - GASP - buy and ship you a shiny new Pet Shop Boys album, after I'm done with dinner.

6/16/2011
Everyone's favorite Nightlifers.

6/15/2011
Over 800 visitors, oh my! I hope you like the new sketch of Neil from the set of "It Couldn't Happen Here". Oh that 80's Neilycakes Hair could have applied for its own citizenship. If you're bored, stop over.

6/10/2011
Added Neil's feather hat from the Pandemonium tour. I thought I might start adding my little M signature. It's small enough that it won't interfere with the images, and it reminds people that yes, someone made these. :)

6/7/2011
Jeepers, I think I've finally nailed the Being Boring Neil sketch. I have deemed it to be sufficiently squeezable. Also today: a sketch of one image from what I assume was a "Yes" photo session.

6/2/2011
Added Chris in the BOY hat from the "Love Comes Quickly" single, and an image from the "Behaviour" album photo shoot featuring lots and lots of prickly roses.

5/26/2011
I have added what I hope is sufficient legal text regarding the photographs. I can see it being a lot harder to say hello to the Pet Shop Boys if we are in court.

5/25/2011
Newz! Added sketches from 2 "Being Boring" sleeves; 7" Neil, 12" Chris (not to be taken out of context). Caricaturing 90's Neil-head is very difficult. How did I do?

5/20/2011
URL acquired! I am now officially www.SketchShopBoys.com and for a princely $13 a year it can stay that way. Around 200 hits so far; I'm happy for anyone at all stopping by and not vomiting, or at least only secretly vomiting. I am working on a few new messes at the moment.

5/16/2011
Blog "launch"! I had to scramble to get it working after a link went up on geowayne.com. 12 sketches: everything from the "Actually" cover, to "London".

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