Pet Shop Boys Volume: The complete visual record

by Chris Heath, Jeremy Deller (Foreword), Libby Sellers

Marking the fortieth anniversary of the duo’s first release―“West End Girls”― Pet Shop Boys Volume presents the group’s entire visual output to date in a contemporary literary format. The Pet Shop Boys―Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe―are arguably the most successful duo in the history of pop music. Three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide. Published to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of the release of "West End Girls"―the single that reached number one in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Israel, New Zealand, and Norway― Pet Shop Boys Volume is the definitive catalog of the group’s visual output to date. Newly reconfigured into a literary format, this revised and expanded edition now chronicles the entire visual output of Pet Shop Boys from 1984 to 2024. It includes the sleeve artworks and packaging; stills from every video, film, and performance; stage sets and costumes; photoshoots; publications; and merchandise. Photographs, designs, and productions by celebrated collaborators, including Mark Farrow, Wolfgang Tillmans, Martin Parr, Bruce Weber, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Zaha Hadid, and Derek Jarman, among others, are accompanied by short commentaries and captions by music writer Chris Heath. Accompanying the essay by Philip Hoare on Pet Shop Boys' practice, is a new introduction by Libby Sellers discussing the importance of Pet Shop Boys to the history of design, and a foreword by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller reflecting on the enduring impact of the music and image of Tennant and Lowe. 1,300 color illustrations

Genres: Music

592 pages, Hardcover

Published April 7, 2026

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this so much I kinda just want to read it again. I love obsessing over the design of records, and PSB's work is definitely deserving of such a detailed appraisal. And then on top of that, the warm waves of nostalgia that I'd feel whenever I turned the page and saw a single design that I owned, next to other formats that felt strangely alien but familar, was just wonderful. The Heath interviews are great as ever, as were the other essays.
My only complaint - I knew it wouldn't happen, but was really hoping that when I got to Smash there would be some sort of Mea Culpa for creating one of the absolute worst cover designs of all time - one that I think actively works against their rich legacy of design! - but no, instead it's a lot of back-patting over how great the idea was. It wasn't, it sucks, and I'm just glad it wasn't an album cover so I don't have to have it on my shelf.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a long time PSB fan I loved this...fascinating insight into the conversations, inspirations and thoughts that go behind the designs of their work from the very beginning to the most recent. Am hoping this is not a sign that they are done.