It’s bound to be another sell-out. Organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay announced today that Pet Shop Boys are headlining this year’s Concert in the Gardens – the event’s 21st anniversary. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday. Pet Shop Boys are one of the most successful British acts of all time and the concert will be their only UK performance, ending the pop duo’s hugely successful ‘Electric’ world tour which has performed 45 shows and festivals in 25 countries.
The band will be performing a set of greatest hits along with tracks from their critically acclaimed twelfth album ‘Electric’ in West Princes Street Gardens. The exclusive UK performance celebrates a landmark 21stanniversary for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and is the long awaited return to the capital for Pet Shop Boys following the cancellation of New Year celebrations across the UK in 2006/07. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is a signature event of the Year of Homecoming Scotland 2014, launching a packed programme of events throughout the year.
With more than 50 million records sales worldwide Pet Shop Boys are listed as the most successful duo in UK music history by The Guinness Book of Records. Three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, since 1985 they have achieved 42 Top 30 singles and 22 Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart, including four number ones: ‘West End Girls’, ‘It’s a Sin’, ‘Always on My Mind’ and ‘Heart’.
At the 2009 BRIT Awards, Pet Shop Boys received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. The band’s latest studio album Electric was released July 2013 and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart — their highest album position since the release of Very in 1993.
Pet Shop Boys will bring in the New Year at the world famous Edinburgh’s Hogmanay joined by some very special guests to be announced shortly. The duo’s Neil Tennant said “We are delighted to bring this show to Scotland on New Year’s Eve. We’ve always felt we’ve had some unfinished Hogmanay business in Edinburgh after the weather put a stop to the planned 2006 show and this is going to be a fantastic way to see in the New Year!”
Cllr Steve Cardownie, Festivals and Events Champion for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “This year, we are celebrating 21 years of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and, of course, the Year of the Homecoming Scotland 2014 and I am delighted that we have an act of the Pet Shop Boys’ calibre to help us bring in the New Year. Like Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, the duo continues to stay fresh and exciting, thrilling audiences year after year.”
Pete Irvine, Artistic Director of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, said “The Pet Shop Boys are on top of the world at the moment, and with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay being the only UK appearance of their spectacular new show, they are the perfect band to help us celebrate our 21st Anniversary at the very cusp of Scotland’s most eventful year.”
Revellers can purchase tickets for Concert in the Gardens from 10am on Friday, August 30 at www.edinburghshogmanay.com
