At the 2009 Brit Awards in London , Pet Shop Boys received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Music . In 2016 , '' Billboard '' magazine named Pet Shop Boys the number one dance duo/group over the 40 years since the chart 's inception in 1976 . In 2017 the duo received NME 's Godlike Genius Award . Neil Tennant ( 27 ) and Chris Lowe ( 22 ) met in a hi-fi shop on King 's Road in Chelsea , London , in 1981 . Tennant had purchased a Korg MS-10 synthesizer which sparked a conversation with Lowe . Discovering that they had a mutual interest in dance and electronic music , they began to work together on material , first in Tennant 's flat in Chelsea , then , from 1982 , in a small studio in Camden Town . They say their band name was taken from friends who worked in a pet shop in Ealing , and were known as the " pet shop boys " . In August 1983 , Tennant , who was an assistant editor at '' Smash Hits '' , went to New York to interview Sting . While there he arranged to meet Hi-NRG producer Bobby Orlando and gave him a demo tape containing " It 's a Sin " and " Opportunities ( Let 's Make Lots of Money ) "
2009 Brit Awards
2009 Brit Awards
Pet Shop Boys