"Many big artists took inspiration directly from poetry," says Matt Abbott, frontman to Yorkshire act Skint & Demoralised. He should know, he is one. The 23 year-old formed the group in 2007, who quickly became known for their mix of performance poetry a

Allure Of Sound reports: Pet Shop Boys have released their very first official app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. According to the press release, the new app — titled Singbox — gives you the chance to experience, sing to and compete with music on your

So arch, so smart, so correct, so proper – and so brilliant. The USP of Pet Shop Boys is all of the above, but especially a pop nous that has been refined over the years. This second B-side collection (the first, Anthology 1985-1994 , was released in 199

"Any artist with a surplus of material would be advised to save it for the deluxe reissue or website giveaways. But, though it began as a quirk of formatting and became an often cynical marketing ploy, for more than 40 years the B-side could also be a wa

A former drummer who worked with the man behind Pet Shop Boys and Bros has put down his sticks for good to pursue a “life-long dream” of running his own café. Paul Simmons, owner of The Red House Cafe in Alby, pictured (left) in 1976 when he was drummer

For the past twenty years, Feeder have been flying the flag for British rock music with gleeful abandon. Formed in Newport as far back as 1991, it wasn't until the 1996 release of mini-album Swim that the band first attracted widespread attention. Seven

The one-word titles of Pet Shop Boys albums always repay a second look and so it proves with Format, the name of their second volume of B-sides, covering 1995-2009. The B-side is a means of expression that owes its existence to outmoded formats: first th

You know the drill with B-side and bonus track compilations, that’s where they stick all the sub-standard stuff. What’s more, Format is a compilation of B-sides and bonus tracks from the circa 1996 – 2009, arguably not the best half of the band’s career.

While Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe record their 11th album in LA, Format, a second collection of B sides, arrives as a sequel to 1995’s Alternative. Pet Shop Boys played a vital role in establishing the (once) standard of original, non-album flipsides wit

Fifteen years is a long time to sustain cult stardom in the digital age, but if Imperial Teen shed any hopes of a commercial breakthrough sometime before Al Gore ran for president, the climate has since changed in their favour. On What Is Not to Love (19

IF more artistes A-sides were half as good as Pet Shop Boys B-sides the world would be a much more interesting place. On this collection of 38 B-sides and bonus tracks from 1996 till now you have everything from melancholy electronica to bouncy dance tun

Scottish post-electo crew Errors threw together this very normal and comforting video about, like, how we're all being subsumed into a hypermedia e-dystopia that is once absurd and soul crushing, or something. It's weird that I'm not "getting" the subtex

Farrow has designed Pet Shop Boys' forthcoming release, Format, a two-CD collection of b-sides and bonus tracks originally released between 1996 and 2009... The colourful graphics on the lift-off lid card box represents the music contained within, as Mar

First applications developed through OpenEMI prepared for release CANNES, 29 JANUARY 2012 – (Virtual Press Office) - An audio and video remix app for EMI Music hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang has today been unveiled as the winner of the inaugural OpenEMI contest

A Bushwick, Brooklyn rhymesayer with a genuine love for his city’s history and musical heritage, Booth newcomer Twigg Martin gives listeners a crash course in New York City hip-hop on the latest single off his forthcoming street album. Over beatsmith nVM

East 17 are making a comeback without Brian Harvey AS statements go it isn’t quite up there with ex-bandmate Brian Harvey’s “ecstasy makes you a better person” - but Tony Mortimer claims he’s glad his “missus” is on the mend after a back op because she c

His name may not be instantly familiar but the founder of the BOY London label has more than 35 years’ experience, and has seen his clothes on pop’s premier provocateurs, including the Sex Pistols, Pet Shop Boys and Boy George. Currently, Rihanna, Jessie

British dance-pop pioneers have reissued a number of their records in recent years, but 2012 will see the group's first album of new material since 2005's Tales From Turnpike House. Their first new single, "Tonight," will be out March 5. Download it here

In recent years, Saint Etienne have been mostly preoccupied with reissues and remixes, and the English dance pop trio haven't released an album of original material since 2005's Tales of Turnpike House. That may soon change, as the group have shared a ne