Chris Lowe is a British musician best known as half of the electronic dance music duo the Pet Shop Boys. Early Life: Christopher Sean Lowe grew up in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, where he was born on October 4, 1959. As a young man, Lowe studied the piano and played trombone in a seven-piece band called One Under the Eight that specialized in show tunes. Musical Career: Lowe studied architecture at the University of Liverpool. In 1981, while still a student, he met fellow electronic music enthusiast Neil Tennant in a hi-fi shop in London. The two began writing songs together, first as West End and then as the Pet Shop Boys, a name inspired by friends who worked in a pet shop. In 1984, Neil Tennant recruited Bobby Orlando (known as “Bobby O”) to produce the Pet Shop Boys' first single, “West End Girls.” The single, released in April 1984, became a club hit. In 1986, the group released a full-length album, Please, and the single “Love Comes Quickly.” A newly recorded version of “West End Girls” became the group’s first number one hit the same year. Their follow-up album, Actually, featured the number one hit “It’s a Sin.” Lowe and Tennant collaborated on compositions, with Lowe playing the synthesizer and Tennant as the primary vocalist. Tennant and Lowe have continued to record and tour as the Pet Shop Boys since the mid-1980s. In May 2009, their track “Love etc.” reached number 14 on the U.K. charts. Chris Lowe has not released many recordings beyond the Pet Shop Boys. In 1993, however, Lowe wrote and produced the song “Do the Right Thing” for soccer star Ian Wright.