ACTUALLY’S ALBUM COVER CAUGHT NEIL TENNANT IN A REAL 2 A.M. YAWN

Pet Shop Boys needed a cover for Actually. Their first idea was respectable: a specially commissioned portrait by Scottish painter Alison Watt.

But the painting didn’t feel right for the album. Neil Tennant eventually kept it for his flat, while the search continued. 🖼️

Then, during the video shoot for “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”, photographer Cindy Palmano captured something far less formal.

It was around two in the morning. Chris Lowe was visibly fed up. Neil was genuinely yawning. 😮‍💨

The photograph was an outtake, not a carefully staged piece of pop-star attitude. Designer Mark Farrow saw Lowe’s scowl beside Tennant’s open-mouthed yawn and immediately recognised the public image people already associated with the duo: one looked grumpy, the other bored. 📸

There was one complication. The picture had been taken for Smash Hits, where Tennant had once worked, and the magazine was preparing to use it on its cover. According to accounts of the sleeve’s creation, Pet Shop Boys reclaimed the photograph just one day before that issue went to press and arranged another shoot for the magazine. ⏰

Farrow then had to sell the idea to the record company.

They had just enjoyed a hugely successful debut album — and now their proposed follow-up sleeve showed the singer yawning. The label was not immediately enthusiastic. Chris Lowe disliked the photograph too, and Farrow says he still does. 😐

But the image stayed. Tuxedos, white space, one scowl and one perfectly timed yawn became the face of Actually. ✂️💿

Sometimes the shot taken after everyone is tired says more than the official portrait ever could. 🎥

#musicOnOff #PetShopBoys #Actually #NeilTennant #ChrisLowe #SynthPop #AlbumArt #MusicHistory