Pet Shop Boys return with a concept album crafted hand in hand with Andrew Hodges, the biographer of English mathematician Alan Turing. ‘A Man From The Future’ will be released on October 9 and will be structured in eight chapters, each dedicated to a stage of Turing’s life.
Following the release of ‘Nonetheless’, the British duo ventures into what they describe as “a musical monument to Alan Turing, who contributed so much to his country and to the world, and was rewarded by being persecuted for his sexuality.” The same idea had occurred to Hidrogenesse in 2012, and it turned out not badly for them, with Rockdelux magazine naming it Album of the Year.
They recall Turing’s “incredible contribution” to the defeat of the Nazis in World War II in the field of technology, but also how he “wanted to live in a time when being gay was normal”: “Both in his private life and professionally, he was ahead of his time,” Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have stated.
‘A Man From The Future’ will be composed of songs, spoken word passages and orchestral and electronic music, and will tell a story in chronological order, from Turing’s childhood days to his role in the invention of the digital computer.
Tracklist:
1. ‘Natural Wonders Every Child Should Know’
2. ‘He Dreamed Of Machines’
3. ‘The Enigma’
4. ‘Other Ranks’
5. ‘The Memory And The Control’
6. ‘The Trial’
7. ‘Only In His Death’
8. ‘A Man From The Future’
