Pet Shop Boys’ new album, A man from the future, includes songs, spoken word and electronic and orchestral music, exploring eight significant chapters in the life and death of gay pioneering mathematician Alan Turing.
Pet Shop Boys (photo: Eva Pentel)Alongside music and lyrics by Pet Shop Boys is a narration, spoken by actress Juliet Stevenson, taken from Andrew Hodges’ book Alan Turing: the Enigma, which has been edited and extended by Neil Tennant and Andrew Hodges.
The music is a combination of electronics and strings with string arrangements by Sven Helbig performed by the Manchester Camerata Octet. Boys from Manchester Grammar School choir also sing on four tracks.
The eight tracks explore the life, death and influence of the pioneering British mathematician and cryptanalyst who laid the foundations of modern computing.
Turing’s story unfolds chronologically from his school days, with his initial interest in mathematics and science and his realization of his sexuality, to his leading role working for the British Government unlocking the German Enigma machine’s encrypted messages during World War II, his trial and conviction for a homosexual relationship, and then his suicide in 1954.
The last track features a passage recorded by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown from his 2009 statement acknowledging Turing’s ground-breaking work in helping the UK win the war and apologizing for the inhumane treatment he received when he was convicted under homophobic laws.
The Pet Shop Boys shared in a press statement:
“Our motive in creating this work was to make a musical memorial to Alan Turing who gave so much to his country and the world and was rewarded for it by being prosecuted for his sexuality.
“Alan made a massive contribution to the defeat of Germany in World War II and was a pioneer of computing, imagining a world with intelligent computers.
“He also looked forward to a time when being gay would be accepted as normal. In both his professional and private lives, he was ahead of his time.”
The full track listing:
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
The new album, A man from the future, is out now on vinyl, CD, Blu-ray audio and digitally.
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