Pet Shop Boys to use BBC Proms to call for gay pardons

At their upcoming BBC Proms performance, the Pet Shop Boys are to call for a full pardon for men who were convicted of committing same-sex sexual acts before homosexuality was decriminalised in England in 1967.

The much-loved electro-pop duo, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, will debut a new work called A Man from the Future, based on the life and work of Alan Turing, at the Royal Albert Hall on July 23.

Turing – a code breaker and computer pioneer who played a crucial role in defeating Nazi Germany – was prosecuted for gross indecency in 1952, after it was discovered that he was in a homosexual relationship.

He agreed to be chemically castrated in order to avoid a prison sentence and later committed suicide in 1954. He was granted a posthumous pardon by the Queen on December 23 under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.

Now the Pet Shop Boys want the government to grant the same pardon to the “tens of thousands” of gay men convicted of similar offences. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Tennant expressed his frustration with gay rights group Stonewall for not lobbying harder to make this happen.

“So very many lives were ruined over such a long period. Frankly it rather disappoints me that Stonewall has not done more. So we’re making the statement ourselves,” he said.

A Man from the Future will feature a song called The Pardon and in the new interview Tennant went on to explain why he and Lowe are so inspired by Turing.

“He was a man from the future in that his scientific achievements were in the vanguard and that, for us, his pioneering work on computers led to our electronic music,” he said. “Then he was ahead of his time in being openly gay, though perhaps a bit too honest.”

Paloma Faith and Rufus Wainwright are also set to make their BBC Proms debuts next month, while this year’s festival will also honour the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One.

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