The are Attitude’s latest cover stars, opening up about what their iconic ’80s hit ‘It’s a Sin’ is really about after years of people assuming “it’s about being gay”.
Rising to fame with their breakout single ‘West End Girls’ in 1984, the Pet Shop Boys went on to soundtrack the decade, making them well-deserving winners of Attitude’s 2026 Legend Award, supported by Virgin Atlantic.
Marking their win ahead of the 2026, in partnership with and electrified by , the duo reflected on the enduring legacy of ‘It’s a Sin’.
“It’s about sexuality [generally]” – Neil Tennant on the Pet Shop Boys’ ‘It’s a Sin’
“People have always assumed it’s about being gay, but I always politely tell them it’s about sexuality [generally],” said vocalist Neil Tennant.
For Tennant and many of those he grew up with in the 1960s and ’70s, sex was widely understood as something that should be left until marriage.
Tennant explained: “When I was at school, we were taught it was a sin to have sex, except within a marriage for the specific purpose of procreation – a very narrow definition that always fascinated me.”
The 1980s was a particularly dark time for the LGBTQ+ community. The AIDS epidemic hit, and Section 28 was introduced under Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in 1988.
The legislation prohibited local authorities from “promoting homosexuality” and teaching the “acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”, and remained in force in England and Wales until 2003.
Russell T Davies and It’s a Sin
‘It’s a Sin’ reached a whole new audience in 2021, when screenwriter Russell T Davies used the ’80s hit to soundtrack his HIV/AIDS series of the same name.
Originally set between 1981 and 1991, It’s a Sin was praised for its portrayal of friendship, love and loss during the AIDS epidemic, starring the likes of Callum Scott Howells and Olly Alexander.
Looking to the future, more than four decades into their career, the Pet Shop Boys continue to evolve, as fans await their forthcoming project, A Man From The Future, set to arrive on 9 October.
The full interview appears in the Attitude Awards 2026 issue, available on digital platforms and in print. Print copy available for pre-order .