The Pandemonium Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys in support of their tenth studio album Yes. It was named for the album track "Pandemonium". The setlist featured songs from the new album as well as older hits and lesser-known tracks interwoven in a 90-minute sequence. The music was produced by Stuart Price, and the tour was designed by Es Devlin, who also designed the duo's previous Fundamental Tour.^[1] The Pandemonium Tour visited Europe, the Americas, and Asia between 2009 and 2010, with additional performances of the production in 2011 and 2012.

Leading up to the release of Yes in March 2009, Pet Shop Boys were honoured for their Outstanding Contribution to Music at the Brit Awards on 18 February. They performed a medley of songs arranged by Price, with a set designed by Devlin. The award show coincided with the first announcement of concerts, at the Manchester Apollo and London's O2 Arena on 18 and 19 June.^[2] Devlin's team began pre-production on the tour straight away.^[1]

The Pandemonium Tour opened in Russia on 10 June 2009 with a concert at the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg, followed by a show at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.^[3] The production toured Europe in June and July, including several festivals: Roskilde in Denmark, Oxegen in Ireland, T in the Park in Scotland, Latitude in Suffolk, England, and the Dour Festival in Belgium. The summer leg ended in Israel with a one-off concert in Tel Aviv.^[4][5]

In autumn 2009, the tour headed to North America, with shows across Canada and the United States from late August through September.^[5] Two dates in Mexico were followed by a tour of South America in October, visiting Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru.^[6] A show scheduled in Venezuela was cancelled for logistical reasons, and a stop in the Dominican Republic was also called off because of problems with the venue.^[7][8]

The tour returned to Europe at the end of the year. In December, Pet Shop Boys played six additional dates in Germany, bringing the total to ten there for the tour so far.^[9] Two concerts in the Ukraine were cancelled due to restrictions during the swine flu pandemic.^[10]

Back in the UK, the tour visited Glasgow, Birmingham, and Manchester before returning to The O2 in London on 21 December. The shows coincided with the release of the Pet Shop Boys' Christmas EP,^[11] and the songs "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" and a cover of "My Girl" were added to the setlist for those dates. The O2 show was recorded for a live album and concert film, titled Pandemonium, which was released in February 2010.^[12]

The Pandemonium Tour resumed in the summer of 2010 at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, followed by a stop in Italy and a series of European festivals.^[13] Pet Shop Boys headlined the Other Stage at Glastonbury on Saturday, 26 June.^[14] In July, they appeared at Balaton Sound in Hungary,^[15] Tollwood Festival in Germany,^[16] Super Bock Super Rock in Portugal,^[17] and Splendour in Nottingham in England.^[18] The tour also visited five UK cities, including Chris Lowe's hometown Blackpool, where the duo added the Dave Clark Five song "Glad All Over" to their setlist in honour of Blackpool F.C. being promoted to the Premier League.^[19][20]

The tour headed to Asia at the end of July 2010 for two dates. On their first visit to Taiwan, Pet Shop Boys were asked to headline the new TWinkle Rock Festival for their "elaborate and artful stage design and production, which almost takes on Broadway proportions".^[21] In Korea, they headlined the second night of the Jisan Valley Rock Festival.^[22] In the UK at the end of August, the duo performed in both locations of the two-day V Festival in Staffordshire and Chelmsford.^[23] Their final festival of 2010 was Xacobeo in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on 27 August. Taking the stage at 1 a.m., Pet Shop Boys showed no lack of energy, according to Público reviewer Rocío Ponce, despite it being the last stop on their European tour.^[24]

In December 2010, Pet Shop Boys staged a Pandemonium performance at the Hammersmith Apollo for a special Big Noise Session of the Little Noise Sessions benefiting Mencap, a charity for people with learning disabilities. Added to the setlist were the new Pet Shop Boys single "Together" from their compilation album Ultimate (2010) and the holiday song "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas".^[25]

From May to July 2011, Pet Shop Boys were the supporting act on Take That's Progress Live tour. They played a 40-minute set that included highlights from their Pandemonium Tour. Designer Es Devlin was also part of the creative team for Take That's set.^[26]

The Pandemonium Tour did not go on the road again, but the production was used for four more performances, which were successively expected to be the last Pandemonium show as they were announced: a New Year's Eve concert on Glebe Island in Australia in 2011,^[27] the Afisha Picnic festival in Moscow on 21 July 2012,^[28] and a pair of concerts in Norway at the Døgnvill Festival in Tromsø on 24 August and, finally, at the Rått og Råde Festival in Stavanger on 25 August 2012.^[29] Pet Shop Boys debuted a new concert series, the Electric Tour, in 2013.

1. "Heart" (Stuart Price Mix) – contains elements of "More Than a Dream" (Magical Dub)
2. "Did You See Me Coming?"
3. "Pandemonium"/"Can You Forgive Her?"
4. "Love Comes Quickly" (June–July 2009 shows only)
5. "Love etc."
6. "Building a Wall"/"Integral"
7. "Go West"
8. "Two Divided by Zero"
9. "Why Don't We Live Together?"
10. "New York City Boy" (Added August 2009)
11. "Always on My Mind"
12. "Closer to Heaven"/"Left to My Own Devices"
13. "Do I Have To?"
14. "King's Cross"
15. "The Way It Used to Be"
16. "Jealousy"
17. "Suburbia"
18. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (Added November 2009)
19. "All Over the World"
20. "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)"
21. "Viva la Vida"/"Domino Dancing"
22. "It's a Sin"

Encore

1. "Being Boring"
2. "Together" (8 December 2010 only)
3. "My Girl" (17–21 December 2009 only)
4. "West End Girls"
5. "Glad All Over" (Blackpool Show, 13 July 2010)

Encore

1. "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" (December 2009–10 shows only)

Credits adapted from the Pet Shop Boys Pandemonium On Tour 2009/2010 programme (2009) and "Creating Pandemonium for the Pet Shop Boys, Part 1: The Designers' Roundtable" (Battaglia, 2009).^[1]

Pet Shop Boys

• Neil Tennant
• Chris Lowe

Dancers/Backing vocalists

• Sophie Duniam
• Polly Duniam
• Sean Williams
• Charlotte Walcott
• Helena Dowling (2010)^[13]

Design team

• Es Devlin – creative direction, set design, costume design
• Stuart Price – tour music producer
• Rob Sinclair – lighting design
• Lynne Page – choreography
• Sam Pattinson – video design
• Luke Halls – video design
• Jeffrey Bryant – costume design
• Carisa Glucksman – costume design
• Pet Shop Boys – costume design

Tour personnel

• Pete Gleadall – music director, programmer
• Andy Crookston – tour manager
• Joe Sanchez – production manager
• Jim Webb – stage manager
• Holger Schwark – front of house sound engineer
• Seamus Fenton – monitor engineer
• Hansi Kecker – MIDI/keyboard tech
• Roger Cabot – head set carpenter
• Tom Keane – set carpenter
• Garry Dunn – set carpenter
• Robyn Tearle – video projection
• Danielle Dowden – make-up, tour assistant
• Truckstar – lead truck driver
• Phil Laycock – tour bus driver
• Steve Walker – merchandiser

Additional personnel

• Bronia Housman – set design associate
• Machiko Hombu – set design assistant
• Signe Beckmann – set design assistant
• Anna Josephs - costume assistant
• Nicholas Cunningham – associate choreographer
• Jodie Martin – assistant choreographer

Video collaborators/animators

• Blinkin Lab
• Mark Hough
• Damian Hale
• Jan Urbanowski
• Luke Halls
• Mike Chan

• Pet Shop Boys tour archive – official website
• Songs That the Pet Shop Boys Have Performed Live – Commentary by Wayne Studer, Ph.D. Interpretations and analyses of every song written or performed by Pet Shop Boys