Pet Shop Boys' Libel Suit Settled

12/21/1999 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(12/21/99, 4 p.m. ET) - The Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have agreed to an undisclosed libel settlement following allegations that the duo made a minimal contribution to songs that bear their name. Tennant and Lowe filed suit against author Roger Scruton and publisher Gerald Duckworth & Company, over claims made in the book An Intelligent Person's Guide To Modern Culture.

Scruton's book falsely suggested songs recorded in the Pet Shop Boys' name were nearly entirely the work of sound engineers, thus deceiving fans. Counsel for the Pet Shop Boys told reporters that the defendants settled after recognizing that the allegations were entirely without foundation, and represented a serious slur on the Pet Shop Boys' professional and personal integrity. Tennant and Lowe each received a sum for damages, as well as legal costs.

The Pet Shop Boys recently wrapped up a U.K. tour, and plan to release the single "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk" via Parlophone Records on Jan. 3 in the U.K. A European tour scheduled for January and February will take the group to Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and France.

-- Barry Jeckell, New York

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