Pet Shop Boys in Italy for a single date with "Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live"

On Wednesday 7 July 2026 in Mantua's Piazza Sordello, Pet Shop Boys return to the stage, headlining a show that spans over forty years of career through a run of hits now etched into pop's collective memory.

"Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live" is by now a well-honed show, launched in 2022 to celebrate the duo's fortieth anniversary and taken over the years to arenas and festivals across the world. After the Italian dates in Rome (Auditorium Parco della Musica, June 13, 2023) and Lucca (Lucca Summer Festival, July 20, 2025), the tour arrives in Mantua as part of the Mantova Summer Festival, for a one-off date in the heart of the city.

Formed by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, Pet Shop Boys further expanded the “Dreamworld” journey with a five-night residency at the Royal Opera House in July 2024, alongside several television appearances. The setlist is built as a compendium of their best-known songs, wrapped in a production that blends electronic pop with striking stagecraft, in keeping with the tour's previous dates.

In the meantime, the duo has released their fifteenth studio album, “Nonetheless”, described by the pair themselves as their “queer album.” Produced with James Ford, the record marks their return to Parlophone, the label that was home to the band for nearly thirty years.

“Nonetheless” is a commemoration of the passions that run through everyday life. With their trademark attention to content, Tennant (whose voice remains remarkably close to how it sounded at the start) has penned reflective lyrics that bear down on certain social and personal realities in plain sight for everyone, especially for those living in the UK today.

Between danceable numbers and introspective ballads, every track carries its own narrative thread, contributing to a bigger picture that builds toward an overarching goal.

The presence of the mastermind James Ford at the helm has brought a refreshing simplification to the complex structures built by Chris Lowe's synthesizers. The steady presence of strings, horns and classical arrangements, set against the notorious electronics, has helped shape a record of mixed but more than decent quality, one that goes down easy and every so often triggers that half-smile that comes with remembering past glories.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google