DBF 2026: Forged In The North With Neil Tennant

Forged in the North with Neil Tennant will see the Pet Shop Boys icon talk to former White House advisor and Chancellor of Durham University, Fiona Hill, about how growing up in Newcastle shaped his music.Tennant is one half of Pet Shop Boys who formed in 1981, and have since had four number one singles, released 15 studio albums, and written a musical and a ballet.To mark the 40th anniversary of Pet Shop Boys’ debut album, Tennant’s 2018 book One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem is being re-released in 2026.

The book features the lyrics that have made Tennant such a unique chronicler of modern life, able to chart the politics, aspirations, and changing attitudes of a nation over 40 years.

Volume: the Complete Visual Record , celebrating 40 years of the Pet Shop Boys’ entire visual output, was also published in 2026 and is a Sunday Times Bestseller.Tennant will be talking to Fiona Hill, the Chancellor of Durham University and a political advisor specialising in Russian and European Affairs.

Her memoir, There is Nothing For You Here , charts her journey from daughter of a coal miner in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, to serving under three US presidents as a security advisor.