The group chose the industrial North East for the concert

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe staged a free performance of their soundtrack to the classic Battleship Potemkin at the Swan Hunter shipyard.

The 14,000 tickets for the event were snapped up in less than 48 hours, with requests from as far away as San Francisco, Israel and Germany.

The show was organised by the NewcastleGateshead Initiative.

'Striking venue'

In a statement, the Pet Shop Boys said: "We're delighted that people are really excited about this performance.

"The Tyneside venue is striking and will bring additional resonance to the performance which I'm sure people will appreciate."

Sergei Eisenstein's influential silent film Battleship Potemkin, tells of a revolt by sailors during the Russian Revolution in 1905.

The Pet Shop Boys have written a new soundtrack for the film.

They have had a string of hits including West End Girls and It's A Sin.