Neil plays in a group in Newcastle called Dust: Their most popular song is a preposterous affair he has written called “Can you hear the dawn break?”. They are heavily influenced by The Incredible String Band. “We were convinced we would become terribly famous. It was a very kind of stoned seventies but we used to think it was absolutely brilliant at the time”.
‘West End Girls’ tops the U.K. pop charts.
In an onstage discussion facilitated by Michael Bracewell, Neil appears at the U.K. National Portrait Gallery to talk about the PSB approach to image and design. He’s accompanied by Philip Hoare and Chris Heath, authors of Pet Shop Boys Catalogue.
The Pet Shop Boys perform their Battleship Potemkin score with the BBC Concert Orchestra in a sold-out show at London’s Barbican Hall.
Neil and Chris meet Andrew Dawson in person for the first time at his Los Angeles studio. Together they listen to demos of prospective songs for their next album.