After completing a degree in history at the Polytechnic of North London, Neil takes a job at Marvel Comics, anglicizing spellings and indicating where over-risque woman needed to be redrawn decently. While there he interviews comic fan Marc Bolan, who politely points out that his tape recorder wasn’t working. In 1977 he works at Macdonald Educational Publishing, later moving to ITV Books. In June 1982, he joins Smash Hits.
The Pet Shop Boys complete their first real concert tour with their third consecutive show at Wembley Arena in London. George Michael and Ian McKellen are among the celebrities in attendance. As he had the previous evening, Derek Jarman films the show, excerpts of which will be released on the Highlights video. After the concert, Chris and Neil celebrate by attending an all-night party—extending of course into the next day—at London’s Westway Studios.
With Chris away on holiday, Neil takes part in filming the video for ‘Yesterday, When I Was Mad.’ (Images of Chris’s head are later digitally scanned and added.)
The Boys perform in Llanera, Spain.
The Release Tour comes to the Oxford Apollo.
They conclude the summer leg of their Pandemonium Tour with a show in Tel Aviv.
They continue their summer tour of the U.K. with a performance at the Cardiff International Arena.
They perform at the Afisha Picnic Festival in Moscow, Russia.
The second ‘Inner Sanctum’ concert takes place this evening at London’s Royal Opera House.
This evening the Boys perform at the Festival Internacional in Benicàssim, Spain.