Chris goes to Liverpool University to study architecture. During 1981 ‑1982 he spends a year gaining practical experience in a London architectural practice, designing a staircase in an industrial development in Milton Keynes. “It’s not a remarkable staircase”, he comments when visiting it in 1988, “It’s just a functional staircase”.
RIAA awards a U.S. gold album to Actually.
Chris and Neil appear at a London bookstore to sign Chris Heath’s book Pet Shop Boys, Literally. The crowd becomes so unmanageable that police must break it up.
Discography debuts on the U.S. album chart.
They perform in San José, Costa Rica.
They write a new song tentatively titled ‘The Opera,’ with Chris working on the music and Neil writing lyrics, after which he records a vocal. Later Neil phones Andrew Dawson in Los Angeles to discuss his co-producing their next album.
Neil and Chris discuss plans for their upcoming tour with their manager Angela Becker. They also work on a new track, ‘Thursday Night Special,’ soon to be renamed just ‘Thursday.’