On August 19th, Neil and Chris meet by chance in an electronics shop on the Kings Road. Realizing they have a common interest in dance music, they begin to write together. Initially they call themselves West End; later they come up with the name Pet Shop Boys, a name derived from some friends who work in a pet shop in Ealing. “We thought it sounded like an English rap group”.
The Pet Shop Boys complete their Performance world tour with a show in Dublin, Ireland.
After working some more on ‘It Always Comes as a Surprise,’ Neil and Chris attend a party thrown by Elton John.
The Pet Shop Boys perform in Yokohama, Japan.
Neil records an acoustic guitar part for ‘Luna Park.’
Videotaped the previous day, the Boys’ performance of ‘Did You See Me Coming?’ closes out this evening’s episode of the BBC TV show Alan Carr: Chatty Man. That same evening, they perform live in Stuttgart, Germany.
The Boys open for Take That tonight in Cardiff, the first of two shows there. The same day sees Stop Modernists’ remake of New Order’s ‘Subculture,’ featuring Chris Lowe on lead vocal, released on iTunes.
They work all day on ‘In His Imagination.’