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 perform ‘Can You Forgive Her?’ on Top of the Pops. Wearing the same costumes and employing some of the props used in the song’s video, they turn in one of the most surreal performances ever to grace the TOTP stage.
Chris and Neil settle on the final running order of the songs on Bilingual—though they later conclude (too late) that they should have stuck with a previous order.
The Boys kick off their Pandemonium Tour with a performance this evening in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Still in Manchester for their string of shows with Take That, Neil and Chris take some time today to tour the set of the popular British soap opera Coronation Street.
Kicking off the Summer 2017 leg of their Super Tour, and capping off the city’s week of Gay Pride festivities, the Pet Shop Boys perform this evening in Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park.
They resume work on the track ‘Beautiful Laundrette’ and begin ‘Night Sings (Popa’s Theme).’
Chris composes music for a new song that will soon become ‘Dancing Star.’
This evening they perform at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. Earlier in the day at their hotel, just after lunch, Neil runs into Till Lindemann, the lead singer of Rammstein, who are also performing in Stuttgart that evening. ‘We had quite a chat,’ Neil later says.