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 ‘Suburbia’ on Top of the Pops.
Johnny Marr records guitar parts for ‘Love Is a Catastrophe’ and ‘Between Two Islands.’
They record four songs in a studio session to be broadcast over radio a little over a week later on The John Peel Show.
Chris and Neil appear on U.K. Channel 4’s Paul O’Grady Show.
Neil attends the London premiere Anton Corbijn’s film Control about Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Also in attendance are members of New Order, the band that grew out of Joy Division in the wake of Curtis’s suicide in 1980.
They continue working on ‘Bolshy’ and also begin a new track, ‘Natural Wonders Every Child Should Know,’ for their Alan Turing project.
The Boys perform at the Paramount Theater in Seattle.
The Unity Tour comes to Minneapolis.