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 first of four days in Milan with Chris and Neil shooting their ‘homemade’ video for ‘Paninaro’ using video cameras given to them as gifts during their brief visit to Japan earlier in the year.
Actually debuts on the U.S. album chart, beginning a 45-week run during which it peaks at #25.
More than two years after its U.K. release, PopArt is finally officially released in the United States.
While in Berlin, Neil and Chris work on the songs ‘Vocal,’ ‘Hello Hello,’ and ‘Axis.’
The Pet Shop Boys perform in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Pet Shop Boys perform this evening at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City. Because the next day is Chris’s birthday, fans in the audience sing him ‘Happy Birthday.’