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”.
Neil and Chris spend the day working on ‘C Major,’ which becomes ‘A Red Letter Day.’
The Boys headline on the final night of the Stockholm Water Festival in Sweden, performing on a floating platform.
Following her concert at Wembley Arena, the Pet Shop Boys attend a party celebrating Madonna’s 48th birthday (which was actually the day before) at the Lounge Lover bar in London.
The Pet Shop Boys perform in Jakarta, Indonesia. It also happens to be the nation’s Independence Day, a fact that the Boys note in a posting on their official website.