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 ‘It’s a Sin’ on Top of the Pops.
Blur’s ‘Girls & Boys’ single, featuring the Pet Shop Boys’ radio edit remix, debuts on the U.S. singles chart, beginning a 15-week run that peaks at #59.
The Boys perform in Berlin.
Chris and Neil spend the afternoon and evening as attendees at the Glastonbury Festival, where they will perform the following evening. They watch a number of artists’ sets, including Willie Nelson (who sang, among other things, ‘Always On My Mind’), Gorillaz, and Groove Armada.
The official PSB website announces that the first single from the upcoming album Elysium is titled ‘Winner’ and will be premiered on radio July 2. Meanwhile, Neil attends a performance this evening of Blur member Damon Albarn’s new opera Dr Dee at the London Coliseum, after which he goes to an after-party at the Asia de Cuba restaurant at St Martins Lane Hotel.
Neil and Chris resume work on a song titled ‘Will You Love Me?’ that they had started two days before.
The ‘2015 leg’ of the Electric Tour comes to Rome this evening.
They perform this evening in Hannover, the first of five successive Super Tour shows in Germany.
Pet Shop Boys are among the performers at a special fundraising gala at London’s Tate Modern Museum.