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”.
Along with several friends, a young Neil Tennant attends a David Bowie concert at Newcastle City Hall. After the show he and his chums hang around backstage, where Neil gets David’s autograph on a promo poster.
The Boys perform the second of three consecutive nights’ shows in Birmingham, U.K., filmed for the Performance concert video.
They perform in Houston, Texas.
The Boys’ remix of Yoko Ono’s ‘Walking on Thin Ice’ is released in the U.K.
They perform at the Skive Beach Party in Denmark.
The Blackpool Gazette, Chris’s hometown newspaper, reports that Chris has donated a keyboard to the Blackpool Music Academy in support of the paper’s ‘Give Us a Tune’ charity drive for music education. Chris tells the Gazette, ‘I’m happy to help a little with this worthwhile project. Very best wishes for the rest of the campaign.’
This evening ‘An Evening with Pet Shop Boys’ is broadcast on BBC Radio 2, hosted by Jo Whiley. She chats with Neil and Chris, who also select some of the music played on air.
The Boys work in the studio on a song titled ‘He’s Not Coming Home.’
They perform at the Heartland Festival held at Egeskov Castle in Kværndrup, Denmark.