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 in Irvine, California.
They perform ‘Miracles’ at a live televised ‘AIDS Gala’ in Berlin.
They kick off a Latin American ‘mini-tour’ at the Altos de Chavon in the Dominican Republic.
Neil gets a haircut at Bill’s Downtown Barbers in Denver. That evening they perform at Denver’s Paramount Theatre. Meanwhile, an exhibition of portraits of the Pet Shop Boys opens at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Chris and Neil attend a Rufus Wainwright concert at Hammersmith Apollo. Backstage after the show, Rufus presents Neil with a gold record for Rufus’s album Release the Stars, which had been executive-produced by Neil.
The Boys are guests on Graham Norton’s BBC2 radio show. Along the way, Chris chooses to play Eric Carmen’s ‘All by Myself,’ Neil chooses The Church’s ‘Under the Milky Way’ and says that a revival of Closer to Heaven is under consideration, and they state that they’re not planning to retire but that Chris would like to take a bit of a break. Of course, their brand new single ‘Together’ is also played.