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”.
Roughly twenty drummers from Sheboom! record the percussion tracks for ‘Discoteca’ and ‘Se A Vida E.’
The Boys’ second Fundamental show in Florida takes place at the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando.
Chris and Neil fly to Paris to attend a New Order concert. After the show they meet with the band backstage.
Neil is among the celebrity participants this evening in a live online concert in London titled ‘Staging a Revolution: I’m with the Banned,’ presented by Belarus Free Theatre. This event, staged to protest and raise awareness of repression of artistic freedom in Belarus, is broadcast live on the BBC Arts website. Neil’s contribution involves a dramatic reading of an excerpt from Jeans Generation, a play currently banned in Belarus.
Work resumes on ‘On Social Media’ as the Boys change the song’s structure.
Neil and Chris attend Madonna’s concert this evening at London’s O2 Arena, afterwards describing it as a ‘wonderful show.’