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”.
Chris and Neil work on their musical, watch TV, and (according to Neil) ‘probably’ get drunk.
They work on the song ‘One-Way Street’ and write ‘Girls Don’t Cry.’
The Pet Shop Boys’ new single, ‘Love etc.’ has its official debut on BBC Radio 2.
They work on the song ‘Invisible’ and then watch two episodes of the U.S. sitcom Frasier, the entire series of which they have on DVD.
Neil is one of several celebrities in attendance at this evening’s concert by Kraftwerk at the Tate Modern in London, part of the influential German band’s eight-night residency at the famed art gallery. At each show Kraftwerk plays one of their albums in its entirety; tonight’s show focuses on their seventh album, The Man-Machine.
BBC Radio 5 presenter Adrian Chiles discusses the classic silent film Battleship Potemkin on his show this morning. He includes a recorded telephone interview with Neil and a few brief excerpts from the score that the Boys had composed and recorded for the film more than a decade before.