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History

August 1983

Neil is sent to New York by Smash Hits to interview The Police. By this time the Pet Shop Boys are obsessed by a stream of hi energy records made by New York producer Bobby Orlando, known as Bobby O’. “I thought well, if I’ve got to go and see The Police play then I’m also going to have lunch with Bobby O’ ”. Neil and Bobby O share a cheeseburger and carrot cake at a restaurant called The Apple Jack on August 19th (two years to the day since Neil and Chris met) and Bobby O’, flatered by Neil’s compliments, suggests making a record with the Pet Shop Boys.

On this day

1989

Chris and Neil begin the first of several successive days in the studio recording tracks with Dusty Springfield for her upcoming album, eventually titled Reputation.

1994

Neil participates in a Stonewall benefit public reading (broadcast live over the radio) of Oscar Wilde’s The Ballad of Reading Gaol, along with various other celebrities including Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry.

2003

The Boys attend the launch party in London for Streetcore, the posthumous final album by former Clash lead singer Joe Strummer.

2009

The Pet Shop Boys perform in Belo Horizonte, the first of four Pandemonium Tour shows in Brazil.

2013

The Boys appear on the Los Angeles listener-supported KCRW radio show Morning Becomes Eclectic. Not only are they interviewed, but Chris and Neil also perform several numbers from their Electric Tour setlist.