April 1984
The first version of ‘West End girls’ is released. It is a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco and a small hit in France and Belgium.
History
October 1984
They make their first ever stage appearance at the Fridge Nightclub in Brixton, singing and playing over tapes.
On this day
1970
Several months after its U.K. world premiere, the film Women in Love has its U.S. debut in New York City. It’s mentioned here not on account of its (in)famous nude wrestling scene—which prompts more than one critic to suggest it should instead have been titled Men in Love—but because of a totally different scene that briefly features a teenaged Neil Tennant as one of several unnamed ‘child extras,’ a job for which he had been paid £3 per day. (He then used the money to buy a copy of the Beatles’ ‘White Album.’)
1991
The Pet Shop Boys appear on U.S. television on The Tonight Show. Chris walks off mid-performance because the camera is ignoring him.
1997
Neil attends Elton John’s 50th-birthday costume party dressed as a royal dragoon.
2006
Neil has dinner with Robbie Williams and several others at Luciano, a posh London restaurant.
2007
The Boys conclude the South American leg of their Fundamental world tour with a show in Santiago, Chile.
2012
Having spent roughly two months in southern California working on their next album, Chris and Neil are now back in London to attend the opening night at Sadler’s Wells Theatre of the second run of their ballet The Most Incredible Thing, which includes a new scene and several other modifications. This same day, an interview with Neil in which he discusses the ballet can be heard on BBC Radio 2’s Weekend Wogan.
2016
They’re guests on Graham Norton’s TV show, during which they perform their current single, ‘The Pop Kids.’
2020
At home during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Chris records (the day before) and posts (today) a 13-minute video of him performing a solo instrumental rendition of ‘It’s Alright’ on his digital piano.
2025
Neil is one of several vocalists (also including Jake Shears) who appear with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Anne Dudley at the London Soundtrack Festival, performing classic film songs. Neil sings ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ from Midnight Cowboy, ‘Nothing Has Been Proved’ from Scandal, and (with Shears) ‘Rent,’ which had been used in Saltburn.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com