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History

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.

1984 April

October 1984

They make their first ever stage appearance at the Fridge Nightclub in Brixton, singing and playing over tapes.

On this day

1990

Electronic’s ‘Getting Away with It,’ co-written by Neil and with him on background vocals, debuts on the U.S. singles chart. This same afternoon, an ill Derek Jarman is visited at home by Neil and several other friends. Jarman records in his diary, ‘We had a wild half an hour with Neil at his best.’ Neil notes that he and Chris are about to head off to Germany to work on their next album.

1998

The limited-edition Essential CD is released in the U.S. and Japan.

2007

The Pet Shop Boys arrive in Sydney for their first visit to Australia since 1994. Their first day there, they perform at Sydney’s V Festival along with Beck, Gnarls Barkley, the reformed Pixies, and various other artists. Unfortunately, someone enters Neil’s dressing room just before the show and steals his custom-made black long-tailed Dior coat, valued at more than £1,500, which he would otherwise have worn during their performance.

2011

In addition to completing their remix of the Hidden Cameras’ ‘Colour of a Man,’ started the day before, they begin work on a brand new song, ‘Night and the City.’

2022

In a ceremony in Durham Cathedral, Neil receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Durham University.