March 1985
They sign to Parlophone Records after long negotiations with Bobby O’, who relinquished his contractual rights over them in return for a substantial royalty on future record sales.
History
April 1985
On April 5th, Neil leaves Smash Hits. In the next issue an ‘obituary’ is written, bidding him a sad adieu and predicting that in a matter of weeks Neil’s pop duo, the Pet Shop Boys “will be down the dumper and he’ll come crawling back on bended knees, ha ha ha”. “I spoke to my mum on the telephone and said how we’d signed with EMI and she said “But you’re not going to give up your job, are you?” and I said, actually I did last week”.
July 1985
On July 1st, the first version of ‘Opportunities’ is released. It reached #116 in the UK.
August 1985
They play a short set as part of the ICA Rock Week in London, Chris showing off his skills on the trombone. Neil and Chris are interviewed on stage by Max Headroom. They re-record ‘West End girls’ with producer Stephen Hague the same month.
October 1985
‘West End girls’ is released on October 28th and goes to #1 in the UK in January. It is subsequently #1 in USA, Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand and Norway, selling 1.5 million copies. “People endlessly ask us what it’s like having a #1” says Neil at the time. “But what it feels like is vaguely nothing. It feels like having a cup of tea”.
On this day
1994
The Boys perform in Adelaide, Australia.
1996
Neil gives an ‘Internet interview’ via laptop computer from the offices of Parlophone Records in London.
2004
Chris and Neil conclude their Latin American ‘mini-tour’ with a concert in the largest city in the southern hemisphere: São Paulo, Brazil.
2006
The Boys perform at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.
2008
Neil provides some additional lyrics and sings a few lines on the Killers/Elton John upcoming Christmas song, ‘Joseph, Better You Than Me.’
2012
While working on it, the Boys decide to give the track they previously called ‘Electric’ a new title: ‘Axis.’
2013
The German edition of GQ magazine includes Neil and Chris among its ‘Men of the Year’ for 2013. They’re in Berlin this evening to accept the honor in person at the awards show.
2013
Chris and Neil attend the matinee show of their musical Closer to Heaven at London’s Union Theatre. On very short notice, actor Ben Kavanagh crosses gender to step into the role of Billie Trix, filling in for Katie Meller, who had taken ill (but is expected to recover shortly). As the Boys note on their website, they like it so much that they return to see the second half of that evening’s performance.
2017
They work some more on ‘Wedding in Berlin’ and ‘You Are the One.’
2024
The double‑a single ‘New London Boy’/‘All the Young Dudes’ is released digitally along with several bonus tracks.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com