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
1999
Having recorded vocals for ‘You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk’ the day before, the Boys now spend time in the studio listening to the playback.
2008
Neil records vocals for ‘Vulnerable.’ He and Chris also begin writing ‘Get Over It,’ which eventually becomes ‘Legacy.’
2011
In the wee hours of the morning, an admittedly drunk Neil and Chris (following the preceding evening’s visit to a karaoke bar) are back in the studio writing a new dance song titled ‘Axis.’
2016
It’s announced today that Neil is among a group of eleven ‘visiting fellows’ at Oxford University’s Lady Margaret Hall for the following year. (Among others announced at the same time are actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Watson.) As college principal Alan Rusbridger describes the appointment, ‘At a minimum we’d like them to drop in occasionally at college, eat with us and meet informally with a variety of the LMH community.… We’d like them to do one thing a bit more structured. It could be a conversation or debate, a performance, a lecture or seminar, a form of outreach—or something we haven’t thought of.’
2019
The official PSB website makes the surprise announcement today of the release, one track per day for the next several days, of a new four-song EP titled Agenda. Its first track, ‘Give Stupidity a Chance,’ begins streaming today.
2020
The second London run of the PSB/Jonathan Harvey one-woman stage show Musik at the Leicester Square Theatre, starring Frances Barber, begins this evening with a ‘preview’ performance. Both Chris and Neil as well as collaborator Jonathan Harvey are in attendance. After the show, the Boys attend a celebration at Koha Restaurant & Bar.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com