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
1995
Neil begins a week-long holiday in Spain, first in Santiago de Compostela—a locale that will provide inspiration for the first verse of ‘To Step Aside.’
2002
The Pet Shop Boys perform in Nyon, Switzerland.
2010
The Summer 2010 leg of the Pandemonium Tour comes to the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena.
2011
British singer Amy Winehouse dies at the age of 27. Neil and Chris—who had been falsely rumored back in 2008 to have recorded a James Bond theme with her—issue a statement of sadness at the news on their official website.
2014
A
very busy day for the Boys. Following its final rehearsal in the morning, Chris and Neil premiere their new symphonic/electronic work A Man from the Future this evening at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Chorus, narrated by Juliet Stevenson. (Also part of the program are other Tennant-Lowe compositions: ‘Overture to Performance’ and ‘Four Songs in A Minor’ sung by guest vocalist Chrissie Hynde.) And if all that weren’t enough, our musical heroes manage to squeeze in (between the rehearsal and the concert) a recording session at Maida Vale Studios for their appearance the following month on the long-running BBC Radio drama The Archers.
2016
The Pet Shop Boys’ four-night ‘Inner Sanctum’ residency at London’s Royal Opera House concludes with this evening’s performance. Afterwards Neil writes on their official website about having enjoyed ‘four extraordinary nights… with wonderful audiences.’
2024
The first of five consecutive sold-out PSB Dreamworld concerts takes place tonight at London’s Royal Opera House.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com