February 1986
On February 24th, ‘Love comes quickly’, which will remain one of their favourite songs, is released, reaching a disappointing #19 in the UK.
History
March 1986
On March 24th, their first LP ‘Please’ is released. “It’s so people can go into the record shop and say can I have the Pet Shop Boys album, please?”.
April 1986
‘West End girls’ reaches #1 in USA.
May 1986
On May 19th a new version of ‘Opportunities’ is released. “The point of that song is that the humour is black, it’s like a joke. The impression is that the people in it are not going to make any money”.
June 1986
The Pet Shop Boys announce, then cancel, a tour of Europe and America; the cost of using a theatre designer and playing fairly small venues proves prohibitive.
September 1986
On September 22nd, a re-recorded version of ‘Suburbia’, a song inspired by the Penelope Spheeris film of the same name about a group of disenchanted rebellious youths in suburban Los Angeles, is released. “It’s about a riot happening in some decaying suburb. It’s just the description of the riot happening and then the aftermath”. On the B‑side is the first version of ‘Paninaro’, named after an Italian youth cult and featuring a quote they both liked that Chris had said on a TV show: “I don’t like country and western, I don’t like rock music, I don’t like rockabilly… I don’t like much really, do I? But what I do like, I love passionately”.
November 1986
On November 17th ‘Disco’, an LP of disco remixes, is released.
On this day
1989
Chris and Neil begin the first of several successive days in the studio recording tracks with Dusty Springfield for her upcoming album, eventually titled Reputation.
1994
Neil participates in a Stonewall benefit public reading (broadcast live over the radio) of Oscar Wilde’s The Ballad of Reading Gaol, along with various other celebrities including Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry.
2003
The Boys attend the launch party in London for Streetcore, the posthumous final album by former Clash lead singer Joe Strummer.
2009
The Pet Shop Boys perform in Belo Horizonte, the first of four Pandemonium Tour shows in Brazil.
2013
The Boys appear on the Los Angeles listener-supported KCRW radio show Morning Becomes Eclectic. Not only are they interviewed, but Chris and Neil also perform several numbers from their Electric Tour setlist.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com