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
1986
As the two members of one of the hottest new acts in the music industry, Neil and Chris are among the many celebrities who attend the ‘grand opening’ of Michael Jackson’s Captain EO film at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
1987
The U.K. tabloid The Sun mistakenly reports that the Pet Shop Boys are about to split up. The story alleges that Neil was furious with Chris for not showing up for the filming of a music video.
1996
Neil is the focus of a three-page article in The Advocate.
2010
The official PSB website announces that Chris and Neil will be composing music for the children’s play My Dad’s a Birdman by David Almond, to be performed at London’s Young Vic theatre for the upcoming holiday season.
2012
The Boys are interviewed on BBC Breakfast TV. On this same day, their pre-recorded interview with Mark Radcliffe airs on the BBC 6 Music radio station.
2013
For the second night in a row, they present their Electric Tour show at New York City’s Beacon Theater.
2017
The Pet Shop Boys perform in Brasilía.
2022
They kick off their North American ‘Unity Tour’ (co-headlining with New Order) with a concert this evening in Toronto.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com