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
1998
Working in London with Rollo, Neil and Chris finish mixing ‘Boy Strange.’
2003
In their second appearance on Graham Norton’s U.K. television show, the Boys not only perform but, unlike their previous appearance, spend some time talking with the host. Incidentally, Norton introduces them while dressed as a giant hamster.
2009
Neil and Chris attend the premiere in London of the film Nowhere Boy, which dramatizes the pre-fame years of John Lennon, focusing on his relationships with his mother Julia and Aunt Mimi. It’s the directorial debut of the Boys’ friend and occasional collaborator Sam Taylor-Wood.
2016
The Boys kick off the European leg of their Super Tour with a concert in the German city of Leipzig.
2023
: They perform at the Primavera Sound Festival in Buenos Aires.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com