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
1991
The PSB medley of ‘Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)’ debuts on the U.S. singles chart.
1999
Neil is one of many celebrities who attend Ian McKellen’s 60th birthday party at London’s Royal Garden Hotel. There he meets Monica Lewinsky, who has become a friend and frequent guest of Sir Ian’s.
2000
The Pet Shop Boys receive the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
2002
They appear on NBC’s Today show in New York City and then travel to Philadelphia for their evening concert there. After the show they meet with fans, signing autographs and responding to questions.
2005
Working in Pete Gleadall’s studio, they edit the Potemkin track ‘Men and Maggots’ to reduce its length on the album. Meanwhile, Trevor Horn continues production work on Fundamental at Sarm West, during which he plays bass on ‘Luna Park.’
2007
The Boys perform at the Wolverhampton (U.K.) Civic Hall.
2009
Chris and Neil guest on BBC Radio 2 in a program titled Pet Shop Boys: Wired, in which they choose and play their favorite electro-pop music of the past decade.
2013
They conclude the Latin American leg of their Electric Tour with a concert in Bogotá, Colombia.
2020
Chris begins composing a track he calls ‘Avant Garde,’ which will soon evolve into ‘A New Bohemia.’
2022
The Pet Shop Boys perform tonight in Bournemouth, U.K.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com