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
1996
The Moscow Choral Academy records the choral background vocals for ‘A Red Letter Day.’
1997
The Pet Shop Boys appear on the U.K. TV show This Morning. During the interview, co-host Richard Madeley famously asks Neil how his ‘wife’ is. Neil is understandably amused by the question.
1999
Elvis Costello and Neil Tennant serve as eulogists at the funeral of Dusty Springfield in Henley, U.K., which Chris Lowe also attends.
2012
Still in Los Angeles as work on their next studio album progresses, Neil and Chris pay a visit today to Hollywood Forever cemetery. They’re sufficiently impressed by what they describe as the ‘very rock-and-roll memorial’ to Johnny Ramone that the following day they post a photo of it on their official website.
2013
They visit Mark Farrow’s studio to check out some ideas for the cover of their next album, Electric.
2015
Chris and Neil are on the guest list for the funeral today in Porthcawl, U.K. of former Visage vocalist and ‘New Romantic’ icon Steve Strange.
2024
They take part in filming the video for the second single from their upcoming album Nonetheless, although they haven’t yet at this time revealed which song it is. (It turns out to be ‘Dancing Star.’)
- Facts collated by geowayne.com