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
1988
After Neil and Chris help pay for a gay-supportive anti-Clause 28 newspaper ad, a spokesperson tells the Daily Mirror that ‘they support a variety of causes.’
2000
The Boys perform in Berlin.
2005
Neil finishes recording vocals for ‘Fugitive.’
2007
The Pet Shop Boys had been nominated for two 2006 Grammy Awards—Best Dance/Electronic Album (Fundamental) and Best Dance Single (‘I’m with Stupid’)—but lose out to Madonna (Confessions on a Dance Floor) and Justin Timberlake (‘Sexy Back’), respectively.
2008
Chris appears as a witness at St. Pancras Coroner’s Court in London during the inquest into the death of PSB friend and assistant Dainton Connell in an automobile accident the previous October in Moscow. He testifies how he’d seen Dainton only shortly before the accident at a dinner celebrating his (Chris’s) birthday.
2009
Despite that he’s suffering from a nasty bout of either food poisoning or stomach flu, Neil is interviewed via telephone for a radio show on various subjects, including the upcoming new album Yes, the BRITS Awards, and submitting a song shortly before Christmas to Shirley Bassey, who’s in the process of recording a new album of her own.
2011
They begin writing a new song titled ‘Vocal.’
2020
Just as they had attended the first ‘preview’ show nearly a week earlier, both Chris and Neil attend the ‘official’ opening night performance of the second London run of Musik.
2021
Neil posts on the official PSB website that he has just received the COVID vaccine.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com