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
‘How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?’ debuts on the U.S. singles chart, where it will peak at #93.
1992
The Pet Shop Boys are profiled on the British television series The South Bank Show.
2006
Neil presents Madonna with the award for ‘Best International Female Artist’ at this year’s BRITS Awards.
2010
The recent PSB ‘living room gig’ sponsored by Mastercard airs this evening during the BRITS Awards telecast and also debuts online.
2011
The Boys start writing a new song titled ‘Heads Will Roll.’
2012
Chris and Neil are still in Los Angeles, having been there now for more than a month working on their next album. Today, as they listen to playbacks of music they’ve recently recorded, they enjoy watching Elizabeth Taylor’s 1963 film Cleopatra on a television in the studio. Neil also records additional vocals for ‘Memory of the Future.’ On this same day, a ‘Singbox’ app featuring music of the Pet Shop Boys is released for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. It permits users to sing along, karaoke-like, to tracks and to compete with other users.
2016
The new PSB single ‘The Pop Kids’ has its official world premiere today on Ken Bruce’s BBC Radio 2 show. It also becomes available on iTunes to those who have pre-ordered the still-unreleased new album Super. Meanwhile, Chris and Neil are in the studio completing work on a track titled ‘The White Dress.’
2023
Neil and Chris attend a performance of the new musical ‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge’ at London’s National Theatre. (The following day they note on their website that the show’s choreography is by Lynne Page, with whom they’ve worked on some of their own stage shows and videos.)
- Facts collated by geowayne.com