February 1992
On February 16th an hour-long film about the Pet Shop Boys is broadcast by the TV arts programme The South Bank Show.
History
May 1992
The Pet Shop Boys play a concert at the Hacienda Nightclub in Manchester on May 13th to coincide with an exhibition of Derek Jarman’s paintings at Manchester City Art Gallery and with the Hacienda’s tenth anniversary. They perform with J.J. Belle and Sylvia Mason-James. In rehearsals they decide they want to play a suitable cover version and — after tinkering with, then discarding The Beatles’ ‘Fool On The Hill’ — choose the Village People’s 1979 hit ‘Go West’. The following month, on June 8th, the Pet Shop Boys performed with the same line-up at Roseland in New York, a benefit for Lifebeat, an organization for people in the music business with AIDS.
June 1992
Neil co-writes and sings on a new Electronic single ‘Disappointed’. The title came to him when Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner’s backing track reminded him of ‘Disenchantee’, a song liked by French singer Mylene Farmer. “ ‘Disappointed’ is”, he says, “sort of a love song, about not being disappointed”.
September 1992
Eric Watson’s film of the 1991 Performance tour — also titled ‘Performance’ — is released on video on September 28th. It has been delayed after a copyright wrangle with one of the owners of ‘I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, and all traces of that song have been ruthlessly excised.
October 1992
On October 26th, the soundtrack to the Neil Jordan film ‘The Crying Game’ is released on Spaghetti Records. Earlier in 1992 the Pet Shop Boys had been asked whether they would be interested in helping with songs for the film, at that time titled ‘The Soldier’s Wife’. After seeing, and loving, a rough edit, they agreed to release the soundtrack on their Spaghetti label, and to contribute songs produced by them and performed by Cicero and Carroll Thompson. At the last moment, it was suggested that they also produce a new version of Dave Berry’s 1964 single, ‘The Crying Game’, with Boy George singing. They had lunch with him, and a week later it was recorded. ‘The Crying Game’ subsequently became the film’s theme tune. It is a British hit single in September 1992 and then, in the Spring of 1993, it became an American hit in the wake of the film’s immense American success. “I’m as happy as a sandboy”, Boy George will comment, and plans will be hatched for he and the Pet Shop Boys to work together again on his next LP.
On this day
1990
Electronic’s ‘Getting Away with It,’ co-written by Neil and with him on background vocals, debuts on the U.S. singles chart. This same afternoon, an ill Derek Jarman is visited at home by Neil and several other friends. Jarman records in his diary, ‘We had a wild half an hour with Neil at his best.’ Neil notes that he and Chris are about to head off to Germany to work on their next album.
1998
The limited-edition Essential CD is released in the U.S. and Japan.
2007
The Pet Shop Boys arrive in Sydney for their first visit to Australia since 1994. Their first day there, they perform at Sydney’s V Festival along with Beck, Gnarls Barkley, the reformed Pixies, and various other artists. Unfortunately, someone enters Neil’s dressing room just before the show and steals his custom-made black long-tailed Dior coat, valued at more than £1,500, which he would otherwise have worn during their performance.
2011
In addition to completing their remix of the Hidden Cameras’ ‘Colour of a Man,’ started the day before, they begin work on a brand new song, ‘Night and the City.’
2022
In a ceremony in Durham Cathedral, Neil receives an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Durham University.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com