On May 2 the Pet Shop Boys appear at Heaven nightclub in London, playing a four song set as part of Can You Bear It?, a benefit for Dainton Connell’s family. For the final song they are joined by Suggs and Carl from Madness, in rambunctious high spirits, to perform a dance version of Madness’s “My Girl”: “It was a very emotional night”.
On October 27 a Pet Shop Boys-produced single by the British artist Sam Taylor-Wood, “I’m in love with a German film star”, is released on the cult German dance label Kompakt. It is the Pet Shop Boys’ third collaboration with Sam Taylor-Wood though the previous one was released under the pseudonym Kiki Kokova. The song is an electronic reinterpretation of the 1981 single by the Passions, a suggestion of Neil’s.
This year’s annual Christmas single from the Killers — “Joseph (Better You Than Me)” — is originally planned as a collaboration between The Killers and Elton John. Neil gets involved after Brandon Flowers asks for help with the lyric; in the end Neil’s short section of guide vocal for the lyric he contributes will remain in the final song when it is made available for download.
The Pet Shop Boys complete their Performance world tour with a show in Dublin, Ireland.
After working some more on ‘It Always Comes as a Surprise,’ Neil and Chris attend a party thrown by Elton John.
The Pet Shop Boys perform in Yokohama, Japan.
Neil records an acoustic guitar part for ‘Luna Park.’
Videotaped the previous day, the Boys’ performance of ‘Did You See Me Coming?’ closes out this evening’s episode of the BBC TV show Alan Carr: Chatty Man. That same evening, they perform live in Stuttgart, Germany.
The Boys open for Take That tonight in Cardiff, the first of two shows there. The same day sees Stop Modernists’ remake of New Order’s ‘Subculture,’ featuring Chris Lowe on lead vocal, released on iTunes.
They work all day on ‘In His Imagination.’