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 are recording at Axis Studios, located above Studio 54 in New York City.
They perform at this year’s Roskilde Festival in Denmark.
This is the first of two consecutive nights’ PSB concerts at the Tower of London.
The Pandemonium Tour comes to Stockholm. After the show, the Swedish duo West End Girls meet backstage with Chris and Neil.
The second of the Boys’ two nights opening for Take That in Birmingham.
Comedian David Walliams—known as a dedicated PSB fan—records track-by-track audio commentary with Neil and Chris at London’s Sarm Studios for their soon-to-be-released album Elysium.
They perform this evening in Mainz, Germany.
At Cardiff Castle, the Boys rehearse for their upcoming guest appearance at the following evening’s Glastonbury show by The Killers. The uncomfortably high temperature leads Chris later to describe it as ‘the hottest soundcheck of all time.’
They wind up the 2023 U.K. leg of their Dreamworld Tour with an appearance at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
They perform in Mannheim, Germany.