On February 15 Pandemonium, a DVD and CD of the Pandemonium tour, is released. It was filmed and recorded at the O2 Arena in London on December 21, 2009. The film is directed by David Barnard. The CD version, which includes fewer songs, has been specially mixed for this release by Stuart Price.
On April 17, as part of the annual music business event known as Record Store Day, the Pet Shop Boys release a seven-inch single in an edition of 1000 copies. On one side is the demo of a song they gave to Alcazar, “Love life”, and on other is the 2003 recording, “A powerful friend”.
On June 26 the Pet Shop Boys appeared at the Glastonbury festival to great acclaim. “It was one of those people-as-far-back-as-you-can-see audiences,” says Neil.
On October 24 a new Pet Shop Boys single, the rousing dance anthem “Together”, is released, produced and written with Tim Powell who was previously part of the team at Xenomania. “I was imagining, really, that there are two people about to have sex for the first time,” says Neil. “But it’s very revolutionary: ‘together I’ll cry with you, together I’ll die with you, together we’ll go all the way…’” It could be anything about two people. It could be Chris and I at the beginning of our writing career together, thinking we could go all the way with this. It wasn’t written as that, but it definitely could be that as well.” Its video, a drama with an Eastern European dance-off between classical and modern dance styles at its centre, is shot in Estonia. Amongst the extra tracks on the single is a cover of the Dave Clark Five’s “Glad all over”, a traditional song of celebration at Chris’s hometown football team, Blackpool.
On November 1 a new Pet Shop Boys hits compilation, Ultimate, is released. Intended as a straightforward mass market single CD collection of their most popular songs, it is also released in a version with a bonus DVD including 27 Pet Shop Boys performances at the BBC from the past 25 years, most of them filmed for Top Of The Pops, as well as their triumphant performance in the summer of 2010 at Glastonbury festival.
On November 25 a children’s play based on a book by the author David Almond, My Dad’s A Birdman, opened at the Young Vic theatre in London. It includes three songs written by Neil and Chris (two incorporating lyrics from the script) and some other instrumental music. “I loved it,” says Chris. “The place was full of children all chatting away. There’s a great bit where one of the cast goes, ‘Do you think he’ll fly?’ and all the children go, ‘No.’ It was really funny.”
Derek Jarman records in his diary, ‘Neil Tennant and his friend Jay arrive for tea.’
Chris and Neil take part in shooting the video for ‘Paninaro ’95.’
‘Somewhere’ is released as a single.
The Boys perform in Leipzig, Germany.
They begin work on two brand new songs, ‘Shouting in the Evening’ and ‘Give It a Go.’
Despite an earlier attempt to persuade them to cancel the show in protest of Israel’s policies with regard to Palestinians, the Pet Shop Boys bring their Electric Tour show to Tel Aviv this evening.
They work on a new song titled ‘Will You Love Me?’
They complete work on their wedding-present track, ‘Wedding in Berlin.’
Neil is among an estimated 50,000 people from across the U.K. political spectrum who march in London today to protest ‘Brexit’ – Britain’s pending exit from the European Union. This same evening, Dusty, a new ‘jukebox musical’ based on the life of Dusty Springfield, makes its world debut at Theatre Royal in the city of Bath. Written by Jonathan Harvey (who had previously collaborated with PSB on their own musical Closer to Heaven) and starring Katherine Kingsley, it includes a climactic rendition of ‘What Have I Done to Deserve This?’
Neil, playwright Jonathan Harvey, and singer-actress Frances Barber tape their appearance as guests on Graham Norton’s BBC Radio 2 show to talk about the Boys’ new cabaret stage show Musik starring Ms. Barber. (It will air the following Saturday.)
Neil visits the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. When evening comes, he and Chris perform their Dreamworld Tour show at that city’s M&S Bank Arena.