On April 22, the Pet Shop Boys musical Closer to Heaven is performed in London for the first time in fourteen years, in a sold-out month-long run at The Union Theatre. (It will return for a further five weeks beginning on October 21.). For this revival, at the Pet Shop Boys’ request, the musical’s original final number, “Positive role model”, is replaced by “Vocal”.
On August 15, the final date of the much-extended Electric tour – which began in March, 2013 – takes place at the Flow Festival in Helsinki. The tour has visited over forty countries.
On December 2, the Pet Shop Boys appear at MAMA – the Mnet Asian Music Awards – in Hong Kong. They are given the Worldwide Inspiration award and play a lengthy live medley, joined for their final two songs, “What have I done to deserve this?” and “Vocal”, by the K‑Pop artist f(x). At the organisers’ request, they wear the Electric tour straw jackets for, possibly, the final time.
The Boys write ‘For Your Own Good’; Chris also writes the music for ‘Call Me Old-Fashioned.’
BPI awards a U.K. gold record to Nightlife.
Neil joins the Scissor Sisters onstage at a London charity concert benefitting children and families living with HIV/AIDS. They perform the Boys’ ‘Love Comes Quickly,’ which segues into the Sisters’ ‘It Can’t Come Quickly Enough.’
The Pet Shop Boys receive their ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’ Award at this evening’s BRITS Awards ceremonies. They also perform a 9½-minute medley of their songs with occasional guest vocals from Lady Gaga and Brandon Flowers.
Neil and Chris continue working on the new song ‘Heads Will Roll’ and start work on a track Chris has composed titled ‘Sick’ (which soon will evolve into ‘Memory of the Future’).
Still in Germany, the Boys take a day off to drive to Hohenschönhausen to take a guided tour of Stasi Prison, which now serves as a memorial to political prisoners of the former East German communist regime.
They kick off the 2017 U.K. leg of their Super Tour with a show this evening in Leeds.