On March 19 two books by Chris Heath – Literally from 1990, and Pet Shop Boys versus America from 1993 – were reissued by the Penguin imprint Cornerstone, completely redesigned by Farrow design, and new introductions and afterwords written by the Pet Shop Boys and Chris Heath.
On April 21, Discovery, the film of the Pet Shop Boys 1994 South American tour – “the tour I enjoyed the most,” Chris notes – is released on DVD, accompanied by the release for the first time of a CD of their performance.
On May 7, a new Pet Shop Boys song, the ten-minute “Cricket wife”, is released on CD (accompanied by “West End girls (New lockdown version)”) with the periodical Annually 2021. “Cricket wife”, written during lockdown, began as an extended piece of music created by Chris. “My mum asked me if I would write a piece of classical music for her,” he explains. “I thought, ‘Well, I’ve got nothing else better to do.’ ‘Classical’ in inverted commas, obviously – I’m no classical composer. In the style of classical music.” When Neil received it, it struck him that it might fit a poem he had written some years before. “It’s really about my parents,” he says. “My father played cricket for many years.”
On December 26, the Pet Shop Boys host a three-hour radio show, Pet Shop Boys, Takeover, on BBC Radio 2 between 9pm and midnight, playing a selection of favourite songs; a broadcast also billed by Radio 2 as “Neil and Chris’s Unpredictable Party Playlist”. (The show has been pre-recorded on the afternoon of December 13.) The Pet Shop Boys have recorded five new jingles for the show, titled “Takeover”, “Strings”, “Beautiful”, “Boxing Day” and “Electric”, and introduce a joyously eclectic selection of music, including records by Matt Monro, Alcazar, Paul Weller (their recent remix of his song “Cosmic Fringes”), Gloria Ann Taylor, Eric Prydz, Françoise Hardy and The 1975. “We’ve only ever done radio when we can play records that we want,” says Chris. “I love doing radio. There’s something very satisfying about broadcasting to the nation.”
Derek Jarman records in his journal the strongly negative reaction he receives in response to the footage filmed from the Pet Shop Boys’ recent Wembley Arena concert. He’s especially upset about Chris’s reaction, which he describes as ‘full of serious anguish.’
The Boys work on the tracks ‘E‑mail’ and ‘Time on My Hands.’
Chris and Neil decide to shorten ‘The Samurai in Autumn’: ‘We edited it right down.’
They perform at the SWR 3 New Pop Festival in Rastatt, Germany. Their set includes the world premiere of ‘Miracles.’ On the same day, a large panoramic portrait of celebrity regulars at London’s fashionable restaurant The Ivy, painted by Rolling Stones guitarist (and accomplished portraitist) Ronnie Wood, goes on display at the Royal Academy of Art. Among the many celebrities depicted in the painting are Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Elton John, and Neil Tennant.
The Pandemonium Tour comes to Seattle.
They work on ‘The Way Through the Woods’ and ‘Thick as Thieves.’
Kicking off the final leg of their lengthy Electric Tour, the Pet Shop Boys appear in concert at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Continuing work on ‘Give Stupidity a Chance,’ they decide to change its arrangement, abandoning its original ‘slightly folky’ sound.
Early this morning, Chris and Neil visit the Joe Orton Archive at the University of Leicester. In the evening they attend the first preview performance of My Beautiful Laundrette at Leicester’s Curve Theatre.