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.”
The first-ever live public performance by the Pet Shop Boys takes place in Ostende, Belgium. They mime to ‘West End Girls,’ with Chris using a keyboard borrowed from another band.
Suddenly inspired by an offhand comment made by their friend Janet Street-Porter, Chris and Neil decide on the title Results for the album they’ve just produced for Liza Minnelli.
The Boys perform at London’s Gay Pride Festival.
The Release Tour comes to Paris.
In anticipation of their performance the following Sunday at the ‘T in the Park’ festival at Balado Airfield, a particularly delightful, light-hearted interview with the Boys by journalist Aiden Smith appears in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper. Neil and Chris subsequently take issue with a couple of apparent misquotes, but they’re still pleased enough to link to it on their official website.
After having recording equipment set up in Neil’s London house, they work on ‘Give It a Go,’ with Neil supplying new vocals.
The Pet Shop Boys perform in Tallinn, Estonia. (Earlier in the day, Chris had gotten a haircut at the city’s popular ‘FashionHair’ salon.)
Neil works at London’s Metropolis Studios with Pete Gleadall and Andy Baldwin to master the tracks for Musik. Later this evening he attends a new production of Closer to Heaven.
The CD single of ‘A New Bohemia’ is released today.