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.”
Neil Francis Tennant is born in North Shields, Northumberland, U.K.
They celebrate Neil’s 35th birthday as airline passengers flying over Siberia on the way home from tour dates in Japan. Not only do they have champagne, but the stewardess presents Neil with two birthday cakes.
After working on ‘Se A Vida E,’ the Boys celebrate Neil’s birthday with a barbeque.
In the wee morning hours shortly after midnight, following the earlier (July 9) PSB performance at the Exit Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, the Scissor Sisters sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for Neil, who briefly reappears onstage with them mid-song.
The Boys spend much of the day in their studio working with Pete Gleadall. Meanwhile, the Interactive Media Council awards the web development firm Airside an Interactive Media Award for Outstanding Achievement for their work on the official PSB website.
The Pet Shop Boys are the headline act at a special concert at London’s O2 Arena complex titled ‘Smirnoff Experience: U.R. The Night.’ Their performance—a greatly abbreviated form of their Pandemonium Tour setlist—lasts about a half-hour.
Neil spends his birthday in Munich, Germany, where the Boys perform this evening at the Tollwood Festival.
The PSB Electric Tour comes to Munich.
The Boys top off Neil’s 60th birthday with their appearance at the Exit Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia.
They perform at the Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) in Madrid.
In the Canary Islands for their upcoming shows there, Neil celebrates his birthday by having dinner and drinks in Tenerife with Chris, Pete Gleadall, and their touring band.