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 Pet Shop Boys appear on the popular syndicated U.S. TV show Soul Train, which generally focuses on ‘black’ music and rarely features ‘white’ artists. They perform ‘West End Girls’ and ‘Opportunities.’
They appear on the syndicated U.S. television show Regis & Kelly, performing ‘Home and Dry.’
Neil and Chris meet with Yoko Ono to discuss performing with her at the Meltdown Festival.
The documentary Pet Shop Boys — A Life in Pop debuts on U.K. television Channel 4. (The webmaster of this site makes a few brief appearances as a commentator.)
The U.K. leg of the Fundamental Tour begins with a show in Gateshead. It’s virtually a ‘hometown crowd’ for Neil, who was born in nearby Bruntun Park and spent most of his childhood in the area.
The Boys and their tour entourage are at Elmstree Studios in Borehamwood, near London, rehearsing in preparation for their upcoming summer concerts.
They headline at the Babylon Soundgarden Festival in Istanbul. Proceeds from the festival will be donated to a charity benefiting families of the victims of the recent Soma mine disaster—the worst mine disaster in Turkish history.
Working in Berlin, Neil and Chris begin developing a demo by Chris that will, with time, evolve into ‘An Open Mind.’ They will focus on this one track for the better part of the following week.
The Boys perform this evening in Cardiff, Wales.
Legendary rock singer Tina Turner passes away at the age of 83. Neil and Chris, who had worked with Tina on their 1996 song ‘Confidential,’ immediately express their sadness and condolences on their website.