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 PSB medley of ‘Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)’ debuts on the U.S. singles chart.
Neil is one of many celebrities who attend Ian McKellen’s 60th birthday party at London’s Royal Garden Hotel. There he meets Monica Lewinsky, who has become a friend and frequent guest of Sir Ian’s.
The Pet Shop Boys receive the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
They appear on NBC’s Today show in New York City and then travel to Philadelphia for their evening concert there. After the show they meet with fans, signing autographs and responding to questions.
Working in Pete Gleadall’s studio, they edit the Potemkin track ‘Men and Maggots’ to reduce its length on the album. Meanwhile, Trevor Horn continues production work on Fundamental at Sarm West, during which he plays bass on ‘Luna Park.’
The Boys perform at the Wolverhampton (U.K.) Civic Hall.
Chris and Neil guest on BBC Radio 2 in a program titled Pet Shop Boys: Wired, in which they choose and play their favorite electro-pop music of the past decade.
They conclude the Latin American leg of their Electric Tour with a concert in Bogotá, Colombia.
Chris begins composing a track he calls ‘Avant Garde,’ which will soon evolve into ‘A New Bohemia.’
The Pet Shop Boys perform tonight in Bournemouth, U.K.