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.”
While staying at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles, Neil happens upon Depeche Mode singer Dave Gahan having lunch. They chat briefly. That same evening the Boys perform the second of two consecutive nights’ shows at L.A.‘s Universal Amphitheater.
Chris and Neil begin work on a track called ‘Diddly Squat,’ which later becomes ‘All or Nothing.’
They start working on a remix of the Hidden Cameras track ‘Colour of a Man.’
They note on their website that today they spoke with their manager, Angela Becker, ‘via computer’ about ‘reissues, the new album, etc.’
Pre-recorded segments featuring Neil and Chris have been airing every weekday afternoon this week on the ‘This Is the Day’ segment of Richard Blade’s SiriusXM 1st Wave satellite radio show.
Chris attends this evening’s performance by The Who at London’s Royal Albert Hall, where the Pet Shop Boys are scheduled to perform three nights later. (Both shows are to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust.)
Their official website announces the pending June release of Smash, the Pet Shop Boys’ fourth hits collection, which will be available in several formats, including a three-CD/two-Blu-ray set.