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.”
Photographer Lawrence Watson snaps a picture of Neil and Chris at Japan’s Narita Airport during their MCMLXXXIX Tour. This photo later appears on the artwork of the singles ‘Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)’ and ‘How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?’
The Pet Shop Boys debut their ‘Nightlife look’ as well as some songs from that upcoming album at Capital Radio’s ‘Party in the Park’ at London’s Hyde Park.
They perform in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Evidence (as if any were really needed) that the Boys aren’t joined at the hip: Chris is in London, where he attends a Zaha Hadid exhibition at the Design Museum, while Neil enjoys a stopover in Paris on his return trip from a visit to Spain.
Neil records vocals for the chorus of ‘Love etc.’ and he, Chris, and the Xenomania crew finalize the song’s structure. Neil also writes new lyrics for ‘Building a Wall.’
Having received its radio debut the day before, ‘Winner’ today receives its digital single release on iTunes and Amazon.
The Boys bring their Electric Tour show to the Czech Republic city of Karlovy Vary—their first-ever visit there.
Not quite ten years since their previous show there, the Pet Shop Boys make their second appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Following the concert, Chris and Neil meet singer-songwriter Beth Ditto of the band Gossip.
The Pet Shop Boys, collaborating with London designer Jeffrey Bryant—who has worked with them before on a number of occasions, most notably having created their infamous ‘plastic straw jackets’ for the Electric Tour—are among the artists who have created customized trainers (more commonly ‘sneakers’ or ‘tennis shoes’ to Americans) that are auctioned off starting today on eBay to benefit the Albert Kennedy Trust charity for homeless LGBT youth.
A new production of Closer to Heaven premieres this evening at Above the Stag Theatre in London.
The Boys bring their Dreamworld Tour to Warsaw.