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History

March 2021

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. 

April 2021

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. 

May 2021

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.” 

Cricket wife

December 2021

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.” 

On this day

1988

The Pet Shop Boys’ new film It Couldn’t Happen Here is the focus of the first episode of the BBC television show That Was Then… This Is Now.

1989

They play their first full-length U.K. concert gig at the National Exhibition Centre Arena in Birmingham.

1995

Neil records the vocals for ‘Se A Vida E.’

2001

The mastering of the Closer to Heaven original cast album is completed.

2009

The Pet Shop Boys bring their Pandemonium Tour show to Liverpool.

2010

They perform this evening at the Empress Ballroom in Chris’s hometown of Blackpool.

2011

Chris and Neil enjoy a ‘day off’ on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como.

2013

They perform at the Byblos International Festival in Lebanon.

2015

Neil adds vocal harmonies to ‘Brick England,’ while Chris begins work on ‘Groovy.’

2018

Still suffering from a cold, Neil continues working with Chris on ‘Hoping for a Miracle.’

2019

To mark the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s groundbreaking single ‘Space Oddity,’ BBC Radio 2 debuts a new documentary on the song, its history, and influence. Chris and Neil are among the commentators.

2024

Pet Shop Boys perform at Barcelona’s Cruïlla Festival.