February 1986
On February 24th, ‘Love comes quickly’, which will remain one of their favourite songs, is released, reaching a disappointing #19 in the UK.
History
March 1986
On March 24th, their first LP ‘Please’ is released. “It’s so people can go into the record shop and say can I have the Pet Shop Boys album, please?”.
April 1986
‘West End girls’ reaches #1 in USA.
May 1986
On May 19th a new version of ‘Opportunities’ is released. “The point of that song is that the humour is black, it’s like a joke. The impression is that the people in it are not going to make any money”.
June 1986
The Pet Shop Boys announce, then cancel, a tour of Europe and America; the cost of using a theatre designer and playing fairly small venues proves prohibitive.
September 1986
On September 22nd, a re-recorded version of ‘Suburbia’, a song inspired by the Penelope Spheeris film of the same name about a group of disenchanted rebellious youths in suburban Los Angeles, is released. “It’s about a riot happening in some decaying suburb. It’s just the description of the riot happening and then the aftermath”. On the B‑side is the first version of ‘Paninaro’, named after an Italian youth cult and featuring a quote they both liked that Chris had said on a TV show: “I don’t like country and western, I don’t like rock music, I don’t like rockabilly… I don’t like much really, do I? But what I do like, I love passionately”.
November 1986
On November 17th ‘Disco’, an LP of disco remixes, is released.
On this day
1986
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.’
2002
They appear on the syndicated U.S. television show Regis & Kelly, performing ‘Home and Dry.’
2005
Neil and Chris meet with Yoko Ono to discuss performing with her at the Meltdown Festival.
2006
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.)
2007
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.
2010
The Boys and their tour entourage are at Elmstree Studios in Borehamwood, near London, rehearsing in preparation for their upcoming summer concerts.
2014
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.
2018
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.
2022
The Boys perform this evening in Cardiff, Wales.
2023
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.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com