On April 22, the Pet Shop Boys musical Closer to Heaven is performed in London for the first time in fourteen years, in a sold-out month-long run at The Union Theatre. (It will return for a further five weeks beginning on October 21.). For this revival, at the Pet Shop Boys’ request, the musical’s original final number, “Positive role model”, is replaced by “Vocal”.
On August 15, the final date of the much-extended Electric tour – which began in March, 2013 – takes place at the Flow Festival in Helsinki. The tour has visited over forty countries.
On December 2, the Pet Shop Boys appear at MAMA – the Mnet Asian Music Awards – in Hong Kong. They are given the Worldwide Inspiration award and play a lengthy live medley, joined for their final two songs, “What have I done to deserve this?” and “Vocal”, by the K‑Pop artist f(x). At the organisers’ request, they wear the Electric tour straw jackets for, possibly, the final time.
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.’
They appear on the syndicated U.S. television show Regis & Kelly, performing ‘Home and Dry.’
Neil and Chris meet with Yoko Ono to discuss performing with her at the Meltdown Festival.
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.)
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.
The Boys and their tour entourage are at Elmstree Studios in Borehamwood, near London, rehearsing in preparation for their upcoming summer concerts.
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.
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.
The Boys perform this evening in Cardiff, Wales.
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.