Neil plays in a group in Newcastle called Dust: Their most popular song is a preposterous affair he has written called “Can you hear the dawn break?”. They are heavily influenced by The Incredible String Band. “We were convinced we would become terribly famous. It was a very kind of stoned seventies but we used to think it was absolutely brilliant at the time”.
Chris and Neil work on ‘Positive Role Model’ with Chris Zippel in Berlin.
A charity auction takes place today at Christie’s in London to raise money for THT (the Terrence Higgins Trust), an organization that provides services for people with HIV and their loved ones. Among the items auctioned off is ‘a West End Dinner with Pet Shop Boys [for] you and a friend to be arranged on a mutually agreed date before 31 March 2011.’ The winning bid is reportedly £7000.
The Most Incredible Thing is released in the United States on the Astralwerks label. Meanwhile, the ballet has its official opening (following several nights of preview performances) this evening at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre.
Tonight sees the very first, somewhat preliminary show (‘a work in progress,’ as they describe it on their website) of the Boys’ new Electric Tour in Veracruz, Mexico.
A lengthy interview with Chris by writer Andrew Harrison appears today on The Quietus website.
‘Purple Zone,’ a new collaboration between Soft Cell (the composers) and the Pet Shop Boys (the producers/arrangers), is released digitally. Soft Cell’s Marc Almond shares lead vocals with Neil.