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 continues working on the music for ‘Nine Out of Ten.’
The Boys’ appearance on the U.K. TV show Later… with Jools Holland, taped two days earlier, airs on this date.
They record new vocals for ‘The Resurrectionist’ and rework ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain,’ slowing the rhythm track down somewhat.
‘Together’ is released as a digital single in the U.S.—roughly five months after it was released in the U.K. and various other countries. On this same day, Chris composes music and Neil writes lyrics for a new song, ‘Everything Means Something.’
The Pet Shop Boys make the first of their two scheduled appearances at this year’s Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California. (To get there they first had to drive through a desert sandstorm.) Billboard gives PSB a glowing review, stating, ‘The duo may have fulfilled the role of elder statesmen for the day (no band on Saturday’s lineup has been around longer than the ’80s innovators), but PSB’s recent material packed an energetic punch that could have stood next to any of the younger acts on the bill.’
Neil appears as a surprise guest vocalist onstage with Johnny Marr and his band at Hammersmith Apollo in London, singing on a cover of David Bowie’s ‘Rebel Rebel’ as well as the Electronic classic ‘Getting Away with It.’ Interestingly, Neil adds some new lyrics to the latter song.