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”.
‘What Have I Done to Deserve This?’ is released as a single.
Liza Minnelli, accompanied by Chris and Neil, performs ‘Losing My Mind’ on Top of the Pops.
The Boys arrive in Osaka, where the following evening they will perform the first of two shows in Japan. The same day, the online Sun reports that Damon Albarn, late of Blur, had denied them permission to include their remix of ‘Girls & Boys’ on their upcoming Disco 4 album—a story that Neil immediately denies, stating that they hadn’t even made the request.
The first of two nights of PSB shows in Utrecht, Netherlands.
A ‘Pet Texts’ posting on the official PSB website indicates that Neil is in Edinburgh for the city’s annual August festivals. (He doesn’t say whether Chris is there as well.)
Neil is interviewed this evening by DJ/producer Kölsch on BBC Radio 1.