After completing a degree in history at the Polytechnic of North London, Neil takes a job at Marvel Comics, anglicizing spellings and indicating where over-risque woman needed to be redrawn decently. While there he interviews comic fan Marc Bolan, who politely points out that his tape recorder wasn’t working. In 1977 he works at Macdonald Educational Publishing, later moving to ITV Books. In June 1982, he joins Smash Hits.
The Pet Shop Boys make their first live public appearance in the U.S., guesting on two songs with Electronic in Los Angeles.
The Boys record a demo for ‘It Always Comes as a Surprise.’
They headline the opening night of the Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary.
They perform a late-night set (extending beyond midnight, into the wee hours of the next day) at the Lokerse Feesten Festival in Belgium.
Chris and Neil perform at the Wasa Open Air Festival in Vaasa, Finland.