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.
Andy MacKay of Roxy Music records the saxophone solo at the end of ‘Love Comes Quickly’ at London’s Advision Studios. Neil and Chris spend part of the time chatting with Andy’s wife.
‘Left to My Own Devices’ peaks at #84 on the U.S. singles chart. On this same date, Neil attends the final performance of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre. ‘Losing My Mind,’ which the Boys would soon demo and record with Liza Minnelli, comes from this musical, although whether it was Neil’s attendance at the show that inspired their cover or they were already interested in the song beforehand is uncertain.
David Morales mixes the recent PSB recording of ‘New York City Boy’—appropriately enough, in a New York City studio.
The Boys perform in Bremen, Germany.
Disco 3 is released in the United States and a number of other countries. On this same day, the video for the single ‘London’ receives its official ‘launch’ at London’s Rocket Gallery, with Chris and Neil in attendance along with the video’s director, Martin Parr.
Neil is the guest on today’s edition of the famed BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs.
Neil and Chris write the song ‘Invisible.’ Later they go out to dinner and a karaoke bar.
The Pet Shop Boys and Soft Cell are at The Black Prince, a pub in the Kennington district of London, filming scenes for the video for their upcoming collaborative single, ‘Purple Zone.’