On August 19th, Neil and Chris meet by chance in an electronics shop on the Kings Road. Realizing they have a common interest in dance music, they begin to write together. Initially they call themselves West End; later they come up with the name Pet Shop Boys, a name derived from some friends who work in a pet shop in Ealing. “We thought it sounded like an English rap group”.
The Pet Shop Boys perform the second of two consecutive nights’ shows at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco.
They perform ‘A Red Letter Day’ on Top of the Pops.
The jet carrying the Pet Shop Boys to Auckland, New Zealand, early this morning comes within about 40 seconds of being struck by fiery debris—initially reported as a disintegrating Russian satellite, but more likely a meteor—plunging through the atmosphere. Neil, Chris, and their entourage sleep through the near-catastrophe.
The Boys are interviewed this evening on John Wilson’s Front Row program on BBC Radio 4 about their upcoming shows at London’s Royal Opera House.
They perform this evening at the AsiaWorld Expo Convention Centre in Hong Kong.