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”.
Hitting the newstands today—the January 1998 issue of Us, featuring a Neil Tennant interview with Elton John. You can take the Boy out of journalism, but you can’t take journalism out of the Boy.
The Pet Shop Boys are among the artists who perform at the Våra eldsjälar concert at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, which is broadcast live on Swedish television.
An article based on an interview with Neil appears in today’s edition of The Scotsman newspaper, dealing in part with the Boys’ upcoming concert appearance at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) celebration.