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”.
An interview with Neil on the subject of PSB being increasingly perceived in America as a ‘gay group’ appears in the Washington Blade, a D.C. gay-community newspaper.
As he subsequently notes on the PSB website, Neil visits London’s Newport Street Gallery this morning to see a new exhibit featuring works by the somewhat controversial American artist Jeff Koons—‘controversial’ because art critics are often sharply divided about the merit of his work. (For his part, Neil writes that he enjoyed the show.)
Back in Edinburgh, Neil attends the next-to-last performance there of Musik, after which he has drinks with Ian McKellen.