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”.
Chris and Neil work on ‘Positive Role Model’ with Chris Zippel in Berlin.
A charity auction takes place today at Christie’s in London to raise money for THT (the Terrence Higgins Trust), an organization that provides services for people with HIV and their loved ones. Among the items auctioned off is ‘a West End Dinner with Pet Shop Boys [for] you and a friend to be arranged on a mutually agreed date before 31 March 2011.’ The winning bid is reportedly £7000.
The Most Incredible Thing is released in the United States on the Astralwerks label. Meanwhile, the ballet has its official opening (following several nights of preview performances) this evening at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre.
Tonight sees the very first, somewhat preliminary show (‘a work in progress,’ as they describe it on their website) of the Boys’ new Electric Tour in Veracruz, Mexico.
A lengthy interview with Chris by writer Andrew Harrison appears today on The Quietus website.
‘Purple Zone,’ a new collaboration between Soft Cell (the composers) and the Pet Shop Boys (the producers/arrangers), is released digitally. Soft Cell’s Marc Almond shares lead vocals with Neil.