August 1983

Neil is sent to New York by Smash Hits to interview The Police. By this time the Pet Shop Boys are obsessed by a stream of hi energy records made by New York producer Bobby Orlando, known as Bobby O’. “I thought well, if I’ve got to go and see The Police play then I’m also going to have lunch with Bobby O’ ”. Neil and Bobby O share a cheeseburger and carrot cake at a restaurant called The Apple Jack on August 19^th (two years to the day since Neil and Chris met) and Bobby O’, flatered by Neil’s compliments, suggests making a record with the Pet Shop Boys.

History

On this day

1984

The exact publication date seems lost, but sometime this month (though it’s dated the following month, February) the debut issue of Star Hits, the U.S. spinoff from the U.K. Smash Hits, appears on the newstands. It includes an interview, conducted the preceding November, by pre-stardom Neil Tennant with new-stardom Madonna, who at the time of their meeting had only one major hit single to her credit, ‘Holiday.’ (By the time of publication, she’d earned one more, ‘Lucky Star.’)

2002

Billboard magazine runs a brief article that announces the upcoming new Pet Shop Boys album (Release) but points out that they don’t yet have a U.S. distribution label for it.

2020

Neil is interviewed (over the phone) by Nicki Chapman on BBC Radio 2 this morning, during which he briefly discusses their upcoming album Hotspot and premiers their new single, ‘Monkey Business.’

Facts collated by geowayne.com