March 1985
They sign to Parlophone Records after long negotiations with Bobby O’, who relinquished his contractual rights over them in return for a substantial royalty on future record sales.
History
April 1985
On April 5th, Neil leaves Smash Hits. In the next issue an ‘obituary’ is written, bidding him a sad adieu and predicting that in a matter of weeks Neil’s pop duo, the Pet Shop Boys “will be down the dumper and he’ll come crawling back on bended knees, ha ha ha”. “I spoke to my mum on the telephone and said how we’d signed with EMI and she said “But you’re not going to give up your job, are you?” and I said, actually I did last week”.
July 1985
On July 1st, the first version of ‘Opportunities’ is released. It reached #116 in the UK.
August 1985
They play a short set as part of the ICA Rock Week in London, Chris showing off his skills on the trombone. Neil and Chris are interviewed on stage by Max Headroom. They re-record ‘West End girls’ with producer Stephen Hague the same month.
October 1985
‘West End girls’ is released on October 28th and goes to #1 in the UK in January. It is subsequently #1 in USA, Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand and Norway, selling 1.5 million copies. “People endlessly ask us what it’s like having a #1” says Neil at the time. “But what it feels like is vaguely nothing. It feels like having a cup of tea”.
On this day
1993
‘I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing’ is released as a single.
1997
The Boys’ rendition of ‘Somewhere’ peaks at #125 on the U.S. singles chart.
2000
Chris and Neil write the song ‘Home and Dry.’
2005
Neil attends a brief (five-song) live set by Madonna at London’s Koko Club. Afterward he goes to the Groucho Club with Bernard Sumner.
2010
Tickets go on sale today for the premiere run at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre in March 2011 of the ballet The Most Incredible Thing, with music composed by Tennant and Lowe.
2011
The official PSB website announces that the Boys will be performing at the upcoming New Year’s Eve festivities in Sydney, Australia, where they will present their entire Pandemonium Tour show ‘Down Under’ for the first time. Also slated to appear on the same bill are Culture Club, Jamiroquai, and Pseudo Echo, among others.
2014
The Museum of Modern Art in New York City begins today a year-long exhibition titled Making Music Modern: Design for Ear and Eye, much of which concerns album cover design. Mark Farrow’s design for the PSB album Introspective is among the items exhibited.
2015
Neil, along with the Boys’ collaborator, playwright Jonathan Harvey, and the original Billie Trix, Frances Barber, attend this afternoon’s matinee performance of Closer to Heaven at London’s Union Theatre and meet with the cast after the show.
2016
The Boys perform this evening in St. Petersburg, Florida.
2018
They work at length on ‘Hoping for a Miracle,’ including Chris’s piano part on the track.
2024
The double-single ‘New London Boy’/‘All the Young Dudes’ is released in physical format today.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com