On May 2 the Pet Shop Boys appear at Heaven nightclub in London, playing a four song set as part of Can You Bear It?, a benefit for Dainton Connell’s family. For the final song they are joined by Suggs and Carl from Madness, in rambunctious high spirits, to perform a dance version of Madness’s “My Girl”: “It was a very emotional night”.
On October 27 a Pet Shop Boys-produced single by the British artist Sam Taylor-Wood, “I’m in love with a German film star”, is released on the cult German dance label Kompakt. It is the Pet Shop Boys’ third collaboration with Sam Taylor-Wood though the previous one was released under the pseudonym Kiki Kokova. The song is an electronic reinterpretation of the 1981 single by the Passions, a suggestion of Neil’s.
This year’s annual Christmas single from the Killers — “Joseph (Better You Than Me)” — is originally planned as a collaboration between The Killers and Elton John. Neil gets involved after Brandon Flowers asks for help with the lyric; in the end Neil’s short section of guide vocal for the lyric he contributes will remain in the final song when it is made available for download.
The Boys perform in Houston. Their renditions this evening of ‘Always on My Mind’ and ‘Being Boring’ later appear on the ‘You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk’ single.
They travel to Cuba on holiday with friends.
BBC Radio 2 airs the first half of an interview/popumentary, Pet Shop Boys, Really.
Resuming their brief series of ‘Fundamental tour addendum’ concerts in Spain, Chris and Neil travel by train from Barcelona to Valencia, where they perform this evening at the Greenspace Festival.
An hour-long show that the Boys have produced and pre-recorded for Berlin-based Radio Eins—part of a series entitled Freundliche Übernahme (‘Friendly Takeover’)—is broadcast this evening. It consists of music chosen, sequenced, and introduced by Neil and Chris. Meanwhile, they bring their Super Tour tonight to Portland, Oregon.
The ‘Dreamland’ single, previously released in streaming and digital formats, is released in physical formats today.