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.
Neil and Chris work on a new song, ‘Yes in a No Kind of Way,’ but never get around to finishing it.
The Boys perform ‘Paninaro ‘95’ on Top of the Pops. Meanwhile, BBC 1 radio host Kevin Greening breaks the First Commandment (not for the first time) by declaring Neil Tennant ‘God of the Week.’
They’re busy working on ‘Home and Dry.’
Neil and Chris enjoy (as the latter writes on their official website) ‘a night off in Brussels.’
The CD and ‘digital EP’ of the PSB single ‘Winner,’ featuring three previously unreleased bonus songs, is released today in Germany and several other nations on iTunes, Amazon, and other online outlets. It will similarly be released (digitally) in various other nations over the next few days.
The Pet Shop Boys perform this evening in Singapore.
The Electric Tour comes to Girona, Spain.
Neil and Chris, along with Frances Barber, take a train to Edinburgh, where Musik will soon have its premiere.