On February 15 Pandemonium, a DVD and CD of the Pandemonium tour, is released. It was filmed and recorded at the O2 Arena in London on December 21, 2009. The film is directed by David Barnard. The CD version, which includes fewer songs, has been specially mixed for this release by Stuart Price.
On April 17, as part of the annual music business event known as Record Store Day, the Pet Shop Boys release a seven-inch single in an edition of 1000 copies. On one side is the demo of a song they gave to Alcazar, “Love life”, and on other is the 2003 recording, “A powerful friend”.
On June 26 the Pet Shop Boys appeared at the Glastonbury festival to great acclaim. “It was one of those people-as-far-back-as-you-can-see audiences,” says Neil.
On October 24 a new Pet Shop Boys single, the rousing dance anthem “Together”, is released, produced and written with Tim Powell who was previously part of the team at Xenomania. “I was imagining, really, that there are two people about to have sex for the first time,” says Neil. “But it’s very revolutionary: ‘together I’ll cry with you, together I’ll die with you, together we’ll go all the way…’” It could be anything about two people. It could be Chris and I at the beginning of our writing career together, thinking we could go all the way with this. It wasn’t written as that, but it definitely could be that as well.” Its video, a drama with an Eastern European dance-off between classical and modern dance styles at its centre, is shot in Estonia. Amongst the extra tracks on the single is a cover of the Dave Clark Five’s “Glad all over”, a traditional song of celebration at Chris’s hometown football team, Blackpool.
On November 1 a new Pet Shop Boys hits compilation, Ultimate, is released. Intended as a straightforward mass market single CD collection of their most popular songs, it is also released in a version with a bonus DVD including 27 Pet Shop Boys performances at the BBC from the past 25 years, most of them filmed for Top Of The Pops, as well as their triumphant performance in the summer of 2010 at Glastonbury festival.
On November 25 a children’s play based on a book by the author David Almond, My Dad’s A Birdman, opened at the Young Vic theatre in London. It includes three songs written by Neil and Chris (two incorporating lyrics from the script) and some other instrumental music. “I loved it,” says Chris. “The place was full of children all chatting away. There’s a great bit where one of the cast goes, ‘Do you think he’ll fly?’ and all the children go, ‘No.’ It was really funny.”
British Secretary of War John Profumo submits his resignation following revelations that he had lied to the House of Commons about his affair with alleged prostitute Christine Keeler. This is a pivotal event in what soon came to be known as ‘The Profumo Affair,’ which more than a quarter-century later would serve as the basis for the film Scandal and its PSB-penned and ‑produced soundtrack number ‘Nothing Has Been Proved,’ sung by Dusty Springfield.
The Pet Shop Boys perform ‘Opportunities’ on Top of the Pops.
Neil and Chris perform at London’s Picadilly Theatre as part of Before the Act, an Anti-Clause 28 show that celebrates the artistic creations of gay men and lesbians. Not every performer on stage is gay, but every literary excerpt, dramatic piece, song, and composition on the program is avowedly written or composed by gay people. Therefore the Boys’ choice of songs to perform—their own compositions—serves, in essence, as an act of ‘coming out.’
The Very Introspective, Actually PSB tribute disc is released.
The Boys perform in Las Vegas.
Their Fundamental Tour comes to the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, U.K.
Neil and Chris have lunch with Johnny Marr, who had attended the previous night’s PSB/Take That show in Manchester.
This evening the Boys bring their Electric Tour to Moscow.
They begin a brief Summer 2015 ‘extension’ of the Electric Tour with a concert in Badajoz, Spain.
The Boys are in Berlin for an appearance this evening on the German TV show Mensch Gottschalk.
They continue work on ‘Angelic Thug’ and then develop its instrumental version, ‘Johnny’s Theme.’
Neil records vocals for the song ‘Why Can’t I?’
The Boys perform in Hamburg, Germany.