Skip to navigation Skip to content

History

March 2011

On March 14 a double-CD of the music from the ballet The Most Incredible Thing is released under the name Tennant/Lowe. It contains the full performance score of the ballet with orchestrations by Sven Helbig.

2011 March

On March 17 the ballet The Most Incredible Thing has its first public performance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. Its genesis can be traced back to a week in where, by chance, two initially unrelated events took place. Ivan Putrov, a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet whom the Pet Shop Boys had got to know through Sam Taylor-Wood, called Neil to ask whether they would write a piece for him to dance to. Two days later, before Neil had even had a chance to ask Chris, Chris called to say that he’d just read a story in a new translation of Hans Christian Andersen’s tales that he thought would make a great ballet: “The Most Incredible Thing”. This eventually led to the Sadler’s Wells production, choreographed by Javier de Frutos and starring Ivan Putrov, Clemmie Sveaas and Aaron Sillis. All ten performances sell out.

May 2011

On May 27 the Pet Shop Boys appear at the Sunderland Stadium of Light, joining Take That at their invitation as “special guests” on their first reunion concerts as a five-piece on what will be the biggest British tour ever – 29 British stadium shows – followed by a short European leg. “45 minutes of intensity,” says Chris.

December 2011

On December 31 the Pet Shop Boys appear at a New Year’s Eve concert on an island in Sydney Harbour.

On this day

1992

The Crying Game soundtrack (partly produced by PSB) is released on their Spaghetti label.

1994

The Boys launch their DiscoVery tour in Singapore.

1997

They headline at London’s Equality commemoration, having agreed to perform a ‘hastily arranged’ set only at the last minute. Chris later enthuses, ‘It was our greatest moment… our finest hour.’

2006

The Pet Shop Boys perform in Detroit. By a remarkable coincidence, they’ve done consecutive shows in St. Louis and Detroit at the very same time that those two cities’ baseball teams are battling for the World Series championship.

2008: Neil and Chris attend a concert by the Last Shadow Puppets at London’s Hammersmith Apollo.

2013: Chris and Neil are interviewed by Graham Norton on his midday show on BBC Radio 2.