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History

March 2018

On March 10, the first American production of the Pet Shop Boys’ ballet The Most Incredible Thing premieres at the Knight Theater, Charlotte, North Carolina, performed by the Charlotte Ballet. This premiere is originally scheduled for one day earlier, but is delayed when a truss snaps during the afternoon dress rehearsal. For this new production, the Pet Shop Boys’ recorded score, mixed live, is used instead of a live orchestra, and the competition at the centre of the story is now staged through shadow-play. Neil attends. “In my opinion it was an improvement on the original,” he says. “I thought it was brilliant.”

November 2018

On November 1, a book by Neil, One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem, is published in Britain by Faber & Faber. (Neil had past history with Faber & Faber: “In the late Seventies and early Eighties I used to do freelance work for them as a copy-editor and sometimes as a proof-reader. Then in the mid-Eighties I sold a book, Like Punk Never Happened by Dave Rimmer, to them, and edited it. That was the last thing I ever did in the world of book-publishing.”) He selected the lyrics during train journeys between London and Durham, choosing those he thought would read best in this form. One reason for also including a poem was “to point out that the lyrics aren’t poems, they’re lyrics”. He also wrote an introduction and added annotations to the lyrics. “It is kind of like an autobiography, really,” he says. “Surprisingly, I think it’s quite revealing. More so than I normally would be.”

History

On this day

1986

In Los Angeles, the Pet Shop Boys videotape their appearance on the U.S. TV show Soul Train, during which they perform ‘West End Girls’ and ‘Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money).’

1991

In the midst of their Performance tour, the Boys take a day off in Washington, D.C., where Neil tours the Smithsonian museums.

1994

A ‘virtual ride’ featuring the ‘Liberation’ video begins a brief tour of the U.K.

2002

A PSB performance titled Live and Exclusive is broadcast this evening on BBC Radio 2. It features songs from their most recent album Release as well as a number of their classics.

2005

Neil and Chris finish ‘Minimal’ and begin reworking ‘The Sodom and Gomorrah Show.’

2007

It’s Good Friday, and the Boys return to Sydney for their final concert on the Australian leg of the Fundamental Tour.

2011

They work on several tracks: ‘Memory of the Future,’ ‘Vocal,’ and ‘Ball Starts Rolling.’

2017

It’s announced today that the Boys’ scheduled June 5 performance of their Super Tour show at the Olympia Bruno Coquatrix in Paris has been canceled because French law prohibits the use of lasers indoors, and they’ve been unable to find any suitable outdoor venue.

2020

Chris and Neil are the pre-recorded guests on today’s episode of the German radio program The Soundtrack of Our Lives. They take turns selecting some of their favorite songs by other artists from past decades, extending back to the 1960s.

2024

Neil and Chris are guests this morning on BBC Radio 2’s Rylan in the Morning show.