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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

1995

Neil and Chris finish work on ‘Paninaro ’95.’

2005

They continue work on the song ‘After the Event.’

2012

They fly to Berlin—very clearly one of their favorite cities. During their stay there of about six weeks, they work on (among other things) music for their upcoming ‘Alan Turing project.’

2014

Following their second Coachella performance the night before, the Boys take the first of a couple days off relaxing in the Palm Springs region of southern California before heading east for the remaining U.S. dates of their Electric Tour. Meanwhile, a clue in today’s edition of the famed New York Times Crossword Puzzle: 82-Across, ‘Pet Shop Boys’ (answer: DUO).

2022: Neil attends the London premiere this evening of the film Firebird. Ukrainian actor Oleg Zagorodnii, who has a lead role, speaks to the audience via video link from Kyiv, his nation’s war-torn capital.

2023

They’re at The Church Studios (a portion of a former Agapemonite church in London, built in 1850, converted into recording studios in 1984) recording orchestral parts for their next album. The day before, they supervised musicians recording brass parts. Today they’re recording strings, which Neil describes as ‘gorgeous.’