February 1986
On February 24th, ‘Love comes quickly’, which will remain one of their favourite songs, is released, reaching a disappointing #19 in the UK.
History
March 1986
On March 24th, their first LP ‘Please’ is released. “It’s so people can go into the record shop and say can I have the Pet Shop Boys album, please?”.
April 1986
‘West End girls’ reaches #1 in USA.
May 1986
On May 19th a new version of ‘Opportunities’ is released. “The point of that song is that the humour is black, it’s like a joke. The impression is that the people in it are not going to make any money”.
June 1986
The Pet Shop Boys announce, then cancel, a tour of Europe and America; the cost of using a theatre designer and playing fairly small venues proves prohibitive.
September 1986
On September 22nd, a re-recorded version of ‘Suburbia’, a song inspired by the Penelope Spheeris film of the same name about a group of disenchanted rebellious youths in suburban Los Angeles, is released. “It’s about a riot happening in some decaying suburb. It’s just the description of the riot happening and then the aftermath”. On the B‑side is the first version of ‘Paninaro’, named after an Italian youth cult and featuring a quote they both liked that Chris had said on a TV show: “I don’t like country and western, I don’t like rock music, I don’t like rockabilly… I don’t like much really, do I? But what I do like, I love passionately”.
November 1986
On November 17th ‘Disco’, an LP of disco remixes, is released.
On this day
2001
The Boys are in Neil’s home studio, where they resume work on an old track that will ultimately evolve into ‘The Night I Fell in Love.’
2010
The Pet Shop Boys are among the artists who have donated items for an online charity auction to raise money for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti ten days before. Chris and Neil have donated a copy of their highly collectible (and very expensive) special 11-disc vinyl edition of Yes.
2011
The Pet Shop Boys make a surprise appearance performing at the Prada ‘Spring/Summer 2011 Fashion Show and Special Event’ at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.
2013
They’re spending much of the month planning and working on their upcoming Electric Tour. Today they develop a new version of their old song ‘I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)’ for the show.
2021
The limited series It’s a Sin debuts on U.K. television this evening. Not only does it borrow its title from the PSB hit, but it also stars Olly Alexander, whose band Years & Years had collaborated with PSB on the song ‘Dreamland.’ To coincide with the debut of the series, a new remake of ‘It’s a Sin’ by Years & Years is released today.
- Facts collated by geowayne.com