On May 2 the Pet Shop Boys appear at Heaven nightclub in London, playing a four song set as part of Can You Bear It?, a benefit for Dainton Connell’s family. For the final song they are joined by Suggs and Carl from Madness, in rambunctious high spirits, to perform a dance version of Madness’s “My Girl”: “It was a very emotional night”.
On October 27 a Pet Shop Boys-produced single by the British artist Sam Taylor-Wood, “I’m in love with a German film star”, is released on the cult German dance label Kompakt. It is the Pet Shop Boys’ third collaboration with Sam Taylor-Wood though the previous one was released under the pseudonym Kiki Kokova. The song is an electronic reinterpretation of the 1981 single by the Passions, a suggestion of Neil’s.
This year’s annual Christmas single from the Killers — “Joseph (Better You Than Me)” — is originally planned as a collaboration between The Killers and Elton John. Neil gets involved after Brandon Flowers asks for help with the lyric; in the end Neil’s short section of guide vocal for the lyric he contributes will remain in the final song when it is made available for download.
The Boys work on two songs: ‘Latino’ (which becomes ‘Single’) and ‘Get On It’ (not yet completed).
An early version of Nightlife is previewed for EMI convention delegates.
Having just completed a brief holiday in Scotland, Neil rejoins Chris in Norway as they prepare for the next leg of the Fundamental Tour.
The Pet Shop Boys appear on the Italian TV show Quelli Che, where they perform ‘Love etc.’
They listen for the first time to Stuart Price’s final mixes of most of the tracks on Electric.
The Pet Shop Boys conclude the 2014 U.S. leg of their Electric Tour with a performance at Terminal 5 in New York City.
This evening Neil reportedly attends a Rufus Wainwright concert at St. John at Hackney, London, during which Rufus performs several of his recently released musical settings of sonnets by Shakespeare.
Neil and Chris note on their website that they’re ‘back in the studio’ working with Olly Alexander of the band Years & Years.