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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

2000

Chris continues working on the music for ‘Nine Out of Ten.’

2002

The Boys’ appearance on the U.K. TV show Later… with Jools Holland, taped two days earlier, airs on this date.

2005

They record new vocals for ‘The Resurrectionist’ and rework ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain,’ slowing the rhythm track down somewhat.

2011

‘Together’ is released as a digital single in the U.S.—roughly five months after it was released in the U.K. and various other countries. On this same day, Chris composes music and Neil writes lyrics for a new song, ‘Everything Means Something.’

2014

The Pet Shop Boys make the first of their two scheduled appearances at this year’s Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California. (To get there they first had to drive through a desert sandstorm.) Billboard gives PSB a glowing review, stating, ‘The duo may have fulfilled the role of elder statesmen for the day (no band on Saturday’s lineup has been around longer than the ’80s innovators), but PSB’s recent material packed an energetic punch that could have stood next to any of the younger acts on the bill.’

2024

Neil appears as a surprise guest vocalist onstage with Johnny Marr and his band at Hammersmith Apollo in London, singing on a cover of David Bowie’s ‘Rebel Rebel’ as well as the Electronic classic ‘Getting Away with It.’ Interestingly, Neil adds some new lyrics to the latter song.