Neil’s an old friend from our days back at Smash Hits in the early ‘80s. The first Pet Shop Boys demos were played on the office tape machine, though he was a bit self-conscious about “the one with the rap on it”. He’s always had a journalistic capacity for story-telling, remembering everything in famously entertaining detail, and we had so much material from this reunion we turned it into a two-part podcast. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find in this second half ...

… “every group has to have an angle”.

… pop’s current obsession with identity.

… why Bronski Beat were so significant.

… David Bowie’s scathing one-word reviews of Michael Jackson and Oasis at the Brits.

… “the whole world of pop songs is a giant ever-expanding artwork”.

… meeting Frida from Abba, “a song waiting to happen”.

… the ‘Pits & Perverts’ gay benefit for the miners in 1984.

… London clubs in the early ‘80s - “we had a competition to see who could wear the highest heels”.

… how everyone at Smash Hits thought Michael Jackson’s Thriller was “a damp squib”.

… recording West End Girls.

… first hearing a 12-inch single.

… appearing on Soul Train with Don Cornelius – “like being on a different planet”.

… why Dusty Springfield gave Jerry Wexler a nervous breakdown.

… seeing the last Ziggy Stardust show.

… meeting Steven Spielberg, Micky Dolenz and Joni Mitchell.

… and Boy George's gag about George Michael.

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PSB tour dates: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/pet-shop-boys-tickets/artist/735852

Order the new Pet Shop Boys album ‘Nonetheless’ here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/nonetheless-Deluxe-2CD-Shop-Boys/dp/B0CTKKBBVF

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