Where and when were these pictures taken?

[Kandu]

Hello all.

Do you know where and when were these pictures taken ? German Bravo magazine January 1987.

Thanks!

Jose

[greenmile]

Neil during his Val Doonican stage.

[Dog]

The coat’s orange if that helps.

[petshopgrrl]

Aw, look at those young pups.

Not a German speaker but can just about make out something about Vision (surely Advision) Studios in Gosfield St, London. Also something about just having recorded with Dusty so it's late '86, which is consistent with the date of the article.

Other than that, we should consult Neil's Diary.

[Dog]

Yes, you are right, according to Neil’s diary they were at Advision between 8 and 15 December working on What have I done to deserve this? with Stephen Hague. Dusty arrives on the 10th but on 11th Neil and Chris fly to Newcastle to perform (mime) Paninaro live on The Tube and miss her recording the vocal. They return to Advision on the 13th to complete the recording of What have I? - this is when Neil asks Dusty to add some ad libs. This same week Chris’s same outfit appears on their Christmas NME cover shot.

[leesmapman]

I love that their music life has been so well documented.

[petshopgrrl]

I love that their music life has been so well documented.

They deny wanting to leave a legacy but I feel like they're playing a long game here. PhD anthropology students will be picking over their life in pop for centuries to come!

[Patrick Bateman]

I'd have thought Neil would have played billiards rather than pool.

[lalolalo]

I remember reading this article back in the day, but in Spanish on some cheesy Smash hits type mag from Spain. I think I still have those scraps. I think they said they were playing snooker, not pool. On the B/W picture, Chris is standing by a Pepsi can dispenser and they mentioned they wanted to take that picture there since they were in the middle of their US promotion.
I remember reading that article like a thousand times. Oh, my youth, long gone.

[TallThinMan]

They're definitely not playing snooker in the photos.

[raggatwin]

I could imagine Chris playing pool....Neil, not so much...

[lalolalo]

They're definitely not playing snooker in the photos.

Yeah, maybe I'm remembering it wrong. I'll dig up the scraps and post them here I know I've got them somewhere.

[Nickname]

I remember reading this article back in the day, but in Spanish on some cheesy Smash hits type mag from Spain.

Super Pop, I suppose.

[lalolalo]

I remember reading this article back in the day, but in Spanish on some cheesy Smash hits type mag from Spain.

Super Pop, I suppose.

Yes! That's the one! Oh so many memories.

[lalolalo]

I've found the scraps from the Super pop magazine. At least in the article, it says it was "snocker". I think they meant snooker. Here's the original text in Spanish (then in English):

"Pasar un día con Neil Tennant y Chris Lane (sic) es pasar un dia a dúo, porque de verdad que los miem-
bros titulares de los Pet Shop Boys están muy unidos y hermanados. Ningún problema para reunirme con ellos en mi semana de vacaciones-trabajo en Londres, y menos en convertirme en su sombra. Sólo me dijeron que no hiciéramos fotos cuando comiéramos, y tampoco levantándose de la cama o lavándose los dientes. ¿Motivos? Estos:
-Comiendo, la gente sueie ponerse feísima y no estamos para disgustos con las fans. Y en paños menores no somos ningunos aventajados. Nos ganan artistas guapos-guapos como Nick Kamen y compañía. Así que lucir lo que no se tiene, no vale la pena.
Y salvo verles amanecer, esta fue mi jornada con ellos.
Amanecer: nada. Los dos PSB suelen levantarse tarde. Así que esto empieza como a media mañana. Ahora si: desayuno frugal y directos a su oficina de management para habiar de asuntos relacionados con sus discos y sus actuaciones. En la inmensa máquina de refrescos de la entrada de la oficina hacemos una de las fotos clave. Neil y Chris dicen:
-Aquí sí, aqui sí, porque estamos en plena campaña americana con nuestro segundo álbum y hay que poner contentos a los yanquis.
Pasan casi tres horas sin que suceda nada, porque todo son reuniones, charlas, aprobación de planes, firma de algunas fotos de promoción y el cuidado de algunas cosillas como la de discos que llevan vendidos de su segundo album y todo ese rollo. ¿Qué os parece?
Hoy en dia los artistas saben lo que están vendiendo por día, al momento, y asi se hacen una idea de cómo van de éxito y qué expectativas tienen.
Después del muermo de los negocios, los dos Pet Shop Boys parecen empezar a vivir. Comemos (la mar de bien, por cierto) en un coquetón restaurante del West End (la zona de los teatros, en Shaftesbury Avenue, donde ellos recrearon su primer éxito “West end girls"). Cuando hemos acabado de hincharnos como leones, me dicen que se ven a echar unas manos de "snocker”.
¿Qué es el snocker? Pues ya lo veis en la foto ¿no?: billar americano. Si, el mismo el que jugaba Tom Cruise en su última película con Paul Newman. A los dos se les da muy bien y están bastante igualados en cuanto a sapiencia, aunque finalmente Chris Lowe le gana a Neil por ocho partidas a siete.
Acabado el esparcimiento, los dos se van al estudio, donde tienen sesiones de grabación y retoques de voces de un disco que están preparando para Navidad y que es top secret. Tal vez un villancico (los ingleses son muy amantes de eso) o tal vez una versión de su último éxito en japonés, porque no les entiendo mucho lo que cantan. Desde las 5 de la tarde hasta las ocho estamos en el estudio, y de cenar nada. Se sienten cómodos y se hacen traer "unas cosillas" del pub más cercano. Las cosillas (platos combinados, curry, patatas y mucha cerveza) desaparecen en cosa de una hora.
Pero tras la cena no siguen grabando:
es la hora de oír lo hecho y hacer mezclas y retoques. Aquí es donde mas se advierte su profesionalidad y lo buenos que son, porque lo hablan todo…

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Spending a day with Neil Tennant and Chris Lane (sic) is spending a day as a duo, because the official members of the Pet Shop Boys are truly very close and bonded like brothers. No problem meeting up with them during my vacation-work week in London, and even less so in becoming their shadow. They only told me not to take photos while we ate, and also not when getting out of bed or brushing their teeth. Reasons? These:

*[Eating, people usually look absolutely hideous, and we're not up for upsetting the fans. And in our underwear, we're no standouts. Hot-hot artists like Nick Kamen and company outshine us. So, showing off what you don't have isn't worth it.]*

And aside from seeing them wake up, this was my day with them.

Dawn: nothing. The two PSB guys usually get up late. So this starts around mid-morning. Now yes: a frugal breakfast and straight to their management office to talk about matters related to their records and performances. At the huge soda machine in the office entrance, we take one of the key photos. Neil and Chris say:

*[Here yes, here yes, because we're in the middle of the American campaign with our second album and we have to keep the Yanks happy.]*

Almost three hours pass without anything happening, because it's all meetings, talks, approval of plans, signing some promo photos, and taking care of little things like how many copies of their second album have sold and all that stuff. What do you think?

Nowadays, artists know exactly what they're selling per day, in real time, so they get an idea of how successful they're doing and what expectations to have.

After the boredom of business, the two Pet Shop Boys seem to start living. We eat (extremely well, by the way) at a chic restaurant in the West End (the theater district on Shaftesbury Avenue, where they recreated their first hit "West End Girls"). Once we've stuffed ourselves like lions, they tell me they're off to play a few hands of "snocker." (sic)

What's snocker? Well, you can see it in the photo, right?: American pool. Yes, the same one Tom Cruise played in his latest movie with Paul Newman. Both of them are really good at it and pretty evenly matched in skill, though in the end Chris Lowe beats Neil eight games to seven.

Once the fun is over, the two head to the studio, where they have recording sessions and vocal touch-ups for an album they're preparing for Christmas that's top secret. Maybe a carol (the English love those) or maybe a version of their latest hit in Japanese, because I don't understand much of what they sing. From 5 p.m. until eight, we're in the studio, and nothing for dinner. They feel comfortable and have "a few things" brought over from the nearest pub. The "few things" (mixed plates, curry, potatoes, and lots of beer) disappear in about an hour.

But after dinner, they don't keep recording:

It's time to listen to what's been done and do mixes and touch-ups. This is where their professionalism and how good they are stands out the most, because they discuss everything...

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