Pet Shop Boys Community

funky77 wrote: Sun 19 Apr 2026, 11:50 am

Sandy Shaw wrote: Sun 19 Apr 2026, 11:48 am

funky77 wrote: Sun 19 Apr 2026, 11:46 am Could anyone who has received their copy yet tell me if there is a question asked by someone called Jon in the letters section?
I thought I’d pre-ordered a copy but somehow haven’t!

Thanks

There isn't...

Thanks for looking

Richard-Eastham wrote: Sun 19 Apr 2026, 8:33 pm Having read in the latest Annually that includes the wonderfully obscure fact that Chris did the lettering for an ITV book series edited by Neil, making it their first official published collaboration, I went on eBay and bought a copy. The credits show that Eric Watson took the cover photos.

There were two in the series, “Dangerous Animals” as featured in Annually, but also “Animals and People” and this one – rather brilliantly – includes a series of dogs: Afghan Hound, Greyhound, Chihuahua, Maltese Terrier, Basset Hound, Pointer and Poodle.

I might get some of these drawings scanned, printed and framed. They look like small, unusual, antique art prints. If you know, you know.

petshopgrrl wrote: Mon 20 Apr 2026, 12:20 am

Richard-Eastham wrote: Sun 19 Apr 2026, 8:33 pm Having read in the latest Annually that includes the wonderfully obscure fact that Chris did the lettering for an ITV book series edited by Neil, making it their first official published collaboration, I went on eBay and bought a copy. The credits show that Eric Watson took the cover photos.

There were two in the series, “Dangerous Animals” as featured in Annually, but also “Animals and People” and this one – rather brilliantly – includes a series of dogs: Afghan Hound, Greyhound, Chihuahua, Maltese Terrier, Basset Hound, Pointer and Poodle.

I might get some of these drawings scanned, printed and framed. They look like small, unusual, antique art prints. If you know, you know.

How cool is that - Chris's first list! Interestingly, not one of those dogs made it to his "I want a dog" list. (The chihuahua doesn't count - it gets the whole song.) Nice of Neil to find him a side gig to help pay off those crushing student debts, eh?

I do love his handwriting. Wouldn't mind a whole font of that. It definitely does look like that West End sample cassette. Of course I can't find a nice picture of the tape right now but this is a screenshot from the Imagine documentary.

psb-imagine-westendtape3.png

Gabby wrote: Mon 20 Apr 2026, 12:48 am Back when people actually took care and pride in their handwriting.

leesmapman wrote: Mon 20 Apr 2026, 9:06 am Is this the inspiration for I Want A Dog?

y3potential wrote: Mon 20 Apr 2026, 8:11 am Not sure if there are any calligraphy experts amongst us who can describe Chris's handwriting style, but it's very distinctive, neat and tidy..

Richard-Eastham wrote: Mon 20 Apr 2026, 10:38 am

y3potential wrote: Mon 20 Apr 2026, 8:11 am Not sure if there are any calligraphy experts amongst us who can describe Chris's handwriting style, but it's very distinctive, neat and tidy..

I am an urban designer and urban planner, and although I am not an architect, I work with them all the time. I also teach urban design at several universities in the UK. Back in the day when Chris was training as an architect, hand writing skills were seen as important to clearly label plans and drawings.

The style most commonly taught to architects is close to the Tekton Pro font today. If I produce a hand sketch or plan today, and then use software to add text, I choose that font as it most closely replicates “architects’ handwriting.”

Freehand writing in architecture is becoming a lost art, as the move to CAD and other software packages accelerated from the 1990s onwards.