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”, and he’s one of the few people who’s seen the music press from every angle - as a reader in the ‘70s, as a writer and interviewer and as a musician on its front covers. We had so much great material from this wide-ranging conversation that we’ve turned it into a two-part podcast. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find in this first half ...    … the NME article he and his brother pinned to their bedroom wall.   … the event at a Sex Pistols show “which stopped me going to gigs for about three years”.   … the first time he saw his name in print.   … interviewing Marc Bolan in his “fat phase”.   … a barbed chat with Morrissey.   … the pop press shift from “super-showbiz to super-counter-culture”.   … Television, the Clash and other music he discovered through the NME.   … meeting John Taylor 35 years after interviewing him.     … the pop decade when “something extraordinary happened every day”.   … his mother’s horrified reaction when he left Smash Hits to start the Pet Shop Boys.   … the Human League in their Imperial Phase.   … Phil Collins showing him round Abba’s studio in Stockholm.   … and why ‘80s pop stars were “the most controlling”. -------------------------------------   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 ------------------------------------- Subscribe to Word In Your Ear on Patreon for early - and ad-free! - access to all of our content, plus a whole load more!: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.