The Boys (UK band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007) |
| The Boys | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genre(s) | Punk rock Power pop Pop punk[1][2][3] |
| Years active | 1976–1982 1999-present |
| Label(s) | NEMS Records & Tapes Safari Records |
| Members | |
| Casino Steel Matt Dangerfield Honest John Plain Duncan "Kid" Reid Steve "Vom" Ritchie |
|
| Former members | |
| Jack Black | |
The Boys are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976.
Members of the band had previously played in other groups, such as London SS and Hollywood Brats. After recording four studio albums and eight singles, as well as recording Christmas-themed music under the name The Yobs, they disbanded in summer 1982. Starting in 1999, most of the original band members have played concerts together.
Contents |
[edit] History
In June 1976, a factory worker, Honest John Plain, and fellow employees, Duncan "Kid" Reid (vocals and bass) and Jack Black (drums) formed a band. They were joined by Casino Steel (keyboards and vocals) and Matt Dangerfield (guitar and vocals). The pair had previously met at art college in Leeds, Yorkshire, and played in the Hollywood Brats and London SS together, a group which at some point included future members of The Clash, The Damned, Chelsea and Generation X. Dangerfield had converted his rented basement apartment into a home recording studio where they recorded early on. The band played their fist concert at the Hope and Anchor pub in Islington, London in September 1976. Notable attendees in the crowd included; Mick Jones, Billy Idol, Tony James and Gene October. After a handful of concerts, The Boys signed to NEMS in January 1977, and were at that time the only punk band to have a record deal (The Sex Pistols having just been dismissed by EMI).
Their first release was the single "I Don't Care", and in support of that release, they toured with John Cale of Velvet Underground. The band were set to be the first British punk band to release an album, and their 16-track debut, The Boys, was recorded in early May 1977. However, the album's commercial release was delayed until September 9, 1977; which the band has blamed on the record company's "incompetence".[4] The album eventually reached #50 in the UK Album Charts. A second single, "First Time" — with a theme of losing virginity — was released on July 30, 1977. As a result, John Peel invited The Boys to recorded a live session for his show, which became "Single Of The Week" in Sounds magazine. The single was steadily climbing the chart, until August 16, 1977 when Elvis Presley died. The Boys' records were distributed by RCA Records, who switched all their resources into satisfying the huge posthumous demand for Elvis Presley records.
The Boys released a second album on NEMS, titled Alternative Chartbusters, and toured in support of it with the Ramones. The Boys then moved to Safari in 1979, and two albums and five singles followed before they broke up in summer1981. Every Christmas, they rearranged the "B" and the "Y" in their name and became The Yobs, releasing four singles one album; 1980s Christmas Album. In this incarnation, the band members used the pseudonyms Noddy Oldfield, Ebenezer Polak, Kid Vicious and H.J. Bedwetter.
On July 31 and August 1, 1999, four out of five original members, along with Steve "Vom" Ritchie (replacing Jack Black on drums, who was busy with his own band), played concerts in Japan. In September 2000, this new lineup played at the Holidays in the Sun Festival in Bilbao, Spain. Original drummer Jack Black made a guest appearance and filmed the concert. It was the first time in 18 years that the five original band members had been reunited on stage. In 2006, the band again performed concerts, including their first shows in London in 25 years.
[edit] Legacy
Although The Boys never achieved massive commercial success, their music legacy has been carried on by influence. German punk band Die Toten Hosen championed their music for more than a decade, covering several songs and introducing new fans to The Boys. They also recorded cover versions of two songs, namely First Time and New Guitar In Town for their album "Auf dem Kreuzzug ins Glück - 125 Jahre Die Toten Hosen". In the late 1990s, Japanese band Thee Michelle Gun Elephant had a massive hit with a Boys cover. This prompted the re-release of several Boys albums with encouraging international sales (more than 30,000 albums being sold in Japan alone). A Boys tribute album was also released featuring 13 bands from around the world. The Boys also influenced the cult power pop band The Exploding Hearts, who performed and recorded in the early 2000s. In late 2007, American producer Marty Munsch, seizes and records American punk group The Stun Gunz. Munsch recruits legendary engineer Bob Both, known for at least 8 gold albums with R&B king James Brown and cover, "First Time"[1] a free CD internet release for kicks. They get instant airplay, 10 minutes after it was released from the studio, onto New York Area Stations. Munsch is known for incorporating R&B studios as well as by-gone analogue techniques for punk rock.
[edit] Members
- Matt Dangerfield - guitar, vocals
- Duncan 'Kid' Reid - bass, vocals
- Casino Steel - organ, piano, vocals
- Honest John Plain - guitar, vocals
- Vom Ritchie - drums (1999 - present)
[edit] Former members
- Jack Black - drums (1976 -1981)
- Howard Wall - live bass
- Chris Brashford - live drums
[edit] Discography
Chart placings shown are from the UK Indie Chart.[5]
[edit] Albums
- The Boys - (1977)
- Alternative Chartbusters - (1978)
- To Hell with the Boys - (1979) #4
- Boys Only - (1980)
[edit] Live albums
- Live at Roxy - (1990)
- Powercut - Unplugged - (1996)
- Live in Concert (1980 & 1977) (with The Vibrators) - (1993)
[edit] Singles
- I Don't Care / Soda Pressing - (1977)
- First Time / Watcha Gonna Do / Turning Grey - (1977)
- Brickfield Nights / Teacher's Pet - (1978)
- Kamikaze / Bad Days - (1979) #9
- Terminal Love / I Love Me - (1980) #32
- You Better Move On / Schoolgirls - (1980) #30
- Weekend / Cool - (1980)
- Let It Rain / Lucy - (1980)
[edit] Compilations
- Odds and Sods - (1990)
- The Boys/Alternative Chartbusters - (1993)
- Best of the Boys - (1995)
- Complete Punk Singles Collection - (1996)
[edit] Discography as The Yobs
[edit] Album
- The Yobs' Christmas Album - (1979)
[edit] Singles
- Run Rudolph Run / The Worm Song - (1977)
- Silent Night / Stille Nacht- (1978)
- Rub-A-Dum-Dum / Another Christmas - (1981)
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ The Boys(Yobs) - Classic UK Punk Rock
- ^ Punk & Oi In THe UK - www.punkoiuk.co.uk: The Boys competition
- ^ Anagram Records : Boys
- ^ TheBoys.co.uk
- ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
