The Boys (UK Band)
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| The Boys | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Years active | 1976–1982 1999-present |
| Genres | Punk rock Garage rock |
| Labels | NEMS Records & Tapes Safari Records |
| Members | Casino Steel Matt Dangerfield Honest John Plain Duncan "Kid" Reid Steve "Vom" Ritchie |
| Past members | Jack Black |
The Boys are an English punk rock band formed in London during 1976. Members of the band had previously played in other groups, such as the legendary UK punk band London SS and the 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 the summer of 1982. In recent times (from 1999 onwards) the band have played several shows together, with most of their original members (apart from the original drummer).
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[edit] History
In June 1976, a factory worker Honest John Plain and fellow employees Duncan "Kid" Reid (vocals and bass) and Jack Black (drums) decided to form a band together. They were joined by two leaders of the emmerging punk rock movement; Casino Steel (keyboards and vocals) as well as 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 featured future members of The Clash, The Damned, Chelsea and Generation X
Dangerfield had converted his rented basement flat into a home recording studio where they recorded early on. The band played their fist ever show at the Hope and Anchor pub in Islington, London during September 1976. Notable attendees in the crowd include; Mick Jones, Billy Idol, Tony James and Gene October.
After a handful of gigs 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 sacked by EMI at the time).
[edit] The Boys recording: 1977 to 1982
The first ever release by the Boys was a single "I Don't Care", in support of it, they toured with John Cale of Velvet Underground fame. The band were set to be the first British punk band to release an album as their sixteen track "The Boys" debut was recorded in early May 1977. The album however, was not made available to purchase until 9 September 1977, which the band has blamed on the record companies "incompetence".[1] The album eventually reached #50 in the UK Album Charts.
A second single, "First Time" following the theme of losing virginity was released on 30 July 1977, it was supported by John Peel (he even invited the Boys to recorded a live session for his show) and it became "Single Of The Week" in Sounds magazine. The single was steadily climbing the chart, until 16 August 1977 when Elvis Presley died; this had a strong effect on the Boys as their record company was distributed by RCA Records who switched all their resources into satisfying the huge posthumous demand for Elvis' records.
They released a second album on NEMS titled "Alternative Chartbusters", and toured in support of it with American band the Ramones. The Boys then moved to Safari in 1979 where two further albums and five more singles followed before they called it a day in summer of 1981.
Every Christmas they rearranged the "B" and the "Y" and became The Yobs, releasing four singles and in 1980 the classic "Christmas Album" which has just been re-released by Captain Oi! Records.
[edit] Influence
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. The 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 1990's 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 and a second one is expected.
The Boys also influenced the cult power pop band The Exploding Hearts who performed and recorded in the early 2000s.
[edit] Recent times
On the back of this success The Boys were invited to play some dates in Japan. Four out of five original members, along with Steve "Vom" Ritchie (replacing Jack Black on drums, who was busy with a group of his own that put out two albums in the late 1990's) played two hugely successful dates on 31 July and 1 August 1999.
Further album releases tempted The Boys to play the Holidays in the Sun Festival in Bilbao, Spain on 23 September 2000 with the same line-up as Japan. Original drummer Jack Black made a guest appearance as well as filming the concert. It was the first time in 18 years that the five original band members had been reunited on stage. The band again played live in 2006, including their first shows in London for 25 years.
[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
- The Boys - (1977)
- Alternative Chartbusters - (1978)
- To Hell with the Boys - (1979)
- Boys Only - (1980)
[edit] Live
- 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)
- Terminal Love / I Love Me - (1980)
- You Better Move On / Schoolgirls - (1980)
- 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] The Yobs
Before each Christmas the band mixed the letters of their name up and became The Yobs. The members of the band also used the names Noddy Oldfield, Ebenezer Polak, Kid Vicious and H.J. Bedwetter when recording 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 Cristmas - (1981)
