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Size: 106 MB
Bitrate: 256
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
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Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

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 the summer of 1982. Starting again in 1999, most of the original band members have played concerts together.

In June 1976, a factory worker, Honest John Plain, and fellow employees, Duncan "Kid" Reid (vocals and bass, now a board member of UK media finance and advisory firm, Ingenious Media) and Jack Black (drums) formed a band. They were joined by Casino Steel (keyboards and vocals) and Matt Dangerfield (guitar and vocals). Dangerfield & Steel had previously met at art college in Leeds, Yorkshire. Steel (ex-Hollywood Brats) and Dangerfield played in the 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 in Maida Vale 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 British 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 9 September 1977; which the band has blamed on the record company's "incompetence". The album eventually reached #50 in the UK Album Charts. A second single, "First Time" — with a theme of losing virginity — was released on the 27th of July, 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 16 August 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 the summer of 1981. 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 31 July and 1 August 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. Following their successful reunion tour in London, one of the Boys' early songs, "Jimmy Brown", was released as a single on 15 December 2008.

In 2010 the Boys have started a side project without the involvement of Matt Dangerfield, called "the Mattless Boys". They will be releasing their first single "Talk to me" with Still Unbeatable Records and have a world premiere and single launch party at the Still Unbeatable Festival at the Victora pub in London, on 19 June 2010.

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 some songs, namely "First Time" and "New Guitar in Town" for their album Auf dem Kreuzzug ins Glück - 125 Jahre die Toten Hosen and "Brickfield Nights" for the cover album Learning English, Lesson One. In the late 1990s, Japanese band Thee Michelle Gun Elephant had a 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.

Originally released in 1979, "To Hell", the Boys' third album, was recorded in a small Norwegian town called Hell (hence the album title's pun), and is probably the most consistently great album of their career. Though they have always been considered a punk band, a quick listen to any of their albums (apart from their debut) shows them to be the ultimate power pop band: great songs, tons of energy, and a powerful wall of guitars. What more could you ask for out of a power pop band? Kicking off the set is "Sabre Dance" (yes, a musical nod to Love Sculpture), which then segues into the awesome "Rue Morgue". Next up is their fantastic re-write of "Knocking On Heaven's Door" entitled "Terminal Love" (which does actually feature a bit of them singing "Heaven's Door" near the end cheeky Boys, eh?). "See You Later" is glam pop at it's finest. The haunting Lennon-esqe ballad "You Can't Hurt A Memory" is quite touching (especially from a group of so-called punks). "Kamikaze" features an agitated heavily accented vocal with a catchy horn section that turns the 'angry' feel of the lyrics into a breezy pop/punk nugget. And so it goes on With five bonus tracks (including their great version of "You Better Move On"), this is a must have for fans of British pop and power pop in general.

01. Sabre Dance 2:01
02. Rue Morgue
03. Terminal Love 3:30
04. See Ya Later 3:14
05. You Can't Hurt A Memory 7:32
06. Kamikaze
07. Lonely Cowboy 3:45
08. Waiting For The Lady 3:31 $0.99
09. Bad Day
10. Independent Girl 5:35
11. I Love Me 3:35
12. You Better Move On 3:32
13. Schoolgirls Explicit 2:27
14. Rub A Dum Dum
15. Another Christmas 2:02