The Boys (The Boys album)
| The Boys | ||||
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| Studio album by The Boys | ||||
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Publication |
September 9, 1977 |
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| Label (s) | NEMS, Captain Oi! Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP |
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Title (number) |
14/19 (rerelease) |
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running time |
32 min 55 s |
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| occupation |
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Patrick O'Duffy / Pete Gage / Phil Tanzanedes / The Boys |
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Studio (s) |
Morgan Studios, London / Berwick Street Studios |
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The Boys is the debut album by the band of the same name . It was released on September 9, 1977 and is now considered a punk rock classic .
History of origin
On January 16, 1977, the Boys became the first English punk band to sign a record deal with the English label NEMS. On February 3, 1977 they recorded the first single I Don't Care / Soda Pressings , which was to be released 11 days later. The producer was Patrick O'Duffy. NEMS, who were in a financial crisis at the time, could only release the single on April 9, 1977. To promote the single, the boys went on tour in support of John Cale . Then began work on the debut album. Pete Gage was hired as the producer and Phil Tanzanedes was the sound engineer . The first session took place on May 5th, 1977 at the Morgan Studio in London. The 16 songs on the album were recorded within two days. On May 7th and 8th, some overdubs were inserted and the vocals recorded in Berwick Street Studio. Gage then mixed the album, but the boys weren't happy with the result. With Tanzanedes they went back to the Morgan Studio to adjust the sound to their needs. So they deleted the Hammond organ and added new guitar tracks. The vocals were also mixed down to create a sound similar to the Rolling Stones .
The album cover was designed by Barney Bubbles , who previously worked with Hawkwind . The album was finished and the single First Time / Watcha Gonna Do & Turning Gray was released on July 29, 1977 as an appetizer . She became Single of the Week in British Sounds magazine. John Peel brought the single to radio airplay and it hit the UK charts at # 77. The band got invited to Top of the Pops and it seemed like the boys would be a new British supergroup. But then Elvis Presley died . RCA Records , the parent company of NEMS, stopped all productions and moved everything to Elvis compilations . The sold-out First Time single was not re-pressed and disappeared from the top 100 before it could reach the top 30.
Due to this new order from the parent company, the release of the album was delayed until September 9, 1977, so the album planned as the first punk album in British music history was only one of many. In addition, after the first edition was sold, no more was pressed. The album nevertheless reached the top 50 in the UK charts.
reception
Influenced by the Ramones , the boys used a rather poppy punk style, which nevertheless relies on speed and subtle hardness. Despite its financial failure, the album is now considered a classic of 77 punk rock. It paved the way for later bands like Green Day and the Melodycore wave in the early 1990s .
Track list
- Sick on You - 1:53
- I Call Your Name - 2:11
- Tumble with Me - 1:57
- Tonight - 1:28
- I Don't Care - 2:12
- Soda Pressing - 2:34
- No Money - 1:49
- First Time - 2:22
- Box Number - 2:36
- Kiss Like a Nun - 2:06
- Cop Cars - 2:03
- Keep Running - 1:47
- Tenement Kids - 1:36
- Living in the City - 2:11
Versions
Over the years the album has been re-pressed again and again. A version was released on CD in 1993 with the follow-up album Alternative Chartbusters . The most famous new release appeared in 1999 via Captain Oi! enriched with 5 or 8 bonus tracks , depending on the version . It contains all B-sides with the single versions. With the 8-track version, two demo versions , an alternative take and a Yobs song were added. The bonus tracks differ depending on the version.
- I Don't Care (Single Version) - 2:35 (only in digipack)
- Soda Pressing (Single Version) - 2:49 (only in digipack)
- Watcha Gonna Do - 1:58
- Turning Gray - 2:17
- First Time (Long Version) - 2:55
- Lonely Schooldays (demo) - 2:13
- I Don't Care (Alternate Version) - 2:27
- Take a Heart (demo) - 3:27
- Run Rudolph Run - 2:31
- The Worm Song - 1:11
Song info
Sick on You and Tumble with Me come from the forerunner Hollywood Brats and have been re-recorded.
I Call Your Name is a Beatles - Cover . The song comes from the Beatles' EP Long Tall Sally and is a rather obscure track by the band.
Soda Pressings and I Don't Care , the songs from the first sigle, were re-recorded to do justice to the sound of the album.
Tonight was supposed to be the debut single, but I Don't Care was chosen .
First Time was later re-recorded by Die Toten Hosen on their double album On the Crusade into Happiness . Honest John Plain participated in the cover version. In terms of content, the song treats, as the title suggests, the first sexual intercourse between a girl and the song's protagonist. It was the only contribution from John Plain to the album and one of the most famous boys songs. The working title was Don't Hurt Me . Ironically, Plain can only be heard in the song's intro , with the rest of his guitar playing removed while he was in a pub .
Cop Cars and Keep Running are actually the same song. Dangerfield and Casino Steel couldn't agree which version to put on the album, so they renamed one of them and adapted it with new lyrics.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Booklet of the new release of Captain Oi! Records 1999
- ↑ The Boys in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Dave Thompson : Review in the All Music Guide