Bôa
Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox musical artist
Bôa (stylized bôa) are an English alternative rock band formed in London in 1993 by drummer Ed Herten, keyboardist Paul Turrell, and guitarist/vocalist Steve Rodgers. The band have progressed from playing funk to rock over the years, as bassist Alex Caird and multi-instrumentalist Ben Henderson joined, and Jasmine Rodgers was added as vocalist.
Bôa produced two major albums in the 2000s, Twilight (2001) and Get There (2005). Their 1998 single "Duvet" has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
The band released the album Whiplash in 2024, their first new music in 19 years.
HistoryEdit
Originally a funk band, Bôa was formed in 1993 by drummer Ed Herten, keyboardist Paul Turrell, and Steve Rodgers on guitar and vocals. Alex Caird, who had played with Herten in the band Draggin' Bones, was recruited on bass guitar. Rodgers's younger sister, Jasmine, was invited to sing the chorus of one of their first songs, "Fran", and she soon became the lead singer of the group. Jasmine and Steve are children of Paul Rodgers, best known for being the vocalist of Bad Company.<ref name="variety">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ben Henderson, who had played with Caird in the psychedelic rock band Doctor Sky, was recruited shortly afterward to play saxophone.
Bôa's first live performance was in January 1994, at the London Forum, supporting Paul Rodgers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same year, Herten left the band.
Bôa added a new drummer, Lee Sullivan, the son of Terry Sullivan, a former drummer for the band Renaissance. The group's style began to shift to a rock sound around this time, and Henderson took up playing the guitar instead of the saxophone.Template:Citation needed
In 1996, the band signed a contract with the Japanese label Polystar and began working on their debut album. They recorded three songs, "Twilight", "Deeply", and "Elephant", with producer Darren Allison.<ref name="boaweb" /> The record, titled The Race of a Thousand Camels, came out in 1998, preceded by the single "Duvet".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The track was used as the opening theme of the Japanese anime series Serial Experiments Lain.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2000, Polystar released Bôa's Tall Snake EP and featured "Duvet" on the 20th Anniversary of Polystar Collection Vol.1 Female Vocal Love Songs compilation.Template:Citation needed The same year, Henderson left the band.
In 2001, due to contractual disagreements with Polystar, the band changed labels and signed with Pioneer LDC. Race of a Thousand Camels was retitled Twilight and released to US audiences in 2001, with two new tracks. Bôa played shows across the US to promote the record, but halfway through the tour, Turrell departed the group.Template:Citation needed
In 2003, "Duvet" was remixed<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="boaweb">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> by DJ Wasei and released on another Lain soundtrack, titled Serial Experiment Lain Soundtrack: Cyberia Mix.
That year, Bôa decided to establish their own label, called Boa Recordings. They also began work on their third album, titled Get There, and released it in 2005.<ref name="variety" /> Steve Rodgers parted with the band later in 2005 to pursue independent work, stating in an interview with The Northern Echo that he "had a lot [he] wanted to sing about and there's a lot of freedom when you're solo".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2012, Bôa started a JustGiving page and announced their support for AAR JAPAN, a charity that responded to the impact of the 2011 tsunami.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 4 January 2017, former keyboard player Paul Turrell died.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In May, an unreleased Bôa album was discovered on Turrell's website, titled The Farm.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In December 2018, a vinyl edition of "Duvet" was published exclusively in Japan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In August 2021, the song saw a massive resurgence in popularity, especially on TikTok, with over 250,000 posts featuring it as of August 2023.Template:Citation needed In September, it reached the Official Independent Singles Breakers Chart and peaked at number 18, charting for two weeks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In June 2023, Bôa announced that they would release a new album, titled Whiplash.<ref name="variety" /> In March 2024, they issued the single "Walk with Me", their first new music in 19 years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A second single, "Beautiful & Broken", came out on 3 May.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They released the tracks "Worry" on 14 June<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and "Whiplash" on 29 July.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The fifth single from the album, "Vienna", came out on 6 September.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> On 16 October 2024, the band received Platinum certification from the RIAA for "Duvet".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Side projectsEdit
In September 2004, Steve and Jasmine performed the Bôa song "Drinking" with their father for a concert featuring Joe Walsh, Gary Moore, Brian May, Hank Marvin, David Gilmour, and Mike Rutherford, among others, marking the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar. The event was recorded and released a year later as the film The Strat Pack: Live in Concert.
Jasmine Rodgers records as a solo artist, and she has released a self-titled EP (2010) and the full-length albums Blood Red Sun (2016) and Dark Tides (2024).
Band membersEdit
Current
- Jasmine Rodgers – vocals (1993–present), guitars (2023–present)
- Alex Caird – bass (1993–present)
- Lee Sullivan – drums, percussion, keyboards (1994–present)
Past
- Steve Rodgers – guitars (1993–2005)
- Ben Henderson – guitars, saxophone, percussion (1993–2000)
- Paul Turrell – keyboards, percussion, guitars (1993–2001; died 2017)
- Ed Herten – drums, percussion (1993–1994)
TimelineEdit
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Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Perc value:claret legend:Percussion id:Studio value:black legend:Studio_album
LineData =
layer:back color:Studio width:1 at:01/07/1998 at:01/02/2005 at:18/10/2024
BarData =
bar:Jasmine text:"Jasmine Rodgers" bar:Steve text:"Steve Rodgers" bar:Ben text:"Ben Henderson" bar:Alex text:"Alex Caird" bar:Paul text:"Paul Turrell" bar:Ed text:"Ed Herten" bar:Lee text:"Lee Sullivan"
PlotData=
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-5) bar:Alex from:01/06/1993 till:end color:Bass bar:Jasmine from:01/06/1993 till:end color:Vocals bar:Jasmine from:02/01/2005 till:end color:Guitar width:3 bar:Lee from:01/01/1994 till:end color:Drums bar:Lee from:01/01/1994 till:end color:Perc width:7 bar:Lee from:01/01/1994 till:end color:Keyboards width:3 bar:Paul from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/2001 color:Keyboards bar:Paul from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/2001 color:Guitar width:7 bar:Paul from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/2001 color:Perc width:3 bar:Ed from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 color:Drums bar:Ed from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 color:Perc width:3 bar:Ben from:01/09/1993 till:01/01/2000 color:Guitar bar:Ben from:01/09/1993 till:01/01/2000 color:Perc width:3 bar:Steve from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/2005 color:Guitar bar:Steve from:01/01/1993 till:01/06/1993 color:Vocals width:3
</timeline>
DiscographyEdit
Template:Columns-start Studio albums
- Acton Live (unreleased, first uploaded in 2010)
- The Race of a Thousand Camels (1998, reissued as Twilight in 2001)
- Get There (2005)
- The Farm (unreleased, first uploaded in 2017)
- Whiplash (2024)
EPs
- Duvet (1998)
- Tall Snake (1999)
Template:Column Singles
- "Duvet" (1998)
- "Walk with Me" (2024)
- "Beautiful & Broken" (2024)
- "Worry" (2024)
- "Whiplash" (2024)
- "Vienna" (2024)
Film