The Boo Radleys
Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist The Boo Radleys are an English alternative rock band who were associated with the shoegazing and Britpop movements in the 1990s. They originally formed in Wallasey, England, in 1988, with singer/guitarist Simon "Sice" Rowbottom, guitarist/songwriter Martin Carr, and bassist Tim Brown. Their name is taken from the character Boo Radley in Harper Lee's 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">Template:Cite book</ref> The band split up in 1999.
In their 11-year-long career, the band had one top-ten single, 1995's "Wake Up Boo!", which charted at no. 9, and a number-one album, Wake Up!.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The band reunited in 2021, without Carr, and released a single, "A Full Syringe and Memories of You", their first new music since 1998.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Paul Banks of Interpol has cited the band as an influence.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CareerEdit
BeginningsEdit
In 1990, the band's first album Ichabod and I was released on a small British indie label, Action Records. Although not a commercial success, this release brought the band to the attention of Rough Trade Records, to whom they signed. Around this time, Hewitt was replaced on drums by Rob Cieka.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> He then went on to drum for Placebo until 2007.Template:Citation needed
Almost immediately after the release of the Every Heaven EP in 1991, Rough Trade collapsed and the Boo Radleys were signed by Alan McGee's Creation Records. Their first for Creation was Everything's Alright Forever in 1992, and Giant Steps (1993) followed. Giant Steps was awarded 9/10 by the UK music magazine NME, which stated, "It's an intentional masterpiece, a throw-everything-at-the-wall bric-a-brac of sounds, colours and stolen ideas. That The Boo Radleys (of all people!) have decided to accept their own challenge and create a record as diverse and boundary-bending as this is, at first glance, staggering. Isn't this the job of the U2s and the leisured idols of rock, unable to do anything without the tacit approval of history? Fortunately not. The Boo Radleys are sifting through time (the mid-'60s, mostly) and conjuring up something that's as cut-up and ambitious as anything you'd care to mention".<ref name="NME">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Reviewing the album's re-release in 2008, Sic Magazine wrote, "For 64 minutes they were the greatest band on the planet."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Giant Steps placed second to Debut by Björk in the 1993 NME album of the year list, voted by the paper's contributors, although it came in first place in the subsequent NME readers' poll. The now-defunct Select magazine declared Giant Steps their album of the year for 1993.<ref name="Select Magazine">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Boo Radleys also appear on the original motion picture soundtrack to the 1993 film So I Married An Axe Murderer with their cover of The La's song "There She Goes".Template:Citation needed
Wake Up! and beyondEdit
Despite critical acclaim and a cult fanbase, the Boo Radleys were still largely unknown to the general public by the time the Britpop phenomenon broke into the mainstream in 1995. This changed when the band released the upbeat single "Wake Up Boo!" in the spring of that year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It made the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 9. The single remained on the chart for two months, by far the band's longest run for any of its singles; later, on 26 October 2009, BFBS Forces Radio launched its live Afghanistan studio output with the track after it topped a listeners poll seeking a suitable first track.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Carr describes writing the song watching The Big Breakfast after a night on acid.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The follow-up release, "Find the Answer Within," was the band's only other single to chart for more than two weeks. Their fourth album Wake Up! (1995), was their commercial peak. Interviewed in 2005 by the BBC, Carr said: "I tried to have nothing to do with what was being called Britpop. Our whole career was spent trying not to 'fit in'. We just carried on doing what we had been doing. I didn't like most of the new bands or the flag-waving. I didn't like New Labour or idolise Paul Weller and I hated media-generated movements within music".<ref name="BBC">Template:Cite news</ref> The same year the band featured on Help with "Oh Brother", exclusive to that release. Help was a charity album aimed at raising funds for War Child, also featuring various other artists such as Radiohead and the Manic Street Preachers.Template:Citation needed
In 1996, the Boo Radleys released their fifth album C'mon Kids. As explained by Rowbottom in an interview in 2005: "We didn't want to scare away the hit-kids, we wanted to take them with us to somewhere that we'd not been before. All we wanted to do was make a different type of album than Wake Up... All we wanted to do was try something new – to keep ourselves fresh and interested. We were very surprised to find that it was seen as a deliberate attempt to scare away newly created fans. That would have been an extremely foolish thing to do."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Boo Radleys' final album was 1998's Kingsize. One single was released from the album, "Free Huey!". The title track was due to have been released as a second single, but the band decided to split up. Sice later told Time Out magazine: "It was such a relief when Martin phoned me and said he didn't want to make any more records. We'd been wanting it to stop for quite a long time, but I couldn't do it – I didn't want to leave. I wanted the band to end and only Martin could have done that. There was always the fear if I left, that they would just get another singer in and I didn't want that. Never mind not having the heart to tour – I barely had the heart to go down to the studio while we were making Kingsize."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A compilation album, Find the Way Out, was released in 2005, and a further compilation The Best of the Boo Radleys appeared in 2007.Template:Citation needed
DisbandmentEdit
The Boo Radleys disbanded in early 1999.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Brown built a popular recording studio before going on to John Moores University for teacher training. He progressed on to teaching information technology at St Louis's Grammar School in Kilkeel, County Down, in Ulster, and also taught at Park High School in Birkenhead.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Under the name Bravecaptain, Carr has since released six albums, including The Fingertip Saint Sessions Volume 1, Go with Yourself, Advertisements for Myself (2002) and All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (2004). His most recent album was titled Distractions. Carr has since announced that he will be retiring the Bravecaptain name to work on new projects, but these will not include reforming the Boo Radleys. His first solo album Ye Gods (And Little Fishes) was released in mid 2009. Cieka is now a member of the band Domino Bones, alongside Mark "Bez" Berry, formerly of Happy Mondays.Template:Citation needed
After an album in 1996 (First Fruits) under the name Eggman, while still a member of the Boo Radleys, Rowbottom walked away from music for several years after the split. Then, following a guest vocal on Bravecaptain's, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, and also two songs with the Japanese musician Ryo Matsui's solo project, Meister, he formed Paperlung.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The band featured Rowbottom on vocals, Simon Gardiner on bass, Ben Datlen on guitar and Guillaume Jambel of Transcargo on drums. They released two singles, "The Days That God Sold You" (2006) and "Do What Thou Will", and an album, Balance (2007).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Reunion and new musicEdit
In 2020, it was reported that some members of the Boo Radleys were coming together to record new music to mark 25 years since the band's heyday.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In July 2021, the band released their first new single in 23 years, "A Full Syringe and Memories of You", part of an EP of the same name. Upon the single's release, it was confirmed that original guitarist Martin Carr had not taken part in the reunion.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The band's seventh studio album, Keep on with Falling, was released on 11 March 2022. Eight was announced in January 2023 to be released on the same year alongside the new single "Seeker".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
MembersEdit
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
Current lineupEdit
- Simon "Sice" Rowbottom – vocals, guitar (1988–1999, 2021–present)
- Tim Brown – bass, keyboards (1988–1999, 2021–present)
- Rob Cieka – drums, percussion (1990–1999, 2021–present)
Former membersEdit
- Martin Carr – guitar, vocals, keyboards (1988–1999)
- Steve Hewitt – drums (1990)
Session musiciansEdit
- Roddy Lorimer – flugelhorn, trumpet (1992)
- Steve Kitchen – flugelhorn, trumpet (1993)
- Chris Moore – trumpet (1993)
- Lindsay Johnston – cello (1993)
- Margaret Fielder – cello (1993)
- Jackie Toy – clarinet, bass clarinet (1993)
- Meriel Barham – vocals (1993)
TimelineEdit
<timeline> ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:80 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1988 till:{{#time:d/m/Y}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom
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id:V value:red legend:Vocals,_guitars id:B value:blue legend:Bass id:D value:orange legend:Drums id:P value:claret legend:Percussion id:K value:purple legend:Keyboards id:studio value:black legend:Studio_release id:other value:gray(0.65) legend:Other_release id:bars value:gray(0.95)
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 BackgroundColors = bars:bars ScaleMajor = increment:4 start:1988 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1988
LineData =
layer:back color:studio at:01/07/1990 at:23/03/1992 at:31/08/1993 at:27/03/1995 at:09/09/1996 at:19/10/1998 at:11/03/2022 at:09/06/2023 color:other at:01/10/1990 at:01/04/1991 at:01/09/1991 at:24/02/1992 at:08/06/1992 at:01/11/1992 at:01/11/1993 at:25/09/1995
BarData =
bar:MC text:"Martin Carr" bar:SR text:"Simon "Sice" Rowbottom" bar:TB text:"Tim Brown" bar:SH text:"Steve Hewitt" bar:RC text:"Rob Cieka"
PlotData=
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:SR from:01/01/1988 till:20/02/1999 color:V bar:MC from:01/01/1988 till:20/02/1999 color:V bar:MC from:01/01/1988 till:20/02/1999 color:K width:3 bar:TB from:01/01/1988 till:20/02/1999 color:B bar:TB from:01/01/1988 till:20/02/1999 color:K width:3 bar:SH from:01/05/1990 till:01/11/1990 color:D bar:RC from:01/11/1990 till:20/02/1999 color:D bar:RC from:01/11/1990 till:20/02/1999 color:P width:3 bar:SR from:01/07/2021 till:end color:V bar:TB from:01/07/2021 till:end color:B bar:TB from:01/07/2021 till:end color:K width:3 bar:RC from:01/07/2021 till:end color:D bar:RC from:01/07/2021 till:end color:P width:3
</timeline>
DiscographyEdit
Template:Infobox artist discography
The discography of the Boo Radleys consists of eight studio albums, three compilation albums, six extended-plays, and eighteen singles one of which ("Lazarus") was released twice, along with remixes of the same song, and their final single ("Kingsize") which was cancelled before release.Template:Citation needed
Studio albumsEdit
| Year | Information | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> | ||
| 1990 | Ichabod and I
|
– |
| 1992 | Everything's Alright Forever
|
55 |
| 1993 | Giant Steps
|
17 |
| 1995 | Wake Up!
|
1 |
| 1996 | C'mon Kids
|
20 |
| 1998 | Kingsize
|
62 |
| 2022 | Keep on with Falling
|
– |
| 2023 | Eight
|
– |
Compilation albumsEdit
| Year | Information |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Learning to Walk
|
| 2005 | Find the Way Out
|
| 2007 | The Best of the Boo Radleys
|
Extended playsEdit
| Year | Information | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> | ||
| 1990 | Kaleidoscope
|
– |
| 1991 | Every Heaven
|
– |
Boo Up!
|
– | |
| 1992 | Adrenalin (aka "Lazy Day" promo on Columbia in US)
|
– |
Boo! Forever (credited as a double A-side "Does This Hurt" / "Boo! Forever" for chart purposes)
|
67 | |
| 2021 | "A full Syringe and Memories of You"
|
– |
SinglesEdit
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref> | IE | NZ | US Alt | |||
| 1992 | "Lazy Day" | – | – | – | – | Everything's Alright Forever |
| "Does this Hurt?" | 67 | – | – | – | ||
| "Lazarus" | 76 | – | – | 30 | Giant Steps | |
| 1993 | "I Hang Suspended" | 77 | – | – | – | |
| "Wish I Was Skinny" | 75 | – | – | – | ||
| 1994 | "Barney (...and Me)" | 48 | – | – | 30 | |
| "Lazarus" (remixes) | 50 | – | – | – | ||
| 1995 | "Wake Up Boo!" | 9 | 25 | 35 | – | Wake Up! |
| "Find the Answer Within" | 37 | – | – | – | ||
| "It's Lulu" | 25 | – | – | – | ||
| "From the Bench at Belvidere" | 24 | – | – | – | — | |
| 1996 | "What's in the Box (See Whatcha Got)" | 25 | – | – | – | C'mon Kids |
| "C'mon Kids" | 18 | – | – | – | ||
| 1997 | "Ride the Tiger" | 38 | – | – | – | |
| 1998 | "Free Huey" | 54 | – | – | – | Kingsize |
| "Kingsize" (cancelled) | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2021 | "A Full Syringe and Memories of You" | – | – | – | – | Keep on with Falling |
| "I've Had Enough I'm Out" | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2022 | "Keep on with Falling" | – | – | – | – | |
| 2023 | "Seeker" | – | – | – | – | Eight |
| "The Unconscious" | – | – | – | – | ||
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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