The Boys - Alternative Chartbusters
Original Release Date
1978Release Information
UK LP 1978 (NEMS - NEL 6015)
A1 Brickfield Nights 3:19
A2 U.S.I. 1:46
A3 Taking On The World 2:08
A4 Sway (Quien Sera) 1:17
A5 Do The Contract Hustle 2:04
A6 Heroine 4:35
A7 Not Ready 1:04
B1 Classified Susie 2:29
B2 T.C.P. 2:09
B3 Neighbourhood Brat 1:35
B4 Stop Stop Stop 2:19
B5 Backstage Pass 2:28
B6 Talking 1:22
B7 Cast Of Thousands 3:17
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UK CD 1999 (Captain Oi! - AHOY CD 104)
1 Brickfield Nights 3:19
2 U.S.I. 1:47
3 Taking On The World 2:09
4 Sway (Quien Sera) 1:17
5 Do The Contract Hustle 2:09
6 Heroine 4:35
7 Not Ready 1:05
8 Classified Susie 2:29
9 T.C.P. 2:09
10 Neighbourhood Brat 1:35
11 Stop Stop Stop 2:19
12 Backstage Pass 2:29
13 Talking 1:23
14 Cast Of Thousands 3:17
Bonus Tracks
15 Teachers Pet 2:25
16 Schooldays 2:27
17 Lies 2:43
18 She's No Angel 3:26
19 You're The Other Man 3:17
20 Silent Night (The Yobs) 3:15
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UK 2xCD 2013 (Fire - FIRECD286). Deluxe Edition
Disc 1
1 Brickfield Nights 3:16
2 U.S.I. 1:46
3 Taking On The World 2:07
4 Sway (Quien Sera) 1:17
5 Do The Contract Hustle 2:04
6 Heroine 4:34
7 Not Ready 1:05
8 Classified Susie 2:27
9 T.C.P. 2:09
10 Neighbourhood Brat 1:34
11 Stop Stop Stop 2:19
12 Backstage Pass 2:28
13 Talking 1:22
14 Cast Of Thousands 3:15
Disc 2 - Bonus Tracks
1 Brickfield Nights 3:24
2 Lonely Schooldays 2:27
3 Lucy 3:04
4 Teachers Pet 2:24
5 Norton 4:08
6 Lies 2:41
7 She's No Angel 3:26
8 As The Yobs: Silent Night 3:16
Chart Placings
NoneCredits
LP:
The Boys are:
Jack Black - drums
Honest John Plain - guitar
Kid Reid - bass and vocals
Matt Dangerfield - guitar & vocals
Casino Steel - piano & vocals
Front cover design by Peter Kodick the rest by Jeff Haddock
Inner sleeve photography by Berri Shulman, John van Clog & Ken Mewis
Special thanks to Andrew Matheson for his ideas on Classified Susie, Mal for his whistles, Niall for his clicks, Dave for his marimbas, the Wops for the brass and Deaf school for their shouts
Recorded at Rockfield. Engineer Dave Charles
Mixed at Roundhouse Studio. Engineer Mark Dearnley
Produced by The Boys
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Captain Oi! CD:
Liner notes: Mark Brennan
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Fire CD:
Matt Dangerfield - Guitar/Vocals
Kid Reid - Bass/Vocals
Honest John Plain - Guitar/Vocals
Casino Steel - Piano/Vocals
Jack Black - Drums
All songs produced by Matt Dangerfield and Casino Steel
Recorded at Rockfield: Engineer Dave Charles.
Mixed at Roundhouse Studio: Engineer Mark Dearnley.
Original front cover photograph by Peter Gravelle.
Liner notes: Dave Henderson, MOJO Magazine, 2012
Original cover design by Matt Dangerfield
Track notes by Matt Dangerfield
Bonus Disc tracks:
1-3, 5, 6: Demo recordings
4: B-Side of Brickfield Nights
7: Recorded at Rockfield during the summer of 1978
8: We decided to bootleg ourselves to get a bit of money for Christmas
Lead Vocals:
Duncan: Disc One 2, 3, 7, 12, 14. Bonus Disc: 2, 4, 6
Matt: Disc One 1, 4-6, 8, 10, 11, 13. Bonus Disc: 1, 3
John: Bonus Disc: 5, 7, 8
All: Disc One 9
Additional Credits
Bonus Tracks on Captain Oi! CD:
15: B-Side of Brickfield Nights 7", released February 1978
16-19: Demo recordings
20: Silent Night single by The Yobs, released December 1978
Reviews & Opinions
CHAINSAW, JUNE 1978: This is their second album and it's every bit as good as the first. On their first album all their songs were almost the same - on this most of them are typical Boys songs but they try and do something a bit different on this. But...it's not perfect. The two slow songs on this ('Heroine' and 'Backstage Pass') are crap. Still, no album's perfect. Now the good original ideas... 'Sway' is a sort of Mexican/Caribbean song done quite straight until someone shouts "Blow, you greasy wops!" Also, there's some great guitar sounds on 'T.C.P'. This album's good fun - that's what the new-wave is (*or should be) about! ****1/2
RECORD COLLECTOR, 1990 [reviewing 1990 reissues of first two LPs]: Emerging in 1977 from the seeds of seminal punk band London S.S., The Boys were always restricted to the second division of punk's first generation. And hearing these reissues of their first two albums I can understand why. In fairness, Link have kept the original sleeves intact, and the band (especially on the first LP) captured the rawness and aggression of the new wave adequately enough. But this hasn't dated very well, and the songs lack the depth of the Buzzcocks or The Clash. Still, original copies of these two are getting harder to find so punk fans will no doubt welcome these.
SHANE BALDWIN, RECORD COLLECTOR, 1999: Fast and furious new wave of the highest order. [read full review here]
Additional Notes
Normally I only opt for one CD reissue, but here I have listed two: the Captain Oi! one has one song not on the subsequent Fire reissue ('You're The Other Man'), comes in a jewel case and has liner notes and lyrics. The Fire reissue is a digipak, better liner notes, no lyrics, and a bit more oomph sound-wise. Take yer pick.
Images
UK LP 1978 (NEMS - NEL 6015). Click here for more
UK CD 1999 (Captain Oi! - AHOY CD 104). Click here for more
UK 2xCD 2013 (Fire - FIRECD286). Deluxe Edition. Digipak. Click here for more
