The sound that's all around

Britpop ruined a lot of good bands.

I often wonder what would have become of The Boo Radleys had they not spawned one of the songs of the era.

'Wake Up Boo' is one of those songs that on first listen is a great pop song but soon becomes unsufferable the more you hear it. Especially when every uncreative breakfast dj in the land adopts it as their theme tune. It's jaunty, commercial exuberance quickly diminished into cheesy irritation. Overplay killed the song and it's omnipresence pretty much destroyed the band's career. To most people, they're a one hit wonder. A band that came and went in one summer. But to those in the know, the band were far more than that. That song doesn’t do them justice and the 'album of the same name' was easily their weakest. Especially as it followed the awesome sprawling masterpiece that is 'Giant Steps'. Eschewing the eclectic, inventive and heady mix of styles in that album, the band seemingly made a conscious and almost desperate attempt to achieve mainstream success. Unfortunately, bar the behemoth single, they ended up stranded somewhere in a no mans land. Fans who already knew the band were dissatisfied by the shift in direction, while newcomers expecting an album of 'Wake Up Boo' megahits were equally disappointed. The following singles charted lower and lower, Britpop's moment faded and The Boo Radleys reacted to the success by retreating into the darker, less conventional and yet far better sound of 'C'mon Kids'. And because the songs weren't easy, one dimensional pop hits, the mainstream media that embraced them during Britpop, ignored them en masse. One more album followed, the sound becoming richer and embracing hip hop and dance influences. But despite critical acclaim, it failed to trouble the charts and the band split in 1999.

What's interesting, is that The Boo Radleys had a reputation for being a pretty poor live band. Though that was never my experience. While you could argue that Sice's voice was weaker than on record, when I saw them, they managed to do a pretty good job recreating the magic and intertwining sounds of their records. It isn't a gig that particularly sticks in my mind, nor do I remember them blowing me away, but that reputation seems rather unfair. And if you don't believe me, take a listen to these tracks from their 1996 Peel session and tell me they couldn't cut it live. Both tracks are taken from 'C'Mon Kids' and having not listened to them in a long, long time, it makes no sense that these songs weren't hits. While they don't necessarily follow the verse-chorus-verse route, they're still pretty accessible.

The Boo Radleys - melodies for the deaf (Peel session 07/08/1996)

The Boo Radleys - ride the tiger (Peel session 07/08/1996)

mp3 / music / the boo radleys