Say man, you heard about this Boxer style? Well, listen up, I think it’s worth your while!
Boxerbeat
JoBoxers began the beat in the Autumn of 1982. Four fifths of the band – Chris Bostock (bass), Rob Marche (guitar), Dave Collard (keys) and Sean McLusky (drums) had been part of the revitalised Subway Sect in the early ’80s. Frontman Vic Godard had wanted to try something different with the new line-up, settling on what Bostock described as ‘Cool Bop And Swing’ 1940s-style crooner music (in a 2020 interview with AM/FM Magazine).
When Godard left, the band continued working together, but now with new frontman Dig Wayne (previously of Buzz And The Flyers) and a new name. In the AM/FM interview, Bostock summed up the JoBoxers’ music as a fusion of “Northern Soul, Rockabilly, New York Disco and Funk.” The first result from these sessions was the single, Boxerbeat, which was released as a single in early 1983.
Boxerbeat was an instant hit, racing to Number Three. It encompasses all of the above influences, while also adding the quintet’s own, unique sound. One of the JoBoxers’ hallmarks is that rare talent for producing a catchy smash. Whereas a good proportion of hit records take their time to click, Boxerbeat’s hook is instant – a punchy, breezy slab of retro soul and new wave. I remember enjoying this as an eight-and-a-half-year old on Top Of The Pops, and as a creaky 52-year-old, the appeal hasn’t dimmed.
Crosstown Walkup
Like Gangbusters was one of those albums that I’d always looked out for. When I visited record shops and fairs in the ’90s, I’d often make a mental note to myself to look out for Like Gangbusters. I’d liked the two big hits that JoBoxers did, and reckoned that the album would be a safe bet.
But Like Gangbusters was always conspicuous by its absence. Even trying to track down a download album at Amazon was just as difficult in the ’00s, from what I remember.
However, in 2017, I got lucky, and bought myself a brand spanking new copy of the album, and as predicted, wasn’t disappointed. Most of the tracks on offer could have been potential hits, including the pacy, breakneck rhythm of Crosstown Walkup (which ended up being the B-side of Just Got Lucky). On first listen, it does threaten to break into the theme tune from Russ Abbot’s Madhouse, but it quickly settles into a comfortable groove with some terrific jazz-style chord switches – especially in the “There’s no breaking up, only making up” interludes.
Fully Booked
As well as providing good-time tunes for all, Like Gangbusters can also be very funny. A good example of this is the slick groove of Fully Booked, a tale of a bragging ladies’ man who’s listing all the female company in his little black book.
Wayne uses the lower range of his voice to great effect, confidently drawling a quickfire list of girls’ names. “I got it made, like I’m knee-deep in women!” he croons. The wordplay in Fully Booked is also smart, playing on witty rhymes and alliteration to come up with something that’s fresh and fun.
Musically, Fully Booked has its roots in hard soul, with some excellently fluid bass work from Chris Bostock and robust drumming from Sean McLusky. I also really like that old-style music hall piano sound from Dave Collard, whose deft keyboard work helps propel the track along at full tilt. Another curious element is that offbeat ending which tails off with the faintest hint of a woman’s chuckle.
Not My Night
Also funny, but on the other side of the coin. If Fully Booked’s central character was a pre-Shabba Mr Loverman, Not My Night’s hopeless case can’t catch a break. “She called me Billy, that ain’t my name, She thinks I’m silly, ain’t that a shame” is one of many problems facing this loser whose every move made is wrong, with each step likely to result in a pratfall. Props to Bostock and Wayne for rhyming “It looks like tonight’s not mine” with “I feel like some Frankenstein”.
If Fully Booked’s roots were in smooth soul, Not My Night’s jerky rockabilly suits the erratic lyrical paranoia to a tee. It sounds a bit like something The Stray Cats would have done a couple of years’ previous (especially those retro ’50s lead guitar twangs), but with a smidge more humour.
Just Got Lucky
Just Got Lucky has always been a favourite of mine. It has it all. Like Boxerbeat, it’s instantly catchy. It’s packed with hooks from the constant title refrain to the “Come on, hear me say” middle bit. The playing and singing are all on point. The horns add that extra touch of class. Wayne gives a commanding lead vocal, Bostock again comes up with interesting and unusual bass work, while Collard hammers those keys like a madman.
Best of all, it’s great fun. Modern-day AI autotune androids and weedy indie bowlcuts could take a leaf out of Just Got Lucky’s book. In a 2012 interview at the New Wave Junkie blog, Dig Wayne explained that the opening “Your technique, it leaves me weak” line was drawn from an old Popeye cartoon. Olive Oil’s declaration to Popeye is typical of the quirky lyrics – another being the offbeat “I’m free and easy and I’m feelin’ jake!”
If my folks’ record player had worked in late Spring ’83, I would have saved up my pocket money to buy a copy – partly because sad sack me thought it was called “John’s Got Lucky” at the time. It did result in the band’s second Top 10 hit, achieving a Number Seven position in early Summer. It also did fairly well in the US, Australia and Canada, reaching the Top 40 charts.
But Just Got Lucky’s enduring New Wavey appeal continued down the decades, when it was chosen to be included in movie soundtracks like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Just My Luck. It hasn’t aged at all, and still remains a firm favourite.
She’s Got Sex
With two Top 10 hits, it looked like JoBoxers had it all sewn up. And yet by the end of 1983, chart positions weren’t as forthcoming. Johnny Friendly had just missed the Top 30, while the band’s chart swansong, the double A-side of Jealous Love and She’s Got Sex stalled at Number 72 (although it did make Number 50 in New Zealand).
In the interview at the New Wave Junkie blog, Dig Wayne explained that the record company chose the singles rather than the band. If RCA had put out Johnny Friendly first – more of a grower than instant hit material – it could have breached the Top 20 or 30, and then the band could have worked their way up with Boxerbeat and Just Got Lucky. But as Wayne said in the interview: “We went the wrong way.”
While the funkiest cut on the album, She’s Got Sex, missed the bus in the UK, it did get a fair bit of airplay in America. Although it failed to chart, it became a cult favourite of American JoBoxers fans. Back on home turf, it got rediscovered in the unlikeliest of circumstances when it was covered three years later for Samantha Fox’s debut album, dropping the ‘S’. The album attained double platinum status.
Curious George
Curious George is one of the strongest on Like Gangbusters, a fast and furious slab of funk that plays to the band’s strengths. Again, the drum, bass and keyboard work are second to none. The keyboard stylings are appealingly jazzy, especially in the second solo spot.
While the shelf life of JoBoxers wasn’t long, the band members did go on to become in-demand session musicians, both in the studio and on tour. Bostock was a member of Dave Stewart’s Spiritual Cowboys, also playing with the likes of Shakespear’s Sister, The Style Council and Sandie Shaw. Collard’s credits included work with Billy Ocean, The The and Lisa Stansfield, while Wayne’s distinctive vocals can be heard on Matt Bianco’s Indigo album.
Hide Nor Hair
Out of the Like Gangbusters setlist, this is the one that I tend to draw a blank on. It’s not terrible by any means, just not as instant as some of the others and it doesn’t help that it’s bookended by two of my favourites. It actually sounds like it was recorded three years earlier, and could well have slotted in to, say, More Specials or Searching For The Young Soul Rebels by Dexy’s Midnight Runners.
Like Gangbusters itself did OK on the charts, achieving a respectable Number 18 in the UK album charts during a five-week stay. It also didn’t do too badly in the US – at Number 70 – or in New Zealand – Number 37 – either.
Crime Of Passion
Crime Of Passion takes the pace down a bit for one of my personal favourites on Like Gangbusters. If Hide Nor Hair sounded a bit Dexy’s, Crime Of Passion reminds me a little of Steely Dan from around 1977. I’m sure that wasn’t the intention, but the slinky menace and the cool jazz-funk approach have much in common with the sounds made by Fagen and Becker in the late ’70s.
The little details add much, such as the jazz-tinged piano solo and also the alternating double-drum thump from McLusky. Whereas this tale of jilted revenge woe could have gone down the route of hammy melodrama, it wins out in its underplayed atmosphere.
Johnny Friendly
You can see where Dig Wayne was coming from in his comments about the choice of singles. Johnny Friendly, while a great track in its own right, isn’t as chart-ready as the more poppy Boxerbeat or Just Got Lucky. Again, it has its roots in old school jazz, with smoky old club piano and some nicely oblique chords – but was it what the record buying public wanted in droves? Despite Frank Bruno popping up in the promo video, Johnny Friendly stalled at Number 31 in Autumn 1983.
Sadly, the chart momentum was lost after Like Gangbusters. The problem was that events spiralled out of their control as a result of label and management issues. JoBoxers’ follow-up album Skin & Bone was shelved by their record label without warning. Tracks were also laid down for a planned third album, Missing Link in 1986, but this project came to nothing, and the band disbanded shortly after.
There is a bit of good news, though. The two missing albums eventually saw the light of day, thanks to Chris Bostock’s dedication and persistence in locating all of the missing recordings, and remastering them for a complete 3-CD box set called Just Got Lucky – The Complete Works 1983-1986.
(Cover design photography credited to Steve Rapport and Andrew Christian)
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