The Boys

The Boys are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976. Members of the band had previously played in other groups, such as London SS and Hollywood Brats. After recording four studio albums and eight singles, as well as recording Christmas themed music under the name The Yobs, they disbanded in the summer of 1982. Starting again in 1999, most of the original band members have played concerts together.

The Boys were born when singer/guitarist Matt Dangerfield left the fledgling punk band London SS in September 1975 to form a new band with ex-Hollywood Brats keyboard player Casino Steel. Dangerfield’s art college friend, guitarist Honest John Plain, was soon recruited and in June 1976, two of Plain’s co-workers at a t-shirt printing company, bassist Duncan "Kid" Reid and drummer Jack Black, successfully auditioned to complete the line-up. Steel (ex-Hollywood Brats) and Dangerfield played in the London SS together, a group which at some point included future members of The Clash, The Damned, Chelsea and Generation X. Dangerfield had converted his rented basement apartment in Maida Vale into a home recording studio where they recorded early on. The band played their first concert at the Hope and Anchor pub in Islington, London in September 1976. Notable attendees in the crowd included; Mick Jones, Billy Idol, Tony James and Gene October. After a handful of concerts, The Boys signed to NEMS in January 1977, and were at that time the only British punk band to have a record deal (The Sex Pistols having just been dismissed by EMI).

Their first release was the single "I Don't Care", and in support of that release, they toured with John Cale of Velvet Underground. Their 16-track debut album, The Boys, was recorded in early May 1977. However, the album's commercial release was delayed until 9 September 1977; which the band has blamed on the record company's "incompetence". The album eventually reached No. 50 in the UK Album Charts. A second single, "First Time" — with a theme of losing virginity — was released on 27 July 1977. As a result, John Peel invited The Boys to recorded a live session for his show, which became 'Single Of The Week' in Sounds magazine. The single was steadily climbing the chart, until 16 August 1977 when Elvis Presley died. The Boys' records were distributed by RCA Records, who switched all their resources into satisfying the huge posthumous demand for Elvis Presley records.

The Boys released a second album on NEMS, titled Alternative Chartbusters, and toured in support of it with the Ramones. The Boys then moved to Safari in 1979, and two albums and five singles followed before they broke up in the summer of 1981. Every Christmas, they rearranged the "B" and the "Y" in their name and became The Yobs, releasing four singles one album; 1980s Christmas Album. In this incarnation, the band members used the pseudonyms Noddy Oldfield, Ebenezer Polak, Kid Vicious and H. J. Bedwetter.

On 31 July and 1 August 1999, four out of five original members, along with Steve "Vom" Ritchie (replacing Jack Black on drums, who was busy with his own band) played concerts in Japan. In September 2000, this new lineup played at the 'Holidays in the Sun Festival' in Bilbao, Spain. Original drummer Jack Black made a guest appearance and filmed the concert. It was the first time in 18 years that the five original band members had been reunited on stage. In 2006, the band again performed concerts, including their first shows in London in 25 years. Following their successful reunion tour in London, one of the Boys' early songs, "Jimmy Brown", was released as a single on 15 December 2008.

In June 2012 The Boys went into Rock On Studios in Annecy, France to record their first brand new album since 1981's "Boys Only"