Boyracer - John Peel session 02.09.94

by Dave Goodwin

published: 20 / 3 / 2023

Dave Goodwin takes a road trip with Boyracer back to the indie days of 1994,

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Formed in 1990 by vocalist-guitarist Stewart Anderson, Boyracer are original pioneers of indie-pop. Starting with Anderson, Richard Adams, James Chadwick, Laura Bridge and Simon Guild, the line-up changed when Adams left the group in 1993. Shortly after that, Boyracer’s first EP “Naked” came out, accompanied by a deal to release further recordings on Sarah Records, which would include two further EPs that year. But after those two Eps, both Chadwick and Guild left the band, which forced Stewart Anderson to put together a new line-up to coincide with the release of the group's debut album “More Songs About Frustration and Self-Hate” (on Slumberland Records). Which brings us to the lovely little package I have in front of me: a delicious-looking 10in EP put out by those delightful folk at Precious Recordings. This one contains the original Peel Sessions recordings that the band set down on September 2, 1994. This line-up had changed again by this point: it was Anderson with Nicola Hodgkinson, Matty Green and Ged McGurn, and the session was recorded at BBC’s Maida Vale Studios. The song “Advice To Young Bands About Publishing Deals” kicks the disc off, with Hodgkinson leading the way, quickly to be accompanied by Anderson. The whole thing starts quite harmoniously before it all turns distorted, and then finally returning to Hodgkinson for a more restrained finale. “One Step Forward” starts with a sampled phone call and swiftly kicks in to a guitar-laden jaunt not too dissimilar to early Stems recordings. It’s followed by “Love Song For Henry Mancini/New Wave Old Hat” which is a raucous two-minute affair with plenty of angst, bordering on punk, that batters your eardrums nicely. The final track, “Pretentious Headline Band Ego Problem” is a full-on indie gem with a sort of Peter Hook bassline that neatly complements Anderson’s vocals. The same year saw Boyracer releasing more EPs, and in 1995 they embarked upon a first tour of the United States, signing a deal with Zero Hour Records via MCA, only for that label to drop them shortly after, while they were on tour. Singles followed on independent American labels, but the group split up in 1997. Three years later, Anderson reformed Boyracer, recruiting several new members and writing new material. All in all, if you aren’t familiar with Boyracer, this is a great starting point taken just after the birth of this important band, and it’s a good point at which to start your explorations of the band’s 30-year discography.