SATURDAY’S SCOTTISH SINGLE (Part 82)

I was certain that Part 82 would feature Momus, but the 12″ single I was sure I had isn’t to be found anywhere in the big cupboard.  It may have been filed away in the wrong place but I can’t be arsed looking.  Instead here’s wiki on today’s featured act:-

The Motorcycle Boy were an indie pop band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1987 by former members of Meat Whiplash and The Shop Assistants.

The band consisted of Alex Taylor (vocals, formerly of The Shop Assistants), with Paul McDermott (drums), Michael Kerr (guitar), and Eddy Connelly (bass) (all formerly of Meat Whiplash), and David “Scottie” Scott (guitar). They were signed by Rough Trade Records, who issued their debut single, “Big Rock Candy Mountain”, which reached number 2 in the UK Independent Chart.

The band were then signed up by Chrysalis Records, with two singles and debut album Scarlet that was never released, but failed to achieve great success despite considerable press attention. The band then split with Chrysalis, with one further single released on the Nymphaea Pink label in 1990, before the band themselves split up.

The band oddly made the cover of the NME on September 19, 1987 despite only having a brief half-page feature. This was because the entire contents of a themed issue on censorship (which would have had a painting used on the Dead Kennedys’ album Frankenchrist, then the subject of an obscenity trial in the United States, on the cover) had themselves been censored, with Stuart Cosgrove sacked from the paper, and a new cover had to be designed at very short notice.

The Rough Trade single is probably the best thing they ever did, and tempting as it is to feature the 7″ version of it, I thought I’d instead go for one of the two singles they recorded for Chrysalis as both 12″ versions are in the collection.

mp3 : The Motorcycle Boy – Trying To Be Kind (extended mix)
mp3 : The Motorcycle Boy – World Falls Into Place
mp3 : The Motorcycle Boy – Will You Love Me Tomorrow
mp3 : The Motorcycle Boy – Trying To Be Kind (1,000 cc mix)

The third track above is a more than decent stab at the song made famous by The Shirelles, which in 1961 became the first single by an all-girl group to reach #1 in the USA.

Oh and while I’m here, I may as well post the other Chrysalis single:-

mp3 : The Motorcycle Boy – You And Me Against The World
mp3 : The Motorcycle Boy – Under The Bridge
mp3 : The Motorcycle Boy – Some Girls
mp3 : The Motorcycle Boy – You And Me Against The World (Extended Mix)

Enjoy!!