Boo Radleys

The Boo Radleys were a british guitar band of the 1990’s who made experimental indie music, and were briefly associated with the britpop movement. They took their name from the reclusive character of Boo Radley from Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird. They were formed in Wallasey, England in 1988, with singer/guitarist Sice aka Simon Rowebottom, guitarist/songwriter Martin Carr, bassist Timothy Brown and original drummer Steve Hewitt. Hewitt was replaced by Rob Cieka following their first release, the extremely rare Ichabod And I. In 1992, the band released Everything’s Alright Forever but it was 1993’s Giant Steps that finally brought the band to a mass audience, in England at least. They were on the illustrious Creation Records label with other British greats like the Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, and My Bloody Valentine. The Boos never were quite able to break in the US, even with the poppier, more structured 1995 Wake Up! - a major departure for the band both in music and style. The album brought critical acclaim to the band, but was not promoted by their US domestic label, Columbia, and the band was subsequently dropped. During this time, Sice put out a solo album, First Fruits under the name Eggman. 1996 also saw the Boo Radleys bring about another change, the heavier C’mon Kids. The band split in 1999, just months after the release of Kingsize. Martin Carr went on to form Brave Captain, putting out several albums. Despite a pledge to never play again, Sice formed a new band, Paperlung, in 2005. More info can be found on their website: http://www.booradleys.co.uk/