Boys Town Gang

Last updated

Boys Town Gang
Origin San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genres Post-disco, hi-NRG
Years active1980–1997 [1]
LabelsHigh Fashion Music
Moby Dick Records
Fantasy Records
MembersCynthia Manley (1980-1981)
Jackson Moore (1981-1984)
Tom Morley (1980-1984)
Bruce Carlton (1981-1984)

The Boys Town Gang were a post-disco and hi-NRG band from San Francisco, California. Their popularity peaked in the 1980s when the group reached No. 1 in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain as well as No. 4 in the UK [2] with their cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". [3]

Contents

History

In 1980, DJ Bill Motley saw an opportunity to form a disco group that catered to San Francisco's large gay clientele. In his search to form a group, he auditioned hundreds of vocalists, both male and female. Local cabaret singer Cynthia Manley captured the lead spot.

The idea was originally for one 12" single with two tracks of high energy disco music. Motley, a Diana Ross fan, picked two Ashford & Simpson songs to form a medley for the A-side track. For the B-side track, he wrote a disco drama in four acts. A private record label was founded to release the two songs.

When "Remember Me"/"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was released, the song took off with Manley's vocals propelling the song to the top of the club charts. The four-act explicit "Cruisin' the Streets" was a snapshot of San Francisco's South of Market District - Ringold Alley at sundown. [4]

Manley departed after the release of these two records, and Jackson Moore took over lead-vocal responsibilities in 1981 for the group's second LP Disc Charge, which contained three pop charting disco cuts: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (which was performed on Top of the Pops in 1982), "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" and "Come and Get Your Love".

The group's last LP, A Cast of Thousands brought in fellow disco artists such as Debbie Jacobs, Two Tons O' Fun, Sylvester, Margaret Reynolds (KC and the Sunshine Band), and Marlena Shaw. With one more overseas hit, the group disbanded, and Jackson Moore took on a short-lived solo career until the decade came to a close.

Band members

On the records "Remember Me"/"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Cruisin' the Streets", Cynthia Manley provided lead vocals with Robin Charin, Don Wood, Phill Manganello, Tom Morley, and Keith Stewart providing back-up vocals.

From the 1981 album Disc Charge, Jackson Moore was lead singer with Tom Morley and Bruce Carlton as back-up. [5]

Discography

Albums

Singles

YearTitle (A-side / B-side)Peak chart positions
AUS
[6]
BE (FLA)
[7]
GER
[8]
IRE
[9]
NL 40
[10]
NL 100
[11]
UK
[12]
US Dance
[13]
1981"Remember Me" / "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"17713465
"Cruisin' the Streets" (US-only release)
1982"You're the One" / "Disco Kicks" (US and Canada-only release)6
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"21143511415
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"78950
"Come and Get Your Love"3237
1983"I Just Can't Help Believing"29252282
1984"Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday"
"Brand New Me"
"Dance Trance Medley"
1985"When Will I See You Again"
1988"Mega Mix"82
1989"Wanted for Murder!"
1996"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (1996 remixes)86
1997"Disco Kicks" (US-only release)45
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trio (band)</span> German synthpop band

Trio was a German band also known as ZAM in Europe, formed in the town of Großenkneten in 1979. The band is most known for the 1982 song "Da Da Da" which was a hit in 30 countries worldwide.

S'Express were a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre.

The Belle Stars were an all female British pop/rock band. Formed in 1980, they are best known for their 1983 hit single "Sign of the Times" as well as their cover of "Iko Iko" originally released in 1982 and featured on the soundtrack to the film Rain Man in 1988.

5000 Volts is the name of a British disco recording act that achieved success throughout Europe during the 1970s. The group consisted of vocalists Tina Charles and Martin Jay, with a changing group of session musicians.

<i>In Blue</i> 2000 studio album by the Corrs

In Blue is the third studio album by Irish pop rock band the Corrs, released in 2000 which saw the band become known in the United States. The title of the album comes from a lyric in the song "Give Me a Reason". As well as the UK number one single "Breathless", the album also contains new versions of "Radio" and "At Your Side", which had appeared on their previous album The Corrs Unplugged. Mutt Lange co-wrote and produced three songs from the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teach-In (band)</span> 1970s Dutch band

Teach-In was a Dutch band active from 1967 until 1980. After scoring several top 20 hits in their home country by the early 1970s, the band came to international attention by winning the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Ding-a-dong”. Throughout the band's career, there were several changes in line-up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon and Vangelis</span> Musical duo

Jon and Vangelis was a music collaboration between British rock singer Jon Anderson and Greek synthesiser musician Vangelis. The duo released four albums between 1980 and 1991.

Sailor are a British pop/glam rock group, best known in the 1970s for their hit singles "A Glass of Champagne" and "Girls, Girls, Girls", written by the group's lead singer and 12-string guitar player, Georg Kajanus.

The Flirts were a project concept group formed by Bobby "O" Orlando to front his performances as an artist, musician and songwriter. The group consisted of Orlando and featured a revolving roster of female session singers and models. Under The Flirts name, Orlando churned out hits "Passion", "Danger", "Helpless" and "Jukebox ".

Flash and the Pan were an Australian new wave musical group formed in 1976 by Harry Vanda and George Young, both former members of the Easybeats, who formed a production and songwriting team known as Vanda & Young. The group's first chart success was their 1976 debut single, "Hey, St. Peter", which reached number five in the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The next single, "Down Among the Dead Men", peaked at number four in Australia in 1978. For international release, it was re-titled "And the Band Played On".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans-X</span> Canadian band

Trans-X is a Canadian 1980s synth-pop band formed in Montreal, Quebec. They are known for their hit song "Living on Video", which was a worldwide hit single.

<i>Cruisin</i> (Village People album) 1978 studio album by Village People

Cruisin' is the third studio album by the American disco group Village People, released on September 25, 1978. Its title is a double entendre, referring to either simply driving around or gay cruising. The album features the hits "Hot Cop" and "Y.M.C.A.", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Can't Take My Eyes Off You</span> 1967 song recorded by Frankie Valli

"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, and first recorded and released as a single by Gaudio's Four Seasons bandmate Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week, making it Valli's biggest solo hit until he hit No. 1 in 1975 with "My Eyes Adored You".

Belle Epoque was the name of a female vocal trio, based in Paris, France. The group first rose to popularity during the late 1970s with a disco remake of the song "Black Is Black", originally a hit in 1966 for the Spanish group Los Bravos.

Snoopy was a Dutch female disco duo. The group was founded by music manager Han Meijer in 1978 with singers Ethel Mezas and Florence Woerdings. Woerdings left the project in 1979 and was replaced with Maureen Seedorf. The group ceased activities in 1980.

This is the discography of American disco group Village People.

Spargo are a Dutch band, formed in 1975, known for their hits "You and Me", "Head Up to the Sky", "One Night Affair", "Just For You" and "Hip Hap Hop" in the 1980s.

This is the discography of French singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman, including his work as a solo artists and as part of Taï Phong and Fredericks Goldman Jones. For his work with the charity group Les Enfoirés, with whom he recorded 26 albums, see Les Enfoirés § Discography.

This is the discography of American rock band Survivor.

This is the discography of British singer-songwriter Beverley Craven.

References

  1. Torreano, Bradley. "Boys Town Gang Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 74. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  3. Hung, Steffen. "Boys Town Gang - Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Hitparade.ch.
  4. "Boys Town Gang". Discogs.com.
  5. White, Allen (May 27, 1982). "Moby Dick's high energy". Bay Area Reporter . Archived from the original on February 20, 2010.
  6. Grant. "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1982" . Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  7. "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". ultratop.be. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  8. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  9. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  10. Top 40, Stichting Nederlandse. "Boys Town Gang". Top40.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved August 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  12. "BOYS TOWN GANG | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  13. "Boys Town Gang - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 19, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2023.