Hersham Boys

Last updated

"Hersham Boys"
Hersham Boys Sham 69 Cover.jpg
Single by Sham 69
from the album The Adventures of the Hersham Boys
B-side "I Don't Wanna (live)"/"Tell Us The Truth (live)" [1]
Released26 July 1979 (1979-07-26)
Recorded12 February 1978, June 1979
Genre Punk rock
Length3:25 (7" single edit)
4:46 (album version)
Label Polydor (POSP 64)
Songwriter(s) Jimmy Pursey, Dave Guy Parsons
Producer(s) Peter Wilson, Jimmy Pursey
Sham 69 singles chronology
"Questions and Answers"
(1979)
"Hersham Boys"
(1979)
"You're a Better Man Than I"
(1979)

"Hersham Boys" is a single released by English punk rock band Sham 69 in 1979 from their third studio album The Adventures of the Hersham Boys . It was the band's biggest and most well-known hit, peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart and at nine on the Irish Singles Chart. This success was despite the song's poor review in pop magazine Smash Hits; music journalist David Hepworth described the song as "A tired, hollow effort struggling between weary attempts at rabble-rousing and blush-making pseudo-Springsteen 'street' songs that reek of desperation and contract fulfilling. As empty self-satisfied a record as anything they supposedly set out to replace". [2] The song is included on live and compilation albums. Two live tracks, "I Don't Wanna (live)" and "Tell Us The Truth (live)" appear as b-sides on this single, recorded in 1978. In the music video the sign that Pursey, the rest of Sham 69 and a young boy are sitting next to is the sign for Hersham Road.

Contents

Track listing (7 inch)

Side one
  1. "Hersham Boys" - 3:25
Side two
  1. "I Don't Wanna (live)" - 2:06
  2. "Tell Us The Truth (live)" - 2:06

Track listing (12 inch)

Side one
  1. "Hersham Boys (long version)" - 4:46
Side two
  1. "I Don't Wanna (live)" - 2:06
  2. "Rip Off (Live)" - 2:43
  3. "I'm A Man, I'm A Boy (Live)" - 2:10
  4. "Tell Us The Truth (live)" - 2:06

Related Research Articles

Sham 69

Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, achieving five top 20 singles, including "If the Kids Are United" and "Hurry Up Harry". The group's popularity saw them perform on the BBC’s Top of the Pops, and they appeared in the rockumentary film, D.O.A.. The original unit broke up in 1979, with frontman Jimmy Pursey moving on to pursue a solo career.

The Sham Pistols were a short-lived punk rock supergroup composed of guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols with vocalist Jimmy Pursey and bass player Dave Tregunna of Sham 69. Although now referred to as The Sham Pistols no name had been decided upon at the time. There was the possibility that they may have been called The Sex Pistols.

I Dont Like Mondays 1979 single by The Boomtown Rats

"I Don't Like Mondays" is a song by Irish new wave group The Boomtown Rats about the 1979 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego. It was released in 1979 as the lead single from their third album, The Fine Art of Surfacing. The song was a number one single in the UK Singles Chart for four weeks during the summer of 1979, and ranks as the sixth biggest hit of the UK in 1979. Written by Bob Geldof and Johnnie Fingers, the piano ballad was the band's second single to reach number one on the UK chart.

All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You 1990 single by Heart

"All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You", also known as "All I Wanna Do", is a song by the rock band Heart. It was composed by veteran songwriter and producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and released as the lead single from the band's tenth studio album, Brigade. The song was first recorded as "All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You" by Dobie Gray in 1979, though with different lyrics. The Heart version tells the story of a woman who sets out to seduce a hitchhiker in order to become pregnant because although there is a man in her life, he is infertile.

Girls Got Rhythm Song by AC/DC

"Girls Got Rhythm" is a song by Australian rock band AC/DC. It is found on their 1979 album Highway to Hell. The song was released as a single the same year.

<i>Tell Us the Truth</i> 1978 studio album by Sham 69

Tell Us the Truth is the debut album by English punk rock band Sham 69, released in 1978. The first side of the album was recorded live in concert, while the other was recorded in the studio. Tell Us the Truth includes one of Sham 69's biggest hits, "Borstal Breakout", on the live side of the album. The album peaked at number 25 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>The Adventures of the Hersham Boys</i> 1979 studio album by Sham 69

The Adventures of the Hersham Boys is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1979. It's their most successful album to date, charting at #8 in the UK.

<i>Live and Loud!!</i> (Sham 69 album) 1987 live album by Sham 69

Live and Loud!! is the first live album by the punk band Sham 69, recorded in 1979 and released in 1987.

<i>The Complete Sham 69 Live</i> 1989 live album by Sham 69

The Complete Sham 69 Live is a live album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1989.

<i>Kings & Queens</i> (Sham 69 album) 1993 compilation album by Sham 69

Kings & Queens is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1993. It contains two new tracks; the remaining tiles are re-recordings of 70s material.

Wanna Be with You 1982 single by Earth, Wind & Fire

"Wanna Be with You" is a song by R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire issued as a single in December 1981 by ARC/Columbia Records. The single rose to No. 15 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart, No. 7 on the UK Blues & Soul Top British Soul Singles chart and No. 40 on the RPM Canadian Pop Singles Chart.

Diamond Smiles 1979 single by The Boomtown Rats

"Diamond Smiles" was the second single from The Boomtown Rats' album The Fine Art of Surfacing. It was the follow-up to their successful single "I Don't Like Mondays" and also peaked at Number 13 in the UK Charts. The band has suggested that it might have fared better had it not been for a strike of lighting technicians on the powerful UK TV programme Top of The Pops at the time that the record was released and rising in the charts.

Kinda Kute

"Kinda Kute" is a song by British singer-songwriter and musician Joe Jackson, which was released in 1980 as the third and final single from his second studio album I'm the Man (1979). Described as a "pop song" by Jackson, the song was written by Jackson and produced by David Kershenbaum. "Kinda Kute" failed to chart in the UK, but reached number 91 on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart.

<i>The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80</i> 1998 compilation album by Sham 69

The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80 is a compilation album by Sham 69. It was originally released by Cleopatra in 1998. It features all of the singles, with their b-sides, released by the band from their start to their first break-up. It was re-released in 2006 by Captain Oi!, this time featuring the four missing live b-sides.

Angels with Dirty Faces (Sham 69 song) 1978 single by Sham 69

"Angels with Dirty Faces" is a single by English punk rock band Sham 69 from their second studio album That's Life. The single was backed by B-side hit "Cockney Kids are Innocent". The song was released as a 7" vinyl single in 1978 and 12" single in 1982. It reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart for 10 weeks. "Angels with Dirty Faces" was written and produced by lead vocalist Jimmy Pursey, guitarist Dave Parsons of Sham 69 and Peter Wilson and it only charted in the UK. The song also features on compilations The First, the Best and the Last (1980) and The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80 (1998) and appeares on live albums including Live and Loud (1987), The Complete Sham 69 Live (1989) and Live at the Roxy Club (1990). The band performed the song on the BBC television show Top of the Pops.

Questions and Answers (Sham 69 song) 1979 single by Sham 69

"Questions and Answers" is a song by Sham 69 released in 1979 from their third studio album The Adventures of the Hersham Boys. It reached number eighteen on the UK Singles Chart. The song also featured with live and compilation albums including The First, the Best and the Last in 1980, Live and Loud!! in 1987, The Complete Sham 69 Live in 1989, Live at the Roxy Club in 1990, The Punk Singles Collection 1977-80 in 1998. The B-side tracks "Gotta Survive (live)" and The Beatles' cover version With a Little Help from My Friends appears on this single. The song "Questions and Answers" was written and produced by frontman Jimmy Pursey and guitarist Dave Parsons of Sham 69, and Peter Wilson.

Live and Loud!! Volume 2 is a second live album by the punk rock band Sham 69, recorded in 1977-1979 and released in 1988.

Live in Italy is a live album by punk rock band Sham 69, recorded at the Live in Bo Festival, Italy in summer of 1996 and was released on 1 October 1999.

Shams Last Stand is a live and compilation album by Sham 69 and Sham Pistols, was recorded in 1977-1979 at Rainbow Theatre, London, England. It was released as live album in 1989 and on 24 August 1999 as compilation album. The tracks includes "Pretty Vacant" by Sex Pistols and "White Riot" by The Clash was later featured on compilation album and was covered by Sham 69.

The Best of & Rest of Sham 69 Live is live and compilation album by punk rock band Sham 69. It was released as an compilation album in 1989 and live album in 1994.

References

  1. "Sham 69 - Hersham Boys (Vinyl)". Discogs . Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  2. Hepworth, David (1979) "SHAM 69: Hersham Boys", Smash Hits , EMAP National Publications Ltd, 4–17 October 1979, p.29