If you’ve ever heard Sarah 076, “B Is For Boyracer,” then you know this 7″ was not the usual sound that made the label famous. Famous? Point is, Boyracer was anything but submissive, and the lads leaned a little more punk than pop. There were a couple of more Sarah singles and a wonderful full-length album on Slumberland during that era. I highly recommend the lot. Here’s a little taste from 1993:
I kind of lost track of Boyracer around 1995. Shameful. There were lots of personnel changes, more labels and many many more songs, but the one constant throughout Boyracer’s roughly 23 years was Stewart Anderson. During those years Anderson had a couple of labels of his own, and he’s recently founded a new one with his wife, Jen Turrell. One of the latest releases on Emotional Response is being touted as Boyracer’s swansong, but what a way to go out! Anderson is joined by the Mrs. and Sarah-era guitarist Matt Green (his first Boyracer appearance in two decades) for the four-song 7″ “Pete Shelley” (six songs as a download). Yes, that Pete Shelley. How cool is that? Perhaps this should be an all A-side affair, because every song is a keeper. Sample “The Kind Of Man You Really Are” below, and stick around or you’ll miss Terrell’s organ-infused “Jump,” and that would be your loss, believe me.
The “Pete Shelley” EP is exactly what I would have wanted Boyracer to sound like in 2014. Still raucous, a little more grown up, and with the kind of crisp production that wasn’t even a thought when I was a fan during the Sarah and Slumberland years. It feels good to be back in the fold, even if I just barely made it in time.
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