The World Is Waitin' Just For You

Side 1 of a tape compilation featuring The Boo Radleys, recorded 22nd February 1997.

 

In 1994, I upped sticks and moved to Derby. Not a completely random choice as I ended up crashing with my friend Stuart and his then-girlfriend, who had moved up there a few months previously to study at the city's university. It didn't take much hindsight to realise how very selfish that was, particularly as I took far too long to find a job and my own place and give them the space that they deserved. At the time, it was all me, me, me but it was also another example of why, time and again, Stuart has been the best friend that anyone could wish for. 

One of the things that all three of us could agree on during that time was that Giant Steps by The Boo Radleys was one of the greatest albums we'd ever heard. Stuart had the vinyl LP and we would play it constantly, so when we found out The Boo Radleys were playing live at The Wherehouse, it was a no-brainer. If you've heard the album, you won't be at all surprised to hear that, try as they might, The Boo Radleys just couldn't capture the sprawling, squalling psychedelic genius of the album on stage. Even so, we still loved them.

When I eventually got my own place, a cold, damp bedsit with a grotty shared kitchen in the attic conversion and shared bathroom with a bath that relied on feeding 50p coins into a separate meter to get the boiler fired up for hot water. My immediate neighbour was a lovely guy, but with a taste for heavy metal and rock, played loud, and a sole concession to Kate Bush's greatest hits. We went out for a drink a couple of times though he was constantly on at me to go to his favourite late night joint - I think it was called the Blue Pineapple or something similarly awful - to "pick up" older women. I declined his kind offer and thankfully soon after met a lovely woman of similar age and taste in music, so nights out with him were off the (grubby kitchen) table at that point.

I worked night shifts at a local paint factory, 2.00pm to 10.00pm, Monday to Friday. The pay wasn't great but my unsociable working hours essentially meant that I had money let over from rent and bills to buy records and go out a lot. Anything better than returning to that cold, damp bedsit! I got my own copy of Giant Steps (on CD) and picked up The Boo Radleys' singles back catalogue on various jaunts to secondhand shops in Derby and Nottingham.

I was back living in the centre of Bristol by the time The Boo Radleys' follow-up Wake Up (and their big hit single) was released. I didn't buy it or any of the remaining albums until some years later. I couldn't resist getting the singles though as they were usually cheap to begin with or very quickly in the bargain bins, following their brief brush with the charts on the week of release. To be fair, The Boo Radleys were firmly committed to putting quality songs on their B-sides and EPs, so it was always worth a punt, even if the A-side was at times underwhelming.

So this selection largely draws on EPs, remixes and exclusive (at the time) compilation tracks. On the original mixtape, Blues For George Michael was an early version taken from the NME cover-mounted cassette, The Mutha Of Creation, which ran to under three minutes. Unfortunately, I can't put my hands on the cassette (or online equivalent) and the single version from the Wake Up Boo! EP runs to early nine minutes, so I've dropped an early fade in to keep the overall running time in line with the original compilation. 

And yes, Wake Up Boo! is included. Worse, you might say, it's the 12" version with the breakbeat muckabout Music For Astronauts appended. This remains my favourite version of Wake Up Boo! though as even the band themselves seem to have realised what a silly song it is and thrown everything they can at it including the kitchen sink by the sound of things. Or it's all Martin Carr's fault. Possibly. I love it, either way.

Coming full circle with my point, this post is dedicated to my friend Stuart for putting up with my nonsense for nearly five decades, sharing some fantastic, unforgettable experiences (and music) along the way and for being a really, really good mate. 

More tomorrow.

 

1) What's In The Box? (See Whatcha Got) (Album Version) (1996)

2) Hi Falutin (1995)

3) Blues For George Michael (Single Edit By Khayem) (1995)

4) A Part I Know So Well (1997)

5) Petroleum (1992)

6) Leaves And Sand (1993)

7) From The Bench At Belvidere (Single Version) (1995)

8) Reaching Out From Here (The High Llamas Mix By Sean O'Hagan) (1995)

9) Spion Kop (1996)

10) Wake Up Boo! : Music For Astronauts (12" Version) (1995)

11) At The Sound Of Speed (1992)

12) Fortunate Sons (Greg Hunter Remix) (1996)

1992: Lazarus EP: 5. 11

1993: Giant Steps: 6

1995: From The Bench At Belvidere EP: 2, 7

1995: It's Lulu EP: 8

1995: Wake Up Boo! EP: 3, 10

1996: C'mon Kids: 1

1996: C'mon Kids EP: 9, 12

1997: Ride The Tiger EP: 4

Side One (46:19)