''Beat Boy'' is the third studio album by the British

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

band Visage. It was recorded at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry ...

between 1982 and 1983 and released on

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

in October 1984 (delayed by contractual problems the band were having at that time). Reaching No. 79 on the UK album chart, the album was poorly received by critics and would be the band's last studio album for almost thirty years.

Background

The album was recorded and released after lead singer

Steve Strange Stephen John Harrington (28 May 1959 – 12 February 2015), known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer and nightclub host and promoter. Strange began his career in several short-lived punk rock, punk bands of the late 1970s. Qui ...

decided to make Visage a live band instead of being solely a studio-based project, a decision that left him working only with drummer Rusty Egan and a trio of newer musicians.

Billy Currie William Lee Currie (born 1 April 1950Ultravox.org.uk
) is a ...

(the

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...

keyboardist who had been part of Visage for their first two albums) left the band soon after recording commenced, though co-wrote and played on the track "Only The Good Die Young". Keyboardist Dave Formula, who co-wrote two tracks, also departed the band during this time. ''Beat Boy'' was released on 26 October 1984 on vinyl and cassette by

. The cassette version of the album featured remixes of the album's original tracks, with a total running time of over 50 minutes. This included an extra track, the instrumental "Reprise" (a

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

of the track "Questions"). ''Beat Boy'' was eventually released on CD for the first time in February 2009 by

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

, and featured the same track list as the original vinyl album with four extra tracks (see below). The remixed version of the album (as featured on the original cassette) was released by Rubellan Remasters on CD in 2022.

Reception

''Beat Boy'' was poorly received by critics. In a scathing review of the album, Ian Cranna of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' characterised Strange and Egan as "two wafer-thin talents" and described the album as "a cross between all-purpose Euro-disco and

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, with excruciatingly amateurish lyrics". Though the band's first two studio albums peaked within the Top 20 and Top 10 respectively, each earning a Silver disc in the UK, ''Beat Boy'' peaked at number 79 and spent only two weeks on the album chart. Two singles were released from the album, "Love Glove" in August 1984 (UK No. 54) and "Beat Boy" in November 1984, which did not chart. The critical and commercial failure of the album effectively marked the end of Visage as a recording act for the next couple of decades.

Track listing

Remixed cassette version

Personnel

Visage *

– lead vocals * Andy Barnett – guitar * Steve Barnacle – bass *

Gary Barnacle Gary Barnacle (born 1959) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts at Wembley Arena, th ...

– saxophone * Rusty Egan – drums,

electronic drum Electronic drums are a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the Drum synthesiser, synthesized or Sampler ...

; Additional personnel *

Billy Currie William Lee Currie (born 1 April 1950Ultravox.org.uk
) is a ...

– keyboards * Dave Formula – keyboards * Marsha Raven – backing vocals * Karen Ramsey – backing vocals * Rose Patterson – backing vocals

References

External links

* {{Authority control Visage (band) albums 1984 albums Polydor Records albums Albums recorded at Trident Studios