Boss were a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band, which formed in 1979 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Long-term members were Craig Csongrady on lead vocals and Kevin Pratt on lead guitar. The group issued a sole album, ''Step on It'', in October 1984 before disbanding in 1986. Three members from the final line-up, Csongrady, Pratt and Peter Heckenberg (drums), founded another hard rock group,

BB Steal BB Steal (Beg Borrow Steal) are a heavily Def Leppard-influenced Australian band formed circa 1987. Lead vocalist Craig Csongrady has been the only permanent member. The band originally featured former Boss members lead vocalist Craig Csongra ...

, in 1987.

History

Craig Csongrady, on lead vocals, formed Boss as a hard rock group in Adelaide during 1979. Kevin Pratt soon joined on lead guitar and the group moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1980. Peter Sutcliffe on guitar, from

Dapto Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering . As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,954. History The name Dapto is said to be an Abor ...

, was added to the line-up. Boss commenced a heavy schedule of live performances on the Sydney pub and club circuit. Some of their early performances were at the Astra Hotel, Bondi. In 1983 Boss released a two-track self-titled single, produced by Jon Kennett. They released a sole album, ''Step on It'', in October 1984, using the line-up of Csongrady, Pratt and Sutcliffe together with Scott Ginn on bass guitar and Joe Tatts on drums. It was produced by Eddie Hansen and co-engineered by Heather Dalton, Spencer Lee and Richard Lush for RCA Records. Australian musicologist,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, observed that "The band built a solid live reputation in Sydney but could not sell records in Australia. ''Step on It'', however, managed to sell 20000 copies in Germany and Japan." Fans were disappointed to learn that a drum machine was used instead of a real drummer on the album. The group supported shows by

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...

, and Ronnie James Dio. Boss issued four more singles, "Strange Games" (May 1984), "Dancin' Queen" (December 1984), "Shake It" (March 1985) and "Cry Cry" (July). In 1986 the line-up of Csongrady, Pratt, Peter Heckenberg on drums and Laurie Marlowe on bass guitar (ex-Heaven) disbanded. In the following year Csongrady, Heckenberg and Pratt founded another hard rock group,

, in Sydney. In 2003 Csongrady co-wrote "United Forever", the theme song for

Adelaide United FC Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's Association football, soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently ...

Members

Boss Members * Craig Csongrady (vocals) * Kevin Pratt (guitar) * Scott Tansley (guitar 1981) * Greg Bailey (guitar 1981-1986) * Dave Ray (drums 1980-81) * Rob Grosser (drums 1981-83) * Kevin McDonald (bass 1981-83) * Scott Ginn (bass 1984-85) * Alan Bryant (drums) 1984 * Joe Tatts (drums) 1984 * Peter Heckenberg drums (1985–86) * Laurie Marlow bass guitar (1986)

Discography

Albums

Singles

* "Boss" (1983) RCA * "Strange Games" (May 1984) * "Dancin' Queen" (December 1984) * "Shake It" (March 1985) * "Cry Cry" (July 1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boss Musical groups from Sydney Australian heavy metal musical groups Australian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1986