Chris Bostock is an English

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

, songwriter and

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, known for his work with JoBoxers,

Subway Sect Subway Sect were one of the first British punk bands. Although their commercial success was limited by the small amount of recorded material they released, they have been credited as highly influential on the Postcard Records scene and the in ...

Dave Stewart and the Spiritual Cowboys Dave Stewart and the Spiritual Cowboys was an English rock and pop band, formed in 1990 after frontman David A. Stewart's departure from Eurythmics. Chris Bostock from JoBoxers, Jonathan Perkins, Olle Romo and Nan Vernon were later joined by ...

The Style Council The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight R ...

, Spear of Destiny, The X-Certs and The Stingrays. Bostock has also guested on

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s and singles by

Shakespears Sister Shakespears Sister is an alternative pop and rock musical duo based in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1988 by singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama. Shakespears Sister was initially a solo act, but became a ...

and The Rhythm Sisters, plus live shows and TV appearances with

Sandie Shaw Sandie may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Sandie Clair (born 1988), French professional racing cyclist * Sandie Fitzgibbon, Irish former camogie player * Sandie Jones (1950/1951–2019), Irish singer * Sandie Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker ( ...

, and Daryl Hall & John Oates.

Career

Starting out in Bristol, UK, Bostock studied classical piano from the age of six, switching to guitar aged 12 and formed his first band The Stingrays in 1978 as bassist and backing vocalist, appearing on seminal Bristol compilation album '' Avon Calling'' before releasing their first single 'Countdown', having played numerous shows opening for acts such as the

UK Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...

and

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley ...

. Bostock then joined Bristol band The X-Certs, playing Clash-influenced songs fused with Reggae and appearing on ''The Bristol Recorder 2'' compilation album before releasing their own single 'Together' while opening for acts such as

The Clash The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...

and The Associates. In 1980, Clash/ Specials/

Dexys Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

manager

Bernard Rhodes Bernard Rhodes is a designer, band manager, studio owner, record producer and songwriter who was integral to the development of the punk rock scene in the United Kingdom from the middle 1970s. He is most associated with two of the UK's best kn ...

, recruited Bostock along with Sean McLusky from The Stingrays, Rob Marche from Joe Public and DC Collard from Gardez Darkz to form a group with fellow Bristol musician Johnny Britton and they recorded the track 'Perpetual Emotion' to launch as a single. The new band then started touring with Vic Godard in 1981 as the second incarnation of

before recording an album ''Songs For Sale'' for

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in 1982. They also ran their weekly Club Left in association with Rhodes at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go in Wardour Street, enabling the band to showcase singers such as New Yorker Dig Wayne, Lady Blue and

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. The ...

while Johnny Britton set the scene as the house DJ playing his brand of Cool Bop & Swing. Working with Dig Wayne, the band worked up a set incorporating their favourite influences of Funk, Northern Soul, Rhythm & Blues and Ska and became The JoBoxers, signing to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

and embarking on a UK tour opening for Madness in 1983. The JoBoxers’ single " Boxerbeat" reached No 3 in the charts while " Just Got Lucky" reached No 7 (UK) and No 31 (US) and their album '' Like Gangbusters'' went Top 20 (UK). Bostock co-wrote the songs " Just Got Lucky", "Johnny Friendly", "Not My Night", "Crime of Passion" and "Is This Really The First Time" among others. The group toured in the UK, US and Australasia. Two more albums were written and recorded: ''Skin & Bone'' and ''Missing Link'' but the band ran into business obstacles prior to the release of ''Skin & Bone'' resulting in most of the ''Skin & Bone'' tracks being released but none of ''Missing Link'', which remains unheard to this day. At this time

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/ mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

asked Bostock to play electric and double bass on

's debut album ''

Café Bleu ''Café Bleu'' is the official debut album released by the English band The Style Council. It was released on 16 March 1984, on Polydor Records, produced by Paul Weller with Peter Wilson. It followed the compilation ''Introducing The Style C ...

''. In 1986, as admirers of UK singer

, Bostock, with Marche and McLusky performed as her band on her UK tour plus TV and recording sessions. In 1988, Bostock played on the Spear of Destiny '' The Price You Pay'' album and subsequent UK tour. In 1989, Bostock played in The Flame with

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and ...

's Paul Thompson and

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending ...

's Dave Winthrop and were signed to Eurythmic Dave Stewart's Anxious Records, opening for

The Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succes ...

and

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

. In 1990, after

, Dave Stewart invited Bostock to form

The Spiritual Cowboys Dave Stewart and the Spiritual Cowboys was an English rock and pop band, formed in 1990 after frontman David A. Stewart's departure from Eurythmics. Chris Bostock from JoBoxers, Jonathan Perkins, Olle Romo and Nan Vernon were later joined by Ma ...

with him, adding members including Martin Chambers from

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

and John Turnbull of

The Blockheads The Blockheads are an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Ian and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. Current member ...

. They toured extensively in Europe with the resulting two albums: the self-titled ''Dave Stewart & the Spiritual Cowboys'' and '' Honest'', both achieving Gold status in France. In 1992, Bostock produced music for and appeared in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

Screenplay ''Bad Girl'' with actress

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in ...

in which she played the singer in his band and this became the forerunner to the movie '' Little Voice'' in which Horrocks played the singer and focal point of the story. In 1993, Bostock produced the album ''Savage World'' for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

Electrola Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer, Brings, Höhner and Santiano. History On 8 May 1925 the British Gramophone Comp ...

's Frankfurt signing Savage World. In 1997 he co-produced the album ''This Hour'' for country singer Clint Bradley on BMG/ M&G Records. In 2012, Bostock was Executive Producer for the re-released JoBoxers album '' Like Gangbusters''. Between 1995 and 1997, Bostock was A&R Manager for Michael Levy's M&G Records and Wired Recordings. In 2005 the JoBoxers song ‘ Just Got Lucky’ featured in the movies ''

The 40-Year-Old Virgin ''The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Judd Apatow, who produced the film with Clayton Townsend and Shauna Robertson. It features Steve Carell as the titular 40-year-old virgin Andy, an employee at an e ...

'' and '' Just My Luck''. Bostock worked on the re-release of The JoBoxers albums ''Essential Boxerbeat'' (2006) on

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

and '' Like Gangbusters'' (2012). Bostock currently performs in

with Vic Godard & former members

Sean McLusky Sean McLusky is a British music promoter, nightclub impresario and film producer. Early life The early 1980s saw Sean McLusky as a professional musician, first as a member of Switch, with his brother Graham and friends then original indie b ...

and Johnny Britton and JoBoxers, who completed a successful UK tour in summer 2022.

Selected Discography

Subway Sect

Album

*''Songs For Sale''. (London Records, 1982) *''Moments Like These''. (Texte und Töne, 2021)

Singles

*"Stamp of a Vamp" (Club Left, 1981) *"Hey Now I’m in Love" (London - 1981) *"How High The Walls?" (GNU Inc - 2019) *"Gypsy Woman" (GNU Inc - 2020)

JoBoxers

Albums

* '' Like Gangbusters'' (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westin ...

, 1983) UK No. 18 (re-released in 2012) * ''Skin and Bone'' (RCA, 1985) * ''Essential Boxerbeat'' ( BMG, 1996) * ''Doing The Boxerbeat - The Anthology'' (

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a s ...

, 2003) * ''Essential Boxerbeat'' (Reissue,

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...

, 2006) * '' Like Gangbusters (Expanded Edition)'' Hot Shot Records, (2012)

Singles

* " Boxerbeat" (RCA, 1983) UK No. 3 * " Just Got Lucky" (RCA, 1983) UK No. 7, US No. 36 * "Johnny Friendly" (RCA, 1983) UK No. 31 * " Jealous Love"/"She's Got Sex"" (RCA, 1983) UK No. 72 * "Is This Really the First Time" (RCA, 1985)

Spear of Destiny

Album

* '' The Price You Pay'' (Virgin, 1988)

Singles

* "So in Love With You" (Virgin, 1989) * "Radio Radio" (Virgin, 1988)

Dave Stewart & The Spiritual Cowboys

Albums

* ''Dave Stewart and the Spiritual Cowboys'' (BMG, 1990) – UK #38, AUS #51,Australian (

ARIA Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

) peaks: *Top 100 peaks: *"Love Shines": NED #50, NOR #20, SWE #9 * '' Honest'' (BMG, 1991) – NED #86, SWE #49

Singles

* "Jack Talking" (BMG, 1990) * "Love Shines" (BMG, 1991)

Shakespears Sister

Single

* " Goodbye Cruel World" (London, 1992)

Savage World

Album

* ''Savage World'' (EMI Electrola, 1993)

Single

* "Everybody" (EMI Electrola, 1993)

Clint Bradley

Album

* ''This Hour'' (BMG Germany, 1997)

Amina

Album

* ''Annabi'' (Mercury, 1999)

The Rhythm Sisters

Album

* ''Tell Me How long The Boat's Been Gone'' (Radio Geronimo, 2007)

Johnny Britton

Album

*''Johnny Britton'' (Exhilaration, 2018)

External links

Chris Bostock discographyChris Bostock interviewOfficial JoBoxers websiteChris Bostock podcast

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bostock, Chris 1962 births Living people Musicians from Bristol English songwriters English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists English new wave musicians Spear of Destiny (band) members Subway Sect members Dave Stewart and the Spiritual Cowboys members British male songwriters