Red Box (band)
Red Box | |
|---|---|
Warner Bros. Records (US) | |
| Members | Simon Toulson-Clarke Derek Adams David Jenkins Sally-Jo Seery Jane Milligan Michał Kirmuć Associate members: Karin Tenggren Alastair Gavin Ali Ferguson |
| Past members | Julian Close Chris Wyles Simon Edwards Ginny Clee Paul Bond Ty Unwin |
| Website | redboxmusic |
Red Box is a British pop group founded by
Red Box returned briefly in 1990 with the single "Train" and the second album
In February 2019, the band released "This Is What We Came For", the first single from their fourth studio album Chase the Setting Sun, due for release in September 2019. In July 2019, they released a second single "Gods & Kings", also from Chase the Setting Sun.
History
Early years and formation (1978–1984)
Simon Toulson-Clarke formed his first band, aged thirteen, at Harrow School with his friend Paddy Talbot (another member of the band was cricketer and insurance executive Matthew Fosh, who recognised,"two of the guys were talented and two of us were rubbish. I was one of the rubbish ones"),[1] playing covers of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple as well as some self-penned material. Other early influences are cited as being Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Cream, Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens and particularly Buffy Sainte-Marie.[2] On leaving school, he moved to Middlesbrough and formed another band in the vein of New York Dolls.[2]
In the late 1970s, he travelled south to study at the Polytechnic of Central London where he formed a band with Bristolian Julian Close.[2] Initially the band performed under the name Harlequins and comprised Toulson-Clarke (vocals/guitar) and Close (saxophone) together with Paddy Talbot (keyboards), Rob Legge (bass) and Martin Nickson (drums).[3]
The band later took the name Red Box, after some deliberation, from a box left behind by the rock group
Whilst still students, the band regularly sold-out shows at the Marquee and Moonlight Club[
The Circle and the Square (1985–1987)
In August 1985 the duo had their first UK hit single, "
In 1986, the band released their debut album
The album received praise for its "evocative lyrics" and "global political intelligence"
Toulson-Clarke responded to WEA's request for something to appeal to American radio with the sardonic "For America", which lambasted what he saw as the style-over-content approach of the American media,[9] as well as alluding to American military involvement in Grenada and Nicaragua. The song was not a hit in the United States, though it did worldwide outsell "Lean on Me", reaching number one in six countries and the top ten in several others including the UK, where it spent twelve weeks in the chart peaking at number ten.[4]
Two more tracks were released as singles – "Heart of the Sun" and a second re-working of "Chenko" – but both failed to make a significant impact on the charts. Due to increasingly strained working relations between the band and the record company, Close left to work in
Motive (1990)
Toulson-Clarke was persuaded back to recording by Max Hole – a former contact at
The opening track and first single "Train" begins with the sound of a
"Train" was selected as the first single and released in the autumn of 1990. The
However, a progressively deteriorating relationship between band and label undermined any efforts to promote the single or album. Despite the positive reception for "Train", and for reasons which remain unclear, the song was recalled from retailers.[2] No further singles were issued and the album was eventually released without further publicity. By 'heartfelt agreement on both sides', the band and label parted and the band went into hiatus.
Reissues
Both
In light of continued interest[11] in the Red Box back catalogue, a petition was created to show support for the reissue of both albums on CD.
A new recording of "Lean on Me" by Toulson-Clarke and Close was made available through iTunes in September 2007.
The Circle & the Square was re-released on CD by Cherry Red Records on 20 October 2008. It features all 12 tracks from the original album, along with the Cherry Red versions of "Chenko" and "Valley", plus four additional bonus tracks. The second album, Motive, was reissued in the UK in March 2011. The album includes 12 tracks in total, two of which are bonus tracks, the B-side to the "Train" single, "Hello, He Lied", as well as "Train (Fantasy Island Version)".
Plenty (2010–present)
Plenty is the third album from Red Box, released on Cherry Red Records on 11 October 2010.[12]
The notion of a new album and subsequent reformation of Red Box was first conceived in 2000. While working for East West, Toulson-Clarke signed a band to the label from the USA called The Vulgar Boatmen, releasing an album Opposite Sex in 1996.
Interviewed in 2009, he explained: “A bond of friendship producing heartfelt and honest music reminded me of our early days. I missed it, and I suppose the small notion of Red Box ‘riding again’ planted itself then. I suppose Plenty really began in the woods outside Gainesville, Florida.”
Red Box promoted Plenty with live performances, especially in Poland, where the songs "The Sign" and "Hurricane" achieved number one status on the Trójka Radio charts (5 weeks and 4 weeks respectively). The band consists of:
- Simon Toulson-Clarke – lead vocals and guitar
- Derek Adams – drums, acoustic guitar, backing vocals and banjo
- Dave Jenkins – bass
- Sally-Jo Seery – acoustic guitar and backing vocals
- Jane Milligan – keyboards and backing vocals
- Michal Kirmuc – electric guitar and percussion
- Ali Ferguson – electric guitar and backing vocals
- Karin Tenggren – violin and backing vocals
Other projects
Enjoy
In 1990, Red Box scored a club hit with "Enjoy" which was essentially a remix, by
Julian Close
Julian Close left the band in 1987 and worked behind the scenes at
Simon Toulson-Clarke
- In 1997, he collaborated with Phill Brown (who had produced the Cherry Red version of "Chenko") and Alastair Gavin, using the
- Plenty
- In 2000, the song "Might As Well Go Home" by Plenty was featured on the soundtrack to the film Saving Grace starring Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson.[15]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [16][17] |
NLD [18] |
NOR [19] | ||||
| The Circle & the Square |
|
73 | 45 | 19 | ||
Motive
|
|
— | — | — | ||
| Plenty |
|
— | — | — | ||
| Chase the Setting Sun |
|
— | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications
|
Label | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL [20] |
GER [21] |
IRE [22] |
NLD [23] |
NOR [24] |
SWE [25] | |||||
| 1983 | "Chenko"
b/w "Valley" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Cherry Red Records
CHERRY 73 | |
| 1984 | "Saskatchewan"
b/w "Speeches" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sire Records
W 9157 | |
| 1985 | "Lean on Me (Ah-Li-Ayo)"
b/w "Stinging Bee" |
3 | — | 27 | 2 | — | — | — | Sire Records
W 8926 | |
| 1986 | "For America"
b/w "R n' A" |
10 | 2 | — | 6 | 6 | 2 | 12 | Sire Records
YZ 84 | |
| 1987 | "Heart of the Sun"
b/w "Enjoy (Solid Gold Easy Amex)" |
71 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sire Records
YZ 100 | |
| 1987 | "Chenko (Tenka-Io)"
b/w "Speeches" |
77 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sire Records
YX 125 | |
| 1990 | "Enjoy" (Paul Oakenfold Future Mix) (edit)
(as Solid Gold Easy Amex featuring Red Box)
|
75* | — | — | — | — | — | — | EastWest
YZ 466 | |
| 1990 | "Train"
b/w "'Hello' He Lied" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | EastWest
YZ 531 | |
| 2007 | "Lean on Me" (digital single) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Silent Songs | |
| 2010 | "Hurricane"/"Brighter Blue" (digital single) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Cherry Red Records | |
| 2011 | "The Sign" (digital single) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Cherry Red Records | |
| 2012 | "Let It Rain" (Remix)
b/w "Never Let It Be Said" |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Cherry Red Records | |
| 2019 | "This Is What We Came For" (digital single) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Right Track Records | |
| 2019 | "Gods & Kings" (digital single) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Right Track Records | |
| 2020 | "Ho Ho!" (Radio Edit) (digital single) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Right Track Records | |
| 2020 | "Us and Them" (digital single) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Right Track Records | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||
References
- ^ "Business profile: Corinthian who became a player at Lloyd's". The Telegraph. 10 September 2005.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Simon Toulson-Clarke: The Interview". lewisslade.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ISBN 9780749005344.
- ^ a b Guinness Publishing Limited (1988). Guinness Book of British Hit Singles (7th ed.).
- ^ "Print Article: Lean Times". lewisslade.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
- ^ "Amazon Music: Red Box – The Circle & the Square (import)". Amazon. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
- ^ "10 Questions and Answers with Ginny Clee". lewisslade.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
- ^ "Trouser Press review: The Circle & the Square". trouserpress.com. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
- ^ "Smash Hits: For America lyrics & brief article". starblind.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2003. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
- ^ "Song Listing: Moving (commentary by Simon Toulson-Clarke)". starblind.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2003. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
- ^ "That Pesky Album Art". kittywompus.com. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
- ^ "Red Box Official Website – Plenty album release mailing list". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012.
- ^ "Miguel Bosé: Papito". Billboard. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "SPA". cdvine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 December 2003. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
- ^ "Saving Grace: Original Soundtrack". Amazon UK. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
- ^ ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b "RED BOX - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Red Box". Dutch Charts.
- ^ "Red Box - The Circle & The Square (album)". Norwegian Charts.
- ^ "Red Box - For America". Ultra Top.
- ^ "Red Box - Lean on Me". Offizielle Deutsche Charts.
- ^ "Red Box". The Irish Charts.
- ^ "Red Box - For America". Dutch Charts.
- ^ "Red Box - For America". Norwegian Charts.
- ^ "Red Box - For America". Swedish Charts.
- ^ "Red Box - Lean on Me". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
External links
- Official Red Box band site
- Fan Site (Archived) – Heart of the Sun
- 1990 Grabbing Hands Music Ltd/EMI Music Publishing Ltd.
- Landmark Productions: Depeche Mode – Violator
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
