The Party Boys - The Party Boys (1987) 320kbps {FP}

-


In 1982, Paul Christie (ex-Mondo Rock) decided to form a good-time rock'n'roll band 'The Party Boys', initially for a one-off, two-week tour. The tour was so successful that two weeks extended into ten years, with major hit singles, best-selling albums and sell-out tours along the way. When Christie left Mondo Rock in late 1982, he called up a few old mates with the idea of putting together a covers band for a fun tour. The Party Boys played all cover versions in order to maximise their impact on the pub circuit.

Original line-up: James Reyne (vocals; from Australian Crawl), Kevin Borich (guitar, vocals; from Kevin Borich Express), Harvey James (guitar; ex-Mississippi, Ariel, Sherbet, Swanee), Paul Christie (bass; ex-Kevin Borich Express, Mondo Rock), Buzz Bidstrup (drums; ex-Angels)

The Party Poys - Selftitled (1987)

Track Listing
01 - Hold Your Head Up
02 - Is This The Way To Say Goodbye
03 - He's Gonna Step On You Again
04 - She's A Mystery
05 - Rising Star
06 - Gloria
07 - Small Talk
08 - It Could've Been You
09 - Gonna See My Baby
10 - High Voltage

The Party Boys:

John Swann - Lead Vocals
Kevin Borich - Lead Guitar, Vocals
John Brewster - Rythm Guitar, Vocals
Paul Cristie - Drums, Vocals
Richard Harvey - Drums
Alan Lancaster - Bass, Vocals


The Swanee years
By 1987, Angry Anderson (the Party Boy's 5th lead singer) was replaced by John Swan, ushering in The Party Boys' most successful period. Their first release with Swan was a cover of the John Kongos hit "He's Gonna Step On You Again", a song that was reportedly also being considered as a comeback release for John Paul Young at around the same time (Young did not record the track).
In June the single reached No. 1 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart. In December that year, it was followed by the band's first ever studio album, The Party Boys, which featured six original tracks, plus covers of AC/DC, Argent The Angels, Them and La De Das songs. The Argent tune, "Hold Your Head Up", was issued as a single in November, which peaked at No. 19. However Swan left the band for contractual reasons and to work on a film, Chase the Moon, which was never completed.

Swan was briefly replaced by Graham Bonnet, the UK singer who had recorded with an array of bands including The Marbles, Rainbow and Alcatrazz and who had enjoyed solo success as a solo artist in the 1970s. After only five performances, however, Bonnet left and Swan returned. In February 1988, the group supported AC/DC's first Australian tour in seven years. Swan left after these shows, having served the longest continuous period as the band's singer, broken only by Bonnet's two week tenure. Walsh returned to the band during a brief Australian visit and the group recorded a single, "Follow Your Heart" which was released in March 1989. The new line-up were Christie, Borich, Walsh, and American Calvin Welch on bass guitar with Hamish, Fergus and Angus Richardson on backing vocals

The Party Boys were originally formed by bassist Paul Christie as a one-off cover band for a two-week tour, beginning an odyssey that eventually ended ten years later, after several successful albums that comprised some of Australia's most successful performers.

After leaving Mondo Rock in 1982, Christie called up several friends to form a band to perform cover songs on the pub circuit. They proved so successful that a live album was released of their fourth gig, titled Live at Several 21st's, and it reached number nine on the Australian national charts in March 1983. James Reyne went back to his band, Australian Crawl, and Richard Clapton took his place as lead singer. This lineup released another album, Greatest Hits (of Other People), which reached number 25 nationally.

Robin "the Beast" Riley (ex-Rose Tattoo) replaced Harvey James on guitar and Shirley Strachan (ex-Skyhooks) replaced Richard Clapton as lead singer. A new live album, No Song Too Sacred, was then released. In 1985, the Party Boys toured with a new lineup which included American guitarist Joe Walsh (ex-James Gang, Eagles), vocalist Marc Hunter (from Dragon), and Richard Harvey (ex-Divinyls) on drums. A fourth live album, You Need Professional Help, was released from the sold-out tour.

While on a break between Dragon tours (during which Marc's former bandmate Paul Hewson died unexpectedly, in January 1985), Hunter joined The Party Boys for a sold-out national tour, recording the album You Need Professional Help.

The Party Boys is an Australian rock supergroup with a floating membership that existed from 1982 until 1992. Created by Mondo Rock's bass guitarist, Paul Christie as a part-time venture for professional musicians with downtime from their other projects, the group had temporary members from acts such as Status Quo, The Angels, Sherbet, Skyhooks, Rose Tattoo, The Choirboys, Australian Crawl, Divinyls, Models, Dragon and Swanee plus international stars including Joe Walsh, Eric Burdon, Alan Lancaster and Graham Bonnet. In March 1983 their debut album, Live at Several 21sts, peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In June 1987 they had a number-one hit on the related Singles Chart with a cover version of John Kongos' hit, "He's Gonna Step On You Again". It also peaked at No. 10 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.