The Motorcycle Boy Explained

The Motorcycle Boy were a Scottish indie pop band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1987 by former members of Meat Whiplash and Shop Assistants.

History

The band consisted of Alex Taylor (vocals, formerly of Shop Assistants), Paul McDermott (drums), Michael Kerr (guitar), and Eddy Connelly (bass) (all formerly of Meat Whiplash), and David "Scottie" Scott (guitar).[1] They were signed by Rough Trade Records, who issued their debut single, "Big Rock Candy Mountain", which reached number 2 in the UK Independent Chart.[2] The band were then signed by Chrysalis Records, with two singles, but failed to achieve great success despite considerable press attention. Their debut album Scarlet (which had additional drumming by Anthony Cooper and keyboards from former Jesse Garon and The Desperadoes guitarist Stuart Clarke) was never released. [3] The band then split with Chrysalis, with two further singles released on the Nymphaea Pink Sensation label in 1990, before the band themselves split up.

The group made the cover of NME on September 19, 1987, despite only having a brief half-page feature. This was because the entire contents of a themed issue on censorship (which would have had a painting used on Dead Kennedys' album Frankenchrist, then the subject of an obscenity trial in the USA, on the cover) had themselves been censored, with Stuart Cosgrove sacked from the paper, and a new cover had to be designed at very short notice.

Decades after the break-up of the band, Forgotten Astronaut Records procured the licence for the unreleased album Scarlet, and released the album in late 2019. It was released on both CD and vinyl, with the CD containing two bonus tracks, the Flood-produced "Sweet Dreams Pretty Baby", and the Pat Collier-produced "Days Like These".

It was revealed in 2020 that Alex Taylor had died in 2005.[4]

Anthony Cooper, who played drums on the Scarlet album, passed away in 2020,[5] and Eddie Connelly died in December 2023.[6]

The band features in the book Postcards From Scotland, which details the 1980's and 1990's independent music scene in Scotland.

Discography

Singles

Albums

Appearance on compilation albums

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Book: Strong, Martin C. . The Great Alternative & Indie Discography . registration . 1999 . Canongate . 0-86241-913-1 .
  2. Book: Lazell, Barry . Indie Hits 1980-1999 . 1997 . Cherry Red Books . 0-9517206-9-4 .
  3. Book: Larkin, Colin . The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music . 1992. 190 . Guinness Publishing . 0-85112-579-4 .
  4. Web site: Alex Taylor: An Appreciation » We Are Cult. Wearecult.rocks. 19 June 2020. 21 June 2021.
  5. Web site: 2019-12-16 . The Motorcycle Boy – Scarlet (The story behind the release of one of the great lost indie albums of the ‘80s) - Shindig! Magazine . 2024-10-15 . en-US.
  6. Web site: McPhee . Grant . 2023-12-23 . Eddie Connelly (Meat Whiplash) RIP . 2024-10-15 . Louder Than War . en-GB.

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