''Beat Boy'' is the third studio album by the British new wave band Visage. It was recorded at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

between 1982 and 1983 and released on

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

in October 1984 (delayed by contractual problems the band were having at that time). Reaching No. 79 on the UK album chart, the album was poorly received by critics and would be the band's last studio album for almost thirty years.

Background

The album was recorded and released after lead singer

Steve Strange Stephen John Harrington (28 May 1959 – 12 February 2015), known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer. From the late 1970s he was a nightclub host and promoter. He became famous as the leader of the new wave synth-pop group ...

decided to make Visage a live band instead of being solely a studio-based project, a decision that left him working only with drummer

Rusty Egan Rusty Egan (born 19 September 1957 in London) is the former drummer for the British new wave band Rich Kids. They were founded by former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock (bass guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals), with Steve New ( ...

and a trio of newer musicians.

Billy Currie William Lee Currie (born 1 April 1950Ultravox.org.uk
) is a ...

(the

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

keyboardist who had been part of Visage for their first two albums) left the band soon after recording commenced, though co-wrote and played on the track "Only The Good Die Young". Keyboardist

Dave Formula Dave Formula (born David Tomlinson 11 August 1946, Whalley Range, Manchester, England), is an English keyboardist and film-soundtrack composer from Manchester, who played with the post-punk bands Magazine and Visage during the end of the 19 ...

, who co-wrote two tracks, also departed the band during this time. ''Beat Boy'' was released on 26 October 1984 on vinyl and cassette by

. The cassette version of the album featured remixes of the album's original tracks, with a total running time of over 50 minutes. This included an extra track, the instrumental "Reprise" (a

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

of the track "Questions"). ''Beat Boy'' was eventually released on CD for the first time in February 2009 by Cherry Red Records, and featured the same track list as the original vinyl album with four extra tracks (see below). The remixed version of the album (as featured on the original cassette) was released by Rubellan Remasters on CD in 2022.

Reception

''Beat Boy'' was poorly received by critics. In a scathing review of the album, Ian Cranna of '' Smash Hits'' characterised Strange and Egan as "two wafer-thin talents" and described the album as "a cross between all-purpose

Euro-disco Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is the variety of European forms of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the late 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...

and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, with excruciatingly amateurish lyrics". Though the band's first two studio albums peaked within the Top 20 and Top 10 respectively, each earning a Silver disc in the UK, ''Beat Boy'' peaked at number 79 and spent only two weeks on the album chart. Two singles were released from the album, "Love Glove" in August 1984 (UK No. 54) and "Beat Boy" in November 1984, which did not chart. The critical and commercial failure of the album effectively marked the end of Visage as a recording act for the next couple of decades.

Track listing

Remixed cassette version

Personnel

Visage *

– lead vocals * Andy Barnett – guitar * Steve Barnacle – bass *

Gary Barnacle Gary Barnacle (born 1959 in Dover, England) is an English saxophonist, flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer, and producer. Barnacle is primarily noted for his session work and live work, including various Prince's Trust concerts a ...

– saxophone *

– drums, electronic drum ; Additional personnel *

Billy Currie William Lee Currie (born 1 April 1950Ultravox.org.uk
) is a ...

– keyboards *

– keyboards * Marsha Raven – backing vocals * Karen Ramsey – backing vocals * Rose Patterson – backing vocals

References

External links

* {{Authority control Visage (band) albums 1984 albums Polydor Records albums Albums recorded at Trident Studios