Formed in January 1979, the Funboy Five were an English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band from

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

, Hertfordshire and originally had four members, Mick Sinclair (guitar and vocals), John McRae (keyboards), Bob Brimson (bass) and Robert Radhall (drums).Official website
Retrieval 4 February 2023.

1979-2007: original formation and sporadic activity

While gigging sporadically in London and south-east England, the band recorded a three-track demo which earned them a review in Sounds and a session for the

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

Show. First broadcast in October 1979, the session was followed in January 1980 by a single, "Life After Death"/"Compulsive Eater", which also saw the debut of the new rhythm section of Dave Tyler (bass) and Paul Ingram (drums), released on the band's own Cool-Cat-Daddy-O record label. Also released on the label in 1980 was a 7-track

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

''Funboy Five Shall Inherit The Earth'', which included demos and other material. Although the band ceased recording and playing live in 1981, the single became a sought-after rarity among collectors of DIY vinyl being listed in journalist Johan Kugelberg's 100 best records of the post-punk DIY-era, first published in

Ugly Things ''Ugly Things'' (''UT'') is a music magazine established in 1983, based in La Mesa, California. The editor is Mike Stax (born 1962 in England). The magazine covers mainly 1960s Beat, garage rock, and psychedelic music ("Wild Sounds From Past D ...

magazine.It Was Easy It Was Cheap? Go And Do It!
Retrieval 28 December 2012 During the 1990s and 2000s, "Life After Death" featured on two unofficial vinyl compilations, ''Teenage Treats Vol.10'' and '' Killed By Death #007''. During 2001, the band gathered their recorded material together for a 13-track CD, ''Very Hush! Hush!'', shared with Milkshake Melon, Mick Sinclair's solo alter-ego. In 2007, the band were represented by two tracks on ''Messthetics #101: DIY 77–81 London'', a CD retrospective with "Compulsive Eater" on the main release and "Haircut Bob Dylan 66" as a mp3 bonus track.MESSTHETICS #101: London D.I.Y.
Retrieval 28 December 2012

2009-present: revivals and further albums

In 2009, "Life After Death" was included on

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

's four-CD tribute to John Peel, ''Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel On The Radio''.Universal Boxed Set Store: Kats Karavan
Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel on the Radio. Retrieval 28 December 2012 A cover version of "Life After Death", by Talya Cooper, appeared as a digital download in 2011.Cool Cover Comps: Life After Death by Talya Cooper
Retrieval 28 December 2012. A cover version, by Das Boomerang, of both sides of the first single appeared as a digital download in 2018.Living In A Haunted House/Compulsive Eater by Das Boomerang
Retrieval 23 August 2018. Two original members, Mick Sinclair and John McRae, revived the band and the Cool-Cat-Daddy-O label in August 2014 releasing a vinyl single, "Save the World"/"What Did You Do with the Body?". "Save The World" was described by

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

as "like a bonker's contest to play "In The Mood" without actually playing it". In June 2015 came another single, "Radio Free Asia", and a vinyl retrospective album, ''Landmarks Ruins and Memories'', of remastered recordings from 1979 to 1981 on the Italian re-issue label, Ave Phoenix Records described as sounding "a bit like Love's '' Forever Changes'' on happy pills." A further single, "Vipers of the Commonwealth", appeared in 2016 as did "The Radmall Rundown", a tribute instrumental to the band's original drummer who died in 2015. Five further new songs were released in 2018 while January 2019 saw the release of an album, ''The Greatest Album Of All Time'', September 2019 the four-track set ''An Autumn Collection'', December 2020 the five-track collection ''Six Pigeons On A Rooftop Discuss A Snappy Title'', and December 2021 the singles ''Back To Vancouver'' and ''Life Is Boring''. Another four-track set, ''Songs Of Ghosts And Demons: Volume One'', appeared in January 2022 as in February 2023 did ''The Shape Of The Universe''. ''Songs Of Ghosts And Demons: Volume Two'' was released in August 2024.

References

External links

Official website

Funboy Five at Bandcamp
{{Authority control English post-punk music groups Musical groups established in 1979