James Richard Boon (born 6 July 1953) is the former manager of

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

and boss of the record label, New Hormones. Boon, a

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physically ...

friend of

Howard Devoto Howard Devoto (born Howard Andrew Trafford, 15 March 1952) is a retired English singer and songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for punk rock band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, one of the first post-punk bands. After M ...

, became the manager for seminal punk group

by default, after organising gigs for the band. Boon participated on the writing of several Buzzcocks songs, using the pen name Alan Dial. Seeking to release the band's music, Boon started the New Hormones label. The label released the ''

Spiral Scratch ''Spiral Scratch'' is an EP and the first release by the English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released on 29 January 1977. It is one of the earliest releases by a British punk band (preceded by The Damned's " New Rose" in October 1976, a ...

'' EP in January 1977, and began releasing records by other artists regularly from 1979 to 1982. During this time acts such as

Biting Tongues Biting Tongues were a post-punk band formed in Manchester, England in 1979, whose members went on to join Simply Red, Yargo, and 808 State. History The band was formed in 1979 by saxophonist Howard Walmsley, initially to record a soundtracks fo ...

Diagram Brothers The Diagram Brothers were a post-punk band from Manchester, England active between 1979 and 1982. The band comprised Andy Diagram (bass guitar), Fraser Diagram (vocals, guitar), Lawrence Diagram (guitar), Jason Diagram (bass), and Simon Diagram ...

Dislocation Dance Dislocation Dance are an English post-punk band from Manchester, England. The group's original line-up is obscure; their first EP, a self-titled 7" as a co-release between two labels, Delicate Issues and ''New Hormones'' recorded in May 1980, li ...

Ludus Ludus may refer to: * ''Ludus'' (ancient Rome) (plural ''ludi''), several meanings around "play, game, sport, training" **''Ludi'', public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people * Luduș, a town in Transylvania, Romania ...

and

Eric Random The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

all released early records with the Manchester-based label. Richard Boon went on to work for

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

, and later became a librarian at Stoke Newington Library, Hackney, London, where he facilitated a monthly reading group on the second Tuesday of each month. On his birthday, 6 July 1983

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

appeared live at

The Haçienda The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, North West England, which became famous during the Manchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. It was run by the record label Factory Records. The club opened in 1982, eventually ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

dedicated the song "I Don't Owe You Anything" to Boon. Boon contributed a regular column to the Stoke Newington free quarterly community magazine N16, and is part of the crew at the annual Stoke Newington Literary Festival, held first weekend of June Married to retired BBC Radio Science Editor, Deborah Cohen MBE, with whom he is the father of Museum Curator Rachel Boon and chef Adam Boon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boon, Richard British music industry executives Living people People educated at Leeds Grammar School 1953 births