Westworld was a British pop rock/ rockabilly band of the late 1980s, best known for its 1987 UK Top 20

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, "Sonic Boom Boy".

History

Named after the sci-fi

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

'' Westworld'', it was formed in 1986 by former Generation X guitarist Bob "Derwood" Andrews and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

vocalist Elizabeth Westwood. The line up was completed by drummer Nick Burton. Before the recording and release of their third and final album, Burton left the band and was replaced by Gary "Gaz" Young and Tracey "T.J." O'Conner, making them a quartet. Visually the band were styled in a way reminiscent of comic book art and musically they were a blend of classic 1950s rock and roll, glam and punk, updated with beatboxes and

sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sam ...

. They had an early success with their debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Sonic Boom Boy", which reached #11 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1987, and was used in Sony's advertisements. They had one more Top 40 hit, "Ba-Na-Na-Bam-Boo" which reached #37 in May the same year. They released three albums before moving to the Arizona desert in the US in 1992 to form the band Moondogg. Although not successful in the US, their song "Painkiller" reached #17 on the San Francisco modern rock station Live-105's ( KITS) "Top 105.3 Songs of 1988".

The JAMs The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing h ...

' "Whitney Joins the JAMs", a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

mash-up single, was built around samples of Whitney Houston,

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

, Lalo Schifrin's '' Mission: Impossible'' theme tune, and (according to later sleevenotes), Westworld.Sleevenotes, ''

Shag Times ''Shag Times'' is a UK compilation and remix double album released in 1989 by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (The JAMs). The album also introduced Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty's new incarnation – and one which would become considerably more ...

'', KLF Communications, KLF DLP3, 1988. Westworld's track, "Ba-Na-Na-Bam-Boo", appeared on the soundtrack to the 1987

, '' Planes, Trains & Automobiles''; whilst another of their songs, "So Long Cowboy", was on the soundtrack to the 1991 movie '' Point Break''. A retrospective LP, entitled ''Sick Cool'', containing material from the band recorded in the period 1992-1994 period was commercially released in 2018 in the United States.Entry for 'Sick Cool' in 'cdbaby.com' (2018). https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/westworld15

Discography

Studio albums

*''Where the Action Is'' / ''Rockulator'' (1987) *''Beatbox Rock 'N' Roll'' (1988) *''Movers and Shakers'' (1991)

Compilation albums

*''Beatbox Rock 'N' Roll'' (1997) *''Sick Cool'' (2018)

Singles

*"Sonic Boom Boy" (1987) UK #11, AUS #27 *"Ba-Na-Na-Bam-Boo" (1987) UK #37, AUS #79 *"Where the Action Is" (1987) UK #54 *"Silvermac" (1987) UK #42 *"Everything Good Is Bad" (1988) UK #72 *"Dance On" (1989) *"Do No Wrong" (1991) *"Lipsyncher" (1992)

Soundtrack appearances

References

External links

Biography at Allmusic.com A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

br>Bob Derwood Andrews official MySpace pageOfficial Moondogg MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westworld English rock music groups Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 1986 establishments in the United Kingdom