City Boy- the 70s artrock band - any fans

[act]

hello folks. im just curious if any among you remember this band.

they released 7 albums from the mid 70s to the early 80s.

i really loved them back in the day and i still listen to those records every now and then ,and they still sounds great to my ears.

some samples

the day the earth caught fire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGGUFWeumnU

walk on the water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiSnsQaP9yk

exit the heavyweight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spQ5F9qKVek

and their only hitsingle the more mainstream 5705

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHeKEakqfdw

so any opinions about this band

[act]

not a single opinion jet,thats strange ,but they were perhaps even more unknown then i belived

[Big Ears]

City Boy are one of my favourite bands. All of their albums are good, but my favourite is Book Early (which contains the hit single 5-7-0-5). Apart from the money, I'll never understand why Mutt Lange abandoned City Boy for Def Leppard, although engineer Tim Friese-Green's work was as good if not better. Mike Slamer went on to collaborate with Steve Walsh, while the remainder of the group disappeared, including drummer and versatile lead singer Roy Ward. Jorn Lande covered The Day the Earth Caught Fire for his excellent Starfire album.

[progeezer]

I love this band! Criminally underrated and under-appreciated.

I still play Young Man Gone West & Book Early and agree they stand the test of time very well.

[Progtastic]

Saw them in the mid 70's playing support to Caravan at the Roundhouse. Bought several albums after that and liked them at the time. Haven't heard them for 30 years or so since.

[jlneudorf]

Fantastic band. Been a fan since the very beginning.

Regards,
Jon

[Vic2012]

I had one of their albums on cassette but it was damaged. Got rid of it. Mike Slamer slams. He's killer on Steve Walsh's "Glossolalia."

[Progbear]

I like their first two albums best, even if they are slavish 10cc clone albums. Their next best is The Day the Earth Caught Fire, by which point they’d forged a bit more of their own identity. The “Ambition” suite is excellent as is the title track. I don’t think any of their other albums are up to the standard of those three, but they all have their moments, even the much-maligned Heads Are Rolling without Steve Broughton. I understand they had another album after Heads Are Rolling that was not properly released until much later, but I have not heard it.

After the band’s dissolution, Lol Mason formed the short-lived Maisonettes. They had one hit single and quickly fell apart:

[JKL2000]

I like their first two albums best, even if they are slavish 10cc clone albums. Their next best is The Day the Earth Caught Fire, by which point they’d forged a bit more of their own identity. The “Ambition” suite is excellent as is the title track. I don’t think any of their other albums are up to the standard of those three, but they all have their moments, even the much-maligned Heads Are Rolling without Steve Broughton. I understand they had another album after Heads Are Rolling that was not properly released until much later, but I have not heard it.

After the band’s dissolution, Lol Mason formed the short-lived Maisonettes. They had one hit single and quickly fell apart:

So they were 10cc clones to the point of having a member named Lol? LOL.

[spacefreak]

Somewhere I still have the single "5.7.0.5. / Bad for Business". Never owned a full length of them, though I got a mileage out of "Dinner at the Ritz" from an ex-girlfriend of mine in the early 80s. Very 10cc, which is not my cup of tea.

[Digital_Man]

This band's name pops up every so often especially when discussing art rock or pomp rock bands.

I think they are pretty good. They sound a bit Queenish at times but that's not a bad thing. Maybe a cross between Styx, Queen and 10cc.

[Big Ears]

The unreleased City Boy album was It's Personal, which was recorded in 1981 and eventually appeared on CD in 2009. It is as good as anything they made, but it was presumably withheld because they could not find a record label. I never saw the 10cc comparison, although I'm a fan, especially of The Original Soundtrack. I do however see the irony of Def Leppard's (and Shania Twain's) commercial success.

They performed the single Hap-ki-do Kid on the BBC's Top of the Pops and returned for 5-7-0-5 and What a Night.

Heads Are Rolling without Broughton and Dunn (and Lange) is one of their best albums. Slamer plays bass - it says so on the cover.

Mason released an album called Heartache Avenue: The Very Best of the Maisonettes, which I have not heard.

[spacefreak]

Maybe a cross between Styx, Queen and 10cc.

That's a good description.

[PeterG]

Some great moments, some great tracks but for me they are marred by too much 10cc cheez.

[Scrotum Scissor]

They were OK, but less interesting than some of the artists they are usually compared with (Stackridge, Automatic Man etc.).

[act]

thanks for responding on this one folks,i think they deserve all the attention they could get although its nearly 40 years late.

the only member that still are active as a full time musician are the guitar player mike slamer,he has been involved in many projects after city boy and the streets.
nowadays he is focusing on AOR or/and melodicrock,and not the more diverse artrock that city boy played.

[Bucka001]

I remember buying "Dinner at The Ritz" because of the Van der Graaf Generator connection, decades ago. Not impressed at the time, but only because that type of music wasn't my thing then (I was hoping it would be prog or hard rock!). Might like it more now if I heard it again.

[trurl]

Never heard of them. Will explore...

[Sean]

Here's Slamer lately with Billy Greer (Kansas bassist/singer) in their band 7th Key. This was a pretty proggy tune for them too! That's new Kansas keyboardist Dave Manion on keys there too and Phil Ehart's tech Eric Holmquist on drums.

[TheH]

^^

Wow, very good song.

Slamer is one of the most underrated guitarist ever..

Here he is with one of the worlds best Rock vocalists:

[TheH]

To add some Kansas credibility to the Seventh Key video above the backing vocalist
Terry Brock sang (backing vocals) on Kansas's Drastic Measures (and on that tour).
(he was also the lead vocalist of Strangeways and LeRoux)

He also does the lead vocals on Mike Slamers solo Album.

[Progbear]

So they were 10cc clones to the point of having a member named Lol? LOL.

They started out as a folk-rock act (which you can still hear on “Haymaking Time” off of the debut) but I think Mercury/Phonogram encouraged the 10cc-ish bent to their sound, as at the time they signed them, 10cc’s future was still in some doubt. Contingency, you know.

[3RDegree_Robert]

F-ing LOVE City Boy after they were compared to us (3RDegree). They really are a melange' of some of the best bands of the era. I went and got their best of and then just went all in and got EVERY CD. All great. First is the most proggy IMHO.

[act]

i own the long division by 3RDegree and i hear a city boy vibe in it ,and i like it.

[3RDegree_Robert]

Thanks act! That's a compliment for sure. Let's just say their discovery (through mentions of us sounding a bit like them) is what got me to even know who they were. A very welcome surprise indeed!