The Neon Boys & Show # 479

 

The Neon Boys were a short lived band featuring members of Television (Tom Verlaine on guitar, Billy Fica on drums) and Richard Hell on bass and vocals. The bands existence would be brief only lasting from 1972-1973, but this band was the initial beginnings in the lineage of what would become two highly influential bands in the New York CBGB’s scene of the late 70s. The bands sound featured early budding elements that would be later displayed in the bands Television and Richard Hell & The Voidoids respectively, but during their early existence as a band they would not release any material officially. A seven inch split EP would be eventually released in 1980. The first two tracks would be recordings by the aforementioned Neon Boys, while the B-side contained two Richard Hell & The Voidoids tracks “Don’t Die” and a different mix of the song “Time”. “That’s All I Know (Right Now)” featured echoes of The Velvet Underground and the 13th Floor Elevators, while the version of “Love Comes In Spurts” reflected a proto-Punk dynamic influenced by 60’s Garage Rock musically. These four songs comprised the EP initially when released in 1980, but the song “High Heeled Wheels” was added to the EP when it was issued by Overground Records in 1991. This song leans more towards the sounds of Richard Hell and The Voidoids early material with Jazz sounding basslines.

In addition to these three Neon Boys tracks a few others have also been recorded, but were never released according to the book From The Velvets To The Voidoids by Clinton Heylin. “Poor Circulation, “Tramp” and “Hot Dog” are said to be the three remaining, unreleased tracks. Richard Hell would go on to play in Television with Verlaine and Fica, but leave to join The Heartbreakers with Johnny Thunders. He left after playing with The Heartbreakers for a short period to form Richard Hell & The Voidoids. Verlaine would go on with Television releasing two full length albums, before venturing into a solo career. This EP and the songs by The Neon Boys in particular are a document of Verlaine and Hell’s 1972-73 period and showcase a first draft of what would become Television and then eventually Richard Hell & The Voidoids.



This Week's Play List:

1. Monomyth – Trash Day
2. Astral Gunk – Herky Jerky
3. The Crescendos – Now She’s Mine
5. Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages – Dracula’s Daughter
6. Luke Thompson & The Howl – Stack O’Lee
7. Breeze – Serve The Servants
8. Hooded Fang – Tourette’s
9. Luck of Eden Hall – Sassafras Overcoat
10. Teenage Fanclub – Slow Fade
11. Sebadoh – Oxygen
12. Frantic Elevators - Hunchbank Of Notre Dame
13. Toy Dolls - She Goes To Finos
14. The Teardops – Colors
15. Tanz Der Youth – Delay
16. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Faded In the Morning (Acoustic Version)
17. Lost Patrol – And I Walked Out
18. Television – Careful (Brian Eno Demo)
19. The Neon Boys – High Heeled Wheels
20. Thee Rum Coves – GCSB
21. The Spy’s – Underground
22. XTC – Statue of Liberty
23. Public Image Limited – Fodderstompf

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for October 22. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.