Jo Boxers – In Session for Get Set For Summer – May 7, 1983 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Continuing our archeological dig through the 80s tonight, unearthing a session from Jo Boxers performed live for the TV show Get Set For Summer on May 7, 1983.
JoBoxers formed in 1982, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer), teamed up with England-based American singer Dig Wayne (born Timothy Wayne Ball, 20 July 1958, Cambridge, Ohio). Wayne, under the name Buzz Wayne, had previously fronted the New York-based rockabilly band Buzz and the Flyers.
The band’s debut single, “Boxerbeat”, peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. while the group were the opening act on the Madness ‘Rise and Fall’ tour. At numbers 1 and 2 at the time were David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and Duran Duran’s “Is There Something I Should Know?”, respectively.
However, it was their next hit, “Just Got Lucky”, that broke the band internationally. This single sold over 250,000 copies, made the UK Top 10, and cracked the US Top 40, reaching number 36 during November 1983 and has been featured in a number of films including Just My Luck and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
JoBoxers’ debut album, Like Gangbusters, featuring all of the abovementioned hits, reached the Top 20 of the UK Albums Chart.
The band released another single, “Is This Really the First Time”, and a second album Skin and Bone in 1985, but then split up during the making of a third album, with Sean McLusky joining Rob Marche in the indie-dance band called If? and Chris Bostock joining David A. Stewart to form his post-Eurythmics group, The Spiritual Cowboys achieving two Gold albums in France.
Meanwhile, Dig Wayne remained in London and briefly attempted a solo career, releasing the album Square Business in 1987, featuring fellow former JoBoxer Dave Collard on keyboards. One single, “Mastermind” was released from this album. After his solo efforts proved unsuccessful, Wayne began pursuing an acting career. He appeared in several stage productions (including a starring role in the successful West End musical Five Guys Named Moe) in the UK. In 1995, he returned to the US, settling in Los Angeles, California, to continue pursuing his acting/television career.
In November 2020, they announced a show for next year at London’s 100 club, after 35 years of inactivity.
Pandemics, quarantines and lockdowns aside, should be a show worth checking out.
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