Flashback: Boybands Part One - the oldies...

When i was shimmying like a window cleaners shammy t'other week in Gay Canaria to the fantabulous sounds of the camp as a picnic hamper (well, ours is wicker with lovely pink tartan inside) London Boys, I was strangely reminded of another act whose flame burned bright and fast in the 90s. Halo James were pretty much Take That before Take That were a flick of Nigel St Martin's wrist. Forgoing the naked jelly wrestling homoerotic bondage gear video (surely just something Nigel wanted Take That to do?!), Halo and the James went straight for the pop perfection sound of Take That's second album (the lovely Everything Changes) a full 3 years before Gary did. And sadly, the saxophone infused ballads, and polished dance pop sounds that proliferated (ooo good word!) their debut (and only) album "The Witness" were criminally ignored by the public. Ahead of their time, or just right music wrong look? Their first single "Wanted" was a dreamy ballad with shades of Spandau Ballet seared into the chorus, lead singer (the semi luscious Christian James) pours his heart and soul into a powerful and soulful vocal that sets the template for the album and future singles. Peaking just outside the top 40, these days that would mean the band would fade into oblivion (unless they salvaged it by saying "ooo it was a limited release" :P ) but the late 80s were a different time. And thank goodness because if they had been dropped I would never have heard their second single.

Could've Told You So was an uptempo pop tune along the lines of Pray (or was Pray along the lines of Could've Told You So? I'm confuzzled) that quite rightly embedded itself in the top ten. Layered vocals and gloriously sweeping strings and piano power the song to it's sing a long chorus. It really was one of the first great pop tunes of the 90s (along with Better The Devil You Know) and the melody remains jammed in my brain nearly 20 years later. Similar to this was fourth single, the perky and delightful Magic Hour which bought elements of jazz into the tune - and had it been a take that song in 1994 would have been top 5 for about a millenia. Or at least 2 weeks. Baby, the next ballad was really destined to be a chart topper. Sax, dreamy lyrics, sweet as treacle chorus and soaring vocal - this is boy band gold. Yes, it is a little dated now, but the melody shines through and it was perfect for it's time.

So were La James way ahead of their time? Possibly. The album sold about 100,000 copies around Europe and they had chosen singles wisely - catchy accessible polished pop that would appeal to teens and moms alike. The rest of the album was a much darker affair - more Tears for Fears than Take That, and revealing layers of sophistication that obviously come from Ray St John (band member who co-wrote Smooth Operator by Sade) with jazz, soul and george michael-esque funk all taking pride of place. For a multi layered mature boyband affair that lacks the early evening joy of dancing of The London Boys, but has that later reflective mode that hits around 2am, you could a lot lot worse. And like the London Boys, the album is incredibly difficult to find, so for a limited time only you can download it here...

Click here to see a round up of the new boybands...