Beat Boy

Beat Boy is the third studio album by the British new wave band Visage. It was recorded at Trident Studios between 1982 and 1983 and released on Polydor Records in October 1984 (delayed by contractual problems the band were having at that time). Reaching No. 79 on the UK album chart, the album was poorly received by critics and would be the band's last studio album for almost thirty years.

For the 2009 single by Die Antwoord, see $O$.
Beat Boy
Studio album by
Visage
Released22 October 1984
Recorded1982–1983
StudioTrident Studios, London
GenreSynthpop, new wave
Length40:33
LabelPolydor
ProducerVisage
Visage studio album chronology
Fade to Grey – The Singles Collection
(1983)		 Beat Boy
(1984)		 Master Series
(1997)
Singles from Beat Boy
  1. "Love Glove"
    Released: August 1984
  2. "Beat Boy"
    Released: November 1984

Background

The album was recorded and released after lead singer Steve Strange decided to make Visage a live band instead of being solely a studio-based project, a decision that left him working only with drummer Rusty Egan and a trio of newer musicians. Billy Currie (the Ultravox keyboardist who had been part of Visage for their first two albums) left the band soon after recording commenced, though co-wrote and played on the track "Only The Good Die Young". Keyboardist Dave Formula, who co-wrote two tracks, also departed the band during this time.

Beat Boy was released on 22 October 1984 on vinyl and cassette by Polydor Records. The cassette version of the album featured remixes of the album's original tracks, with a total running time of over 50 minutes. This included an extra track, the instrumental "Reprise" (a reprise of the track "Questions").

Beat Boy was eventually released on CD for the first time in February 2009 by Cherry Red Records, and featured the same track list as the original vinyl album with four extra tracks (see below). The remixed version of the album (as featured on the original cassette) remains unreleased on CD.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Smash Hits2/10[2]

Beat Boy was poorly received by critics. In a scathing review of the album, Ian Cranna of Smash Hits characterised Strange and Egan as "two wafer-thin talents" and described the album as "a cross between all-purpose Euro-disco and Queen, with excruciatingly amateurish lyrics".[2]

Though the band's first two studio albums peaked within the Top 20 and Top 10 respectively, each earning a Silver disc in the UK, Beat Boy peaked at number 79 and spent only two weeks on the album chart. Two singles were released from the album, "Love Glove" in August 1984 (UK No. 54) and "Beat Boy" in November 1984, which did not chart.[3] The critical and commercial failure of the album effectively marked the end of Visage as a recording act for the next couple of decades.

Track listing

All tracks are written by S. Barnacle, Rusty Egan and Steve Strange, except as noted.

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Beat Boy"Barnacle, Barnett, Egan, Dave Formula, Strange6:46
2."Casualty"Barnacle, Barnett, Egan, Strange5:28
3."Questions" 6:11
4."Only the Good (Die Young)"Barnacle, Barnett, Billy Currie, Egan, Formula, Strange5:58
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Can You Hear Me" 6:29
2."The Promise"Barnacle, Barnett, Egan, Strange3:59
3."Love Glove" 4:45
4."Yesterday's Shadow" 6:29
2009 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Beat Boy" (dance mix) 7:19
10."Love Glove" (long version) 6: 38
11."She's a Machine"Barnacle, Barnett, Egan, Strange4:54
12."Der Amboss"Currie, Egan, Formula, Strange, Midge Ure5:39

Remixed cassette version
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Beat Boy"7:15
2."Casualty" (dance mix)5:58
3."Questions" (dance mix)7:06
4."Only The Good (Die Young)"5:30
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Can You Hear Me"6: 26
2."The Promise" (dance mix)4:08
3."Love Glove"5: 40
4."Yesterday's Shadow"6:30
5."Reprise" (instrumental reprise of the intro section to the Dance Mix of "Questions")2:35

Personnel

Visage

Additional personnel
  • Billy Currie – keyboards
  • Dave Formula – keyboards
  • Marsha Raven – backing vocals
  • Karen Ramsey – backing vocals
  • Rose Patterson – backing vocals
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References
  1. LeRoy, Dan. "Beat Boy – Visage | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  2. Cranna, Ian (25 October 1984). "Album Reviews (Visage – "Beat Boy")". Smash Hits. EMAP Metro. 6 (21): 21.
  3. "Visage | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
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