Boxcar were an Australian electronic dance pop group formed in Brisbane in 1986. Their founding mainstay was David Smith on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Three of their singles appeared on the Billboard dance chart top 20, "Freemason (You Broke the Promise)" (1988, No. 8), "Insect" (1990, No. 20) and "Gas Stop (Who Do You Think You Are?)" (1990, No. 8). They released two albums on Volition Records, Vertigo (1990) and Algorhythm (1994), before disbanding in 1997. They briefly reformed in 2010 and in 2014.
History
Boxcar were an Australian electronic dance pop band. They formed in 1986 in Brisbane by Carol Rohde on vocals and keyboards (ex-Ironing Music) and David Smith on vocals, guitar and keyboards.
Boxcar independently issued cassette-only material including an album, P.C.M.. Their early work sounded similar to contemporaries, Cabaret Voltaire and Severed Heads. When issued in the United States via Arista Records/Nettwerk Records in the following year, it hit No. 8 on the Billboard dance chart. Boxcar's line-up was Mitchell on additional programming; Rohde on keyboards and programming; Smith on vocals, guitars and keyboards; and Trist on drums and programming. and recorded at Sun Studios, CBS Studios, and Albert Studios, Sydney. McFarlane opined that it "was a very accessible collision of sound, song and dance beats." McFarlane noticed "[i]t was another modern-sounding album without being too clean or sterile." Boxcar contributed 3 previously unreleased tracks to BNE, and reformed to headline the launch event on 6 September 2014 at the Brisbane Powerhouse, with a lineup that included David Smith, Alison Cole, James Wingrove, and original member David Corazza.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of albums, with selected chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;" | Album details
! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart<br />positions
|-
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | <small>AUS<br />
- Label: Volition Records/Sony
| align="center" | 118
|-
! scope="row" |Revision
|
- Released: September 1992
- Note: Remix album
| align="center" | 154
|-
! scope="row" |Algorhythm
|
- Released: November 1994
| align="center" | 116
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:35px;"|AUS<br>
! style="width:35px;"|UK<br>
! style="width:35px;"|<small>US<br>Dance</small><br>
|-
|1988
| style="text-align:left;"|"Freemason (You Broke the Promise)"
| —
| —
| 8
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4"|Vertigo
|-
|1989
| style="text-align:left;"|"Insect"
| 143
| —
| 20
|-
| 1990
| style="text-align:left;"|"Gas Stop (Who Do You Think You Are)"
| 82
| —
| 8
|-
|1991
| style="text-align:left;"|"Lelore"
| 186
| —
| —
|-
|1992
| style="text-align:left;"|"Hit & Run"
| 172
| —
| —
| style="text-align:left;"|Revision
|-
|1993
| style="text-align:left;"|"Universal Hymn"
| 149
| —
| —
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"|Algorhythm
|-
|1994
| style="text-align:left;"|"What Are You So Happy About?"
| 113
| —
| —
|-
|1996
| style="text-align:left;"|"People Get High"
| —
| 139
| —
|-
| colspan="10" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
|}
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 1995 || "What Are You So Happy About" || Best Dance Release ||
|-