Red Box (band)

Red Box is a British pop group founded by Simon Toulson-Clarke and Julian Close. Active from the early 1980s to the present day, they scored two UK top ten hits with the singles "Lean on Me (Ah-Li-Ayo)" in 1985 and "For America" in 1986, both of which were included on their debut album, The Circle & the Square.

Red Box returned briefly in 1990 with the single "Train" and the second album Motive, and again in 2010 with the third album Plenty, released in October 2010. The group is now led by singer-songwriter Simon Toulson-Clarke with a third line-up of supporting players.

In February 2019, the band released "This Is What We Came For", the first single from their fourth studio album Chase the Setting Sun, which was released in September 2019. In July 2019, they released a second single "Gods & Kings", also from Chase the Setting Sun.

History

Early years and formation (1978–1984)

Simon Toulson-Clarke formed his first band, aged thirteen, at Harrow School with his friend Paddy Talbot (another member of the band was cricketer and insurance executive Matthew Fosh, who recognised,"two of the guys were talented and two of us were rubbish. I was one of the rubbish ones"), playing covers of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple as well as some self-penned material. Other early influences are cited as being Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Cream, Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens and particularly Buffy Sainte-Marie. On leaving school, he moved to Middlesbrough and formed another band in the vein of New York Dolls.

The band later took the name Red Box, after some deliberation, from a box left behind by the rock group Slade following a performance at college (and in which they had since been storing microphones). It also reached number 1 in five countries and the top 5 in a further 12 giving worldwide exposure to the band. It was promoted with an unusual video (nominated for Best Video at the Brit Awards 1985) in which a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter provided a translation of the song's lyrics, which led to a feature on BBC2's Newsweek programme.

In 1986, the band released their debut album The Circle & the Square, mixing traditional musical styles – brass ensembles, choral music and chants – with modern rock and synthpop. Among the vocalists drafted in to create the multi-tracked backing vocals (or "Box Vox") is English actor Anthony Head.

The album received praise for its "evocative lyrics" and "global political intelligence" and is notable for introducing 'ethnic rhythms' and elements of World Music into the 1980s pop milieu alongside established artists such as Paul Simon (Graceland, 1986) and Kate Bush (The Sensual World, 1989). It includes a re-worked version of the 1984 Buffy Sainte-Marie cover "Saskatchewan", as well as "Chenko", which was given a more sombre, stately treatment bringing chants to the fore and featuring Alexander Balanescu on violin. Toulson-Clarke and Close, however, found themselves at odds with their record company regarding what it perceived as a lack of mainstream appeal in their choice of material, as well as alluding to American military involvement in Grenada and Nicaragua. The song was not a hit in the United States, though it did worldwide outsell "Lean on Me", reaching number one in six countries and the top ten in several others including the UK, where it spent twelve weeks in the chart peaking at number ten. combined with the cultural and political allusions of the previous record.

The opening track and first single "Train" begins with the sound of a locomotive gradually picking up speed (and subsequently shunting to a halt at the song's end) and includes samples from the Voix Bulgares, "O Fortuna" (also known as the theme to the Old Spice advertisements) and T.Rex. The hook is provided by singer Jenny Tsao's eccentric vocal refrain during the chorus.

"Train" was selected as the first single and released in the autumn of 1990. The video was aired on the ITV Chart Show, and the band performed on the re-vamped Juke Box Jury hosted by Jools Holland, with the panel proclaiming the song a hit. in the Red Box back catalogue, a petition was created to show support for the reissue of both albums on CD.

A new recording of "Lean on Me" by Toulson-Clarke and Close was made available through iTunes in September 2007.

The Circle & the Square was re-released on CD by Cherry Red Records on 20 October 2008. It features all 12 tracks from the original album, along with the Cherry Red versions of "Chenko" and "Valley", plus four additional bonus tracks. The second album, Motive, was reissued in the UK in March 2011. The album includes 12 tracks in total, two of which are bonus tracks, the B-side to the "Train" single, "Hello, He Lied", as well as "Train (Fantasy Island Version)".

Plenty (2010–present)

Plenty is the third album from Red Box, released on Cherry Red Records on 11 October 2010.

The notion of a new album and subsequent reformation of Red Box was first conceived in 2000. While working for East West, Toulson-Clarke signed a band to the label from the USA called The Vulgar Boatmen, releasing an album Opposite Sex in 1996.

Interviewed in 2009, he explained: “A bond of friendship producing heartfelt and honest music reminded me of our early days. I missed it, and I suppose the small notion of Red Box ‘riding again’ planted itself then. I suppose Plenty really began in the woods outside Gainesville, Florida.”

Red Box promoted Plenty with live performances, especially in Poland, where the songs "The Sign" and "Hurricane" achieved number one status on the Trójka Radio charts (5 weeks and 4 weeks respectively). The band consists of:

Simon Toulson-Clarke – lead vocals and guitar
Derek Adams – drums, acoustic guitar, backing vocals and banjo
Dave Jenkins – bass
Sally-Jo Seery – acoustic guitar and backing vocals
Jane Milligan – keyboards and backing vocals
Michal Kirmuc – electric guitar and percussion
Ali Ferguson – electric guitar and backing vocals
Karin Tenggren – violin and backing vocals

Other projects

Enjoy

In 1990, Red Box scored a club hit with "Enjoy" which was essentially a remix, by Paul Oakenfold, of an old B-side, under the Solid Gold Easy Amex name. This record was charted at Number 75 on Independent Radio's Network Chart (also used by Number One Magazine) but missed the Gallup UK Singles Chart as used by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles.

Julian Close

Julian Close left the band in 1987 and worked behind the scenes at EMI for several years, eventually becoming Head of A & R.

:In 1997, he collaborated with Phill Brown (who had produced the Cherry Red version of "Chenko") and Alastair Gavin, using the acronym SPA, on a concept album in tribute to American Comedian Bill Hicks.

Plenty

:In 2000, the song "Might As Well Go Home" by Plenty was featured on the soundtrack to the film Saving Grace starring Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|Title

! rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|Details

! colspan="3" align="left" valign="top"|Peak chart positions

!align="center" valign="top" width="40"|UK

!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|NLD

!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|NOR

! scope="row" |The Circle & the Square

|align="left" |

Released: 1986
Label: WEA
Format: LP (WX79), CD (242-037-2)

|73

|45

|19

! scope="row" |Motive

Released: 1990
Label: EastWest
Format: LP (WX381), CD (9031-72614-2)

|—

! scope="row" |Plenty

Released: 11 October 2010
Label:Cherry Red Records
Format: CD (CDBRED470, CDXRED471)

|—

! scope="row" |Chase the Setting Sun

Released: 13 September 2019
Label: Right Track Records
Format: CD, download, streaming

|—

| colspan="7" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top" width="40"|Year

! rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|Title

! colspan="7" align="left" valign="top"|Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|Certifications

! rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"|Label

!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|UK

!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|GER

!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|IRE

!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|NLD

!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|NOR

!align="left" valign="top" width="40"|SWE

|align="left" |1983

|align="left" |"Chenko"

b/w "Valley"

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Cherry Red Records

CHERRY 73

|align="left" |1984

|align="left" |"Saskatchewan"

b/w "Speeches"

|align="center" |122

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Sire Records

W 9157

|align="left" |1985

|align="left" |"Lean on Me (Ah-Li-Ayo)"

b/w "Stinging Bee"

|align="center" |3

|align="center" |—

|align="center" |27

|align="center" |2

|align="center" |—

BPI: Silver

|align="left" |Sire Records

W 8926

|align="left" |1986

|align="left" |"For America"

b/w "R n' A"

("R n' A" is built around the chant from "Chenko"

recorded in reverse)

|align="center" |10

|align="center" |2

|align="center" |—

|align="center" |6

|align="center" |2

|align="center" |12

|align="left" |Sire Records

YZ 84

|align="left" |1987

|align="left" |"Heart of the Sun"

b/w "Enjoy (Solid Gold Easy Amex)"

|align="center" |71

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Sire Records

YZ 100

|align="left" |1987

|align="left" |"Chenko (Tenka-Io)"

b/w "Speeches"

|align="center" |77

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Sire Records

YX 125

|align="left" |1990

|align="left" |"Enjoy" (Paul Oakenfold Future Mix) (edit)

(as Solid Gold Easy Amex featuring Red Box)

b/w "Enjoy (Original Golden Lay)"

|align="center" |75*

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |EastWest

YZ 466

|align="left" |1990

|align="left" |"Train"

b/w "'Hello' He Lied"

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |EastWest

YZ 531

|align="left" |2007

|align="left" |"Lean on Me"

(digital single)

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Silent Songs

|align="left"|2010

|align="left" |"Hurricane"/"Brighter Blue"

(digital single)

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Cherry Red Records

|align="left" |2011

|align="left" |"The Sign"

(digital single)

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Cherry Red Records

|align="left" |2012

|align="left" |"Let It Rain" (Remix)

b/w "Never Let It Be Said"

(digital single)

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Cherry Red Records

|align="left" |2019

|align="left" |"This Is What We Came For"

(digital single)

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Right Track Records

|align="left"|2019

|align="left" |"Gods & Kings"

(digital single)

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Right Track Records

|align="left"|2020

|align="left"|"Ho Ho!" (Radio Edit)

(digital single)

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Right Track Records

|align="left" |2020

|align="left" |"Us and Them"

(digital single)

|align="center" |—

|align="left" |Right Track Records

| colspan="11" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

* Network chart

References

External links

Official Red Box band site
Fan Site (Archived) – Heart of the Sun