In the Fall of 1976, The Poppees, one of the first and most prominent bands on the New York's New Wave Rock n' Roll scene broke up. Jett Harris went to play with Wayne County's band, while Arthur Alexander left to start his own band – SORROWS.
By the time the Poppees broke up a new sound had started to seep into their otherwise heavily British Invasion-influenced sound; it was the sound of the New York City. Playing with the Ramones and The Heartbreakers and listening to all the other bands on the scene made Bob and Paddy start writing heavier songs, songs that were more “citified”. One of the first new songs to come out of this transformation was a song written by Bobby – “I Need Your Love” - which became the theme song for Bobby & Paddy’s band to come - The Boyfriends. The Ramones also recorded this song later for their Subterranean Jungle album.
After The Poppees’ break up Bobby met up with drummer Lee Crystal (who later played with Syl Sylvain from the NY Dolls and with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts), and bass player Jay Nap to start The Boyfriends. Paddy was still unsure what to do, but he knew he liked the heavier city sound of The Boyfriends and the band needed another singer with a unique voice. The only problem: Paddy was a bass player, and The Boyfriends didn't need a bass player. Paddy had been playing guitar for years, but never in a band. Bobby wanted Paddy as the final member of The Boyfriends, so Bobby suggested to Paddy that he could play rhythm guitar and that would solve the situation. Paddy thought the idea was great and once Jay and Lee heard Paddy sing, everybody knew The Boyfriends were now complete.
The official line up was Bobby Dee Waxman (Lead Guitar/Vocal) Paddy Williams Lorenzo (Rhythm Guitar/ Vocal), Jay Nap (Bass/ Backing Vocal) & Lee Crystal (Drums).
Bobby and Paddy were the root of the new sound but Jay was to The Boyfriends what Arthur was to The Poppees. Jay was not only a master of style but also a master of people on the scene and what new clubs to play. Jay had one more thing to offer the band… He had a studio the band could use to record in and rehearse.
This time, Bobby and Paddy wanted to start with a management. They wanted someone else, other than the band, to handle bookings and promotion. All they wanted to do was to write the songs and play the music. Jay had two friends who had just started a management agency called DUO (Do Unto Others). Max McCarry and Michael Smithe. Max and Michael had never managed a group before, but they had a long history of work in the promotion and advertising field. From the first day DUO hit the street running. The Boyfriends had blurbs in the Daily News and the Post every other week. They all new that now they need some product to promote, so Max and Michael called on Bomb Records, The Poppees label, to put out The Boyfriends first single.
Even though “I Need Your Love” was the bands anthem, They decided to use two newer songs just written by Bobby and Paddy. The A side was “You’re the One”. It featured Everly Brothers style harmonies and NY Dolls-Heartbreakers rhythm and vibe. The B side, “I Don’t Want Nobody, I Want You” was a heavy offshoot of an Elvis’ rockabilly sound, with a remarkable vocal by Paddy. It was easy to hear the new direction Bobby and Paddy had taken with The Boyfriends, Lee’s heavy drumbeat adding its own signature to The Boyfriends sound. The recording was done at ODO studio in NY the old “Studio 54” and soon released on Bomb.
The Boyfriends toured heavily in support of their new release, with many trips to Canada, some short hops out to Midwest and California. They had some great parties and made friends with other bands coming up at the same time. The Boyfriends and The Romantics played many shows together in NY and Detroit. The only problem was that they weren’t getting the traction they hoped for…. A major label deal had not come along while the people they’ve grown up with at CBGB and on the road, like the Ramones, Blondie and The Romantics, all getting signed and having their records released.
After touring and playing for about 2 years the patience was starting to wear thin. First, Jay, who’s drinking was becoming a major problem got the axe and was replaced by a new top-notch bass player - Gene Cooper. The band was also losing confidence in DUO of Max and Michael. Though their promotion work was still good, they didn’t seem to have the ability to get the industry heavy hitters out to see the band. The Boyfriends and DUO decided it was time to go their separate ways.
This was not the end of the shifting within The Boyfriends ranks.
Joe Barbeara who engineered the Boyfriends’ Bomb single wanted to take the band back into the studio to record some more songs. The boys had just written a song called “Wrapped Up In A Dream” and had decided to record that one, but after eight hours of trying to get a basic track down it never happened. The band never found the groove and Joe gave up on making any more recordings. Little did the band know that at this time Lee was getting ready to play with Syl Sylvan (New York Dolls) in his solo band The Criminals. So one more time Bobby and Paddy had to find a new band mate. Sal Capy was a wild and heavy drummer, and loved the sound of the band. And so, they were four again. Bobby, Paddy, Gene & Sal.
This turned out to be the best and most exciting time for The Boyfriends. One night while playing at CBGBs they were spotted by a young agent with the William Morris Agency. Andy Somers approached the boys and asked if they would mind if he worked with them in an un-official way from William Morris. Andy was only working with major acts at the agency but wanted to develop a “baby band” and this was it. This was the break The Boyfriends had been waiting for. After working with Andy for some time and playing some of the best gigs of their career, Andy and the boys wanted to take the relationship to another level, with Andy as their manager.
The band thought this was a great idea and the ticket to success. But though the opening slots got better and the band did numerous demos and recording sessions only one independent single “Wrapped Up In A Dream” was ever to come of this relationship. After a few years and many tours, Stiff Records was the only record label to offer the band a deal. Though it came early in their relationship with Andy it was the deal that got away… the hope for something bigger and better to come along was a miscalculation. The Boyfriends went on for another year and decided to go their separate ways.
Not long after the breakup of the band Bobby got a call from Johnny Ramone. Johnny wanted The Ramones to record his “I Need Your Love” for their “Subterranean Jungle” album. He also asked if Bobby wanted to play on the record. Bobby told Johnny that he would be honored if they recorded the song, but decided not to do the recording.
Paddy went on to sing and play in country bands and do some work in Nashville, while Bobby went on tour with Wayne Kramer (MC5). Over the years they have all stayed in touch and stayed in music. With all that’s old is new again in the music business, Bobby and Paddy started playing together again in 2000 and then joined John Wicks (The Records) to be in “John Wicks and The Records”. Just recently Bobby and Paddy played in NY @ the Knitting Factory with Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel’s drummer.
The Boyfriends have a CD entitled “LOST TREASURES”, released in Japan on Vivid Sound Records and bands in the US, Japan, Germany and other countries are covering the Poppees and Boyfriends songs.
Hope you enjoyed the read…. Hope you love the music.
NEWSFLASH!.
The Poppees POP GOES THE ANTHOLOGY - IT'S HERE! CD and limited edition Orange Vinyl!!!. on Bomp Records (http://www.bompstore.com), Amazon, etc
Go get it!. and thanks for your support!
also,
The Poppees now have their own myspace page at: www.myspace.com/thepoppees
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