Boys Don't Cry (band)

The band was formed in 1983 as the brainchild of lead vocalist/keyboardist Nick Richards, who had just purchased Maison Rouge Recording Studios in London. An early version of the group (featuring Richards, guitarist Richard Taee^[1] and drummer Steve Creese, augmented by session musicians) released their debut EP Don't Talk to Strangers on independent UK label Legacy Records in Britain in 1983. By the mid-1980s, the band's line-up had stabilised around principal members Richards and keyboardist Brian Chatton (one of the session players on the debut EP), along with Jeff Seopardi on drums, Nico Ramsden on guitar, and Mark Smith on bass. Chatton previously played keyboards with 1970s progressive band Jackson Heights, contributing heavily to their last three albums, The Fifth Avenue Bus in 1972, Ragamuffin's Fool published the same year and Bump 'n' Grind in 1973.

Boys Don't Cry were discovered by Paul Oakenfold, who was a talent scout for Profile Records in London in the mid-1980s. Best known for being Run-DMC's record label at the time, Profile signed the band for the US market and Legacy retained the rights to the band's UK releases. Mercury Records won the bidding for Canada and Intercord Tonträger GmbH handled their releases in Germany.

Nick Richards states:

"Paul Oakenfold was hired by me to promote 12 inch records released by my label, Legacy, at clubs. He did not discover the band, but dropped off a white label promo copy of 'I Wanna Be a Cowboy' at the Limelight night club in New York City. The head of A&R at Profile Records heard the song there one night and traced it back to me in London!"

— Nick Richards, Interview with Nick Richards, Rediscover the 80s^[2]

The single "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" was released in 1986. A novelty song with deadpan humour and kitschy references, the song has been described as the perfect musical realisation of a Spaghetti Western movie. It hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 13 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart in 1986–1987, and was R&R No. 8. "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" was also a top 10 hit in Australia and South Africa. The video, filmed on-location in Hampstead Heath, featured a cameo appearance by Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead.

They would go on to release two full-length albums: a self-titled debut in 1986, which included "I Wanna Be a Cowboy", and a follow-up the following year titled Who the Am Dam Do You Think We Am. The second album was simply released in America as Boys Don't Cry, creating some confusion there, since the band now had two consecutive self-titled albums released within a year of each other. The follow-up single to "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" was (necessarily perhaps) a complete departure; "Cities On Fire", an energetic rush of synth-rock which was released in 7" and 12" remix form, received early attention from MTV but failed to connect with fans of the novelty hit and didn't receive enough airplay to create a new fanbase.

In 1991 "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" was featured in the night club scene in the film The Last Boy Scout.

Contrary to popular belief, the moniker "Boys Don't Cry" did not come from The Cure's song/album of the same name. Rather, the name has its origins in some whispered lyrics from fellow British band 10cc's hit song "I'm Not in Love" (specifically, "be quiet... big boys don't cry").^[3] However, the band were evidently completely aware of (and perhaps amused by) the confusion surrounding their name, and they even included an (almost-entirely) instrumental bonus track titled "The Cure" on their second album as a joke.^[4]