I Just Can't Help Believing...

Johnny Boy - You are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve

Sorry it's been a bit quiet here of late. I've got a lot on my plate at the moment, but one of the things I have been doing is starting to think about my end of the decade list. Yep, the first decade of the noughties (I hate that term but can't think of a decent substitute) is almost over. While I was sorting out an initial list (91 songs at the moment, hoping to whittle that down to 20 over the coming weeks), I came across this amazing song by Johnny Boy. I don't think my iPod has ever thrown this up in any shuffle and as it's the only song I have by them it's got swamped, but by crikey it's GOOD! Named after a character in Scorsese's 'Mean Streets', the Liverpool-based duo of Lolly Hayes and Davo were a precursor to the Ting Tings - boy/girl duo doing catchy indie pop - only far, far superior. Their second single, 'You are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve' was a call to arms against consumerism, produced by the Manics' James Dean Bradfield and released in 2004, when it reached # 50 in the hit parade. It's a brilliant tune - like Phil Spector producing Saint Etienne - with an infectious, euphoric, shout-along chorus. Unfortuntately, for various reasons it took them three years and two record companies before their self-titled debut album hit the shelves, and nothing on the album matched the brilliance of '...Generation'. But not many bands get it so very right at such an early stage in their career, so for that alone they should be lauded. Definitely one of the great lost singles of the decade.

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