Westworld (British band)

Westworld was a British pop rock/rockabilly band of the late 1980s, best known for its 1987 UK Top 20 hit single, "Sonic Boom Boy".

Not to be confused with Westworld, the American hard rock band formed in 1998.

Westworld
GenresPop rock, rockabilly
Years active1986–1994
LabelsRCA Records
Associated actsGeneration X, Empire, Moondogg, Speedtwinn
Past membersBob "Derwood" Andrews
Elizabeth Westwood
Gary "Gaz" Young
Tracey "T.J." O'Conner
Nick Burton

Career

Named after the sci-fi film Westworld, it was formed in 1986 by former Generation X guitarist Bob "Derwood" Andrews and American vocalist Elizabeth Westwood.[1] The line up was completed by drummer Nick Burton.[1] Before the recording and release of their third and final album, Burton left the band and was replaced by Gary "Gaz" Young and Tracey "T.J." O'Conner, making them a quartet.

Visually the band were styled in a way reminiscent of comic book art and musically they were a blend of classic 1950s rock and roll, glam and punk, updated with beatboxes and sequencer. They had an early success with their debut single "Sonic Boom Boy", which reached #11 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1987,[2] and was used in Sony's advertisements.[1] They had one more Top 40 hit, "Ba-Na-Na-Bam-Boo" which reached #37 in May the same year.[1] They released three albums before moving to the Arizona desert in the US in 1992 to form the band Moondogg.

Although not successful in the US, their song "Painkiller" reached #17 on the San Francisco modern rock station Live-105's (KITS) "Top 105.3 Songs of 1988".

The JAMs' "Whitney Joins the JAMs", a house mash-up single, was built around samples of Whitney Houston, Isaac Hayes, Lalo Schifrin's Mission: Impossible theme tune, and (according to later sleevenotes), Westworld.[3]

Westworld's track, "Ba-Na-Na-Bam-Boo", appeared on the soundtrack to the 1987 film, Planes, Trains & Automobiles; whilst another of their songs, "So Long Cowboy", was on the soundtrack to the 1991 movie Point Break.

A retrospective LP, entitled Sick Cool, containing material from the band recorded in the period 1992-1994 period was commercially released in 2018 in the United States.[4]

Discography

Albums
  • Where the Action Is - (1987) - UK #49
  • Rockulator - (1987) US release of Where The Action Is with different track listing and artwork and some new mixes.
  • Beatbox Rock 'N' Roll - (1988) Not released in the UK
  • Movers and Shakers - (1991) Not released in the UK
  • Beatbox Rock 'N' Roll - (1997) Compilation album, not to be confused with the same-titled second album.[2]
  • Sick Cool (2018) (retrospective release of material from 1992-1994)

Singles
  • "Sonic Boom Boy" - (1987) - UK #11, AUS #27[5]
  • "Ba-Na-Na-Bam-Boo" - (1987) - UK #37, AUS #79[5]
  • "Where the Action Is" - (1987) - UK #54
  • "Silvermac" - (1987) - UK #42
  • "Everything Good Is Bad" - (1988) - UK #72
  • "Dance On" - (1989)
  • "Do No Wrong" - (1991)
  • "Lipsyncher" - (1992)[2]

See also
  • Now That's What I Call Music 9 (UK series)

References
  1. "Biography by John Bush". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 597. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. Sleevenotes, Shag Times, KLF Communications, KLF DLP3, 1988.
  4. Entry for 'Sick Cool' in 'cdbaby.com' (2018). https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/westworld15
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 335. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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