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Bobo |
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Bobo was formed in 1982 in Bradford West Yorkshire, by school friends,
vocalist Victor Wright and drummer Quintin Jamieson. Guitarist Tim Walker had
played a few gigs in a Bradford band called Topaz with Vic Wright, when Tim
was 17 and Vic was just 15. The addition of Chris Hannan on bass & backing
vocals completed the Bobo line-up. |
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Bobo played a mere 21 gigs around Bradford before Vic joined Tokyo Blade,
but they did manage to perform with metal heroes of the time such as Grim
Reaper, Spider, Excalibur and Baby Tuckoo. Their first 3-track demo,
including 'Candlelight', 'Hollow Hearted Woman' and 'When Toys Awaken' was
well received and the band were compared to Aerosmith, Free and Van
Halen. Trips to London ensured label interest from Virgin, Carrere, MCA, Jet
and Carlin publishers, but alas no record deal arrived. Their second demo was
met with yet more interest, featuring songs, 'Bright Lights & Insomnia',
First Things First' and 'Tall Talk & Rocking Horse Tales', but their naive
inability to book showcase gigs in London weighed heavily against them. |
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A professional promo video for 'Bright Lights' and 'First Things First' was
made and again impressed many A&R people, but the industry was still
waiting for a London performance.
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The band continued to write and gig into early 1984, when they booked a
session to record their third demo. Plans were afoot for a self-released
album, if this recording failed to secure a record deal, but alas they never
made it to the studio. Victor had become increasingly frustrated with the
procrastinating A&R fraternity and his relationship with Chris Hannan was
turning into a destructive personality clash. |
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Vic answered an ad in Melody Maker for the Tokyo Blade front man, got the job
and Bobo were no more.
The three remaining members auditioned new vocalists for a few weeks, before
deciding to go their separate ways. Chris & Quintin had a brief stint in a
band with keyboard man Andy Wells (Baby Tuckoo, Verity), before drifting out
of the music scene. Tim Walker went on to form glam/goth band Harlequyn
with Mark Yates (Terrorvision), which did quite well, supporting lots of big
bands with positive reviews, and set up their own label (Voltage Records). The
band split up in 1990, but various members came back together in Architect.
During this time Tim had built a recording Studio and rehearsal rooms, and
after Architect split, Tim continues to run the studio and record label, and
currently plays in the band Worm.
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As worded by guitarist Tim Walker.
My total thanks to Tim for the words and pictures.
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Anyone else out there who remembers Topaz or Bobo? Please get in touch with me at daivcarpenter@aol.com. |
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content of this page © The Page Of The Blade / Tim Walker and may not
reproduced without permission. |
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