Biography
In early 1983 JoBoxers briefly appeared destined to thrive as a British pop act working in the prevailing soul-dance idiom, yet their commercial momentum had already ebbed by year’s end. Four of the eventual five members, all Bristol natives, first assembled in 1981 to serve as the latest incarnation of Subway Sect, the backing unit behind vocalist Vic Goddard; the lineup comprised guitarist Rob Marche (b. Oct 13, 1962), keyboardist Dave Collard (b. Jan 17, 1963), bassist Chris Bostock (b. Nov 23, 1962), and drummer Sean McLusky (b. May 5, 1961). Together with Goddard they recorded the album Songs for Sale (1982) and completed a tour before parting ways. While operating a second-hand clothing stall in a street market, the four musicians encountered American expatriate Dig Wayne (b. Jul 20, 1958), who ran a neighboring stall; he became their lead singer, completing the group. Adopting a working-class image that featured caps, suspenders, and work shoes, JoBoxers secured an initial break with an appearance on the BBC series Oxford Roadshow and promptly signed with RCA Records. Their first single, the horn-driven and crowd-enhanced “Boxerbeat,” entered the British charts in February 1983 and reached the Top Five by April. The more soulful follow-up “Just Got Lucky” arrived in May and climbed to the Top Ten in June. The funk-inflected “Johnny Friendly” only just entered the Top 40, while the September release Like Gangsters peaked inside the British Top 20. In the United States “Just Got Lucky” also reached the Top 40 and Like Gangsters entered the Top 100. By November the single “Jealous Love” barely registered on the British charts, confirming a downward trajectory that continued when the 1985 album Skin and Bone failed to chart at all, prompting the band’s dissolution. Wayne subsequently pursued a solo path, and his supporting musicians, including Collard, issued Square Business in 1987.