Funboy Five

Formed in January 1979, the Funboy Five were an English post-punk band from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire and originally had four members, Mick Sinclair (guitar and vocals), John McRae (Keyboards), Bob Brimson (bass) and Robert Radhall (drums).

Contents

• Funboy five the radmall rundown
• Funboy five life after death
• Songs
• References

While gigging sporadically in London and south-east England, the band recorded a three-track demo which earned them a review in Sounds and a session for the John Peel Show. First broadcast in October 1979, the session was followed in January 1980 by a single, "Life After Death"/"Compulsive Eater", which also saw the debut of the new rhythm section of Dave Tyler (bass) and Paul Ingram (drums), released on the band's own Cool-Cat-Daddy-O record label. Also released on the label in 1980 was a 7-track cassette Funboy Five Shall Inherit The Earth, which included demos and other material.

Although the band ceased recording and playing live in 1981, the single became a sought-after rarity among collectors of DIY vinyl and was listed in journalist Johan Kugelberg’s 100 best records of the post-punk DIY-era, first published in Ugly Things magazine. During the 1990s and 2000s, "Life After Death" featured on two unofficial vinyl compilations, Teenage Treats Vol.10 and Killed By Death #007.

During 2001, the band gathered their recorded material together for a 13-track CD, Very Hush! Hush!, shared with Milkshake Melon, Mick Sinclair’s solo alter-ego. In 2007, the band were represented by two tracks on Messthetics #101: DIY 77-81 London, a CD retrospective with "Compulsive Eater" on the main release and "Haircut Bob Dylan 66" as a mp3 bonus track.

In 2009, "Life After Death" was included on Universal’s four-CD tribute to John Peel, Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel On The Radio.

A cover version of "Life After Death", by Talya Cooper, appeared as a digital download in 2011.

Two original members, Mick Sinclair and John McRae, revived the band and the Cool-Cat-Daddy-O label in August 2014 releasing a vinyl single, "Save the World"/"What Did You Do With The Body?". "Save The World" was described by Record Collector as "like a bonker's contest to play "In The Mood" without actually playing it".

In June 2015 came another single, "Radio Free Asia", and a vinyl retrospective album, Landmarks Ruins and Memories, of remastered recordings from 1979 to 1981 on the Italian re-issue label, Ave Phoenix Records described as sounding "a bit like Love's Forever Changes on happy pills."

A further single, Vipers Of The Commonwealth, appeared in 2016 as did The Radmall Rundown, a tribute instrumental to the band’s original drummer who died in 2015.