Westworld (British band)

Westworld
Genres Electronic rock, pop rock, rock
Years active 1986–1992
Labels RCA Records
Associated acts Generation X, Empire, Moondogg, Speedtwinn
Members Bob "Derwood" Andrews
Elizabeth Westwood
Gary "Gaz" Young
Tracey "T.J." O'Conner
Past members Nick Burton
Not to be confused with Westworld, the American hard rock band formed in 1998.

Westworld were a British three-then-four-piece electronic rock band active in the late 1980s. They are best known for their 1987 UK Top 20 hit single, "Sonic Boom Boy".

Career

Named after the sci-fi film Westworld, they were 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.

Discography

Albums

[2]

Singles

[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Biography by John Bush". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 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.
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