The Boys Light Up (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Boys Light Up" is the second single and title track released by Australia
n rock
band Australian Crawl
from their debut album The Boys Light Up
(1980). The song was written by lead singer James Reyne
, but sung by Simon Binks!!
Australian Crawl's producer David Briggs
was the Little River Band
’s guitarist, and had helped them to a recording contract with EMI
. "The Boys Light Up" peaked at #22 on the Australian Singles Chart.
The song contains the neologism "dorseted", to rhyme with "corseted".
Dorset Gardens hotel is a pub in Croydon
an eastern suburb of Melbourne
.
The single was almost banned from radio play and some TV shows due to its explicit lyrics. Reyne makes observations about cocktail parties that his parents attended and one of his teachers was caught in the garden with someone else's wife. Many listeners believe the chorus lyrics are about smoking marijuana but Reyne has stated that it was about smoking tobacco cigarettes when he was in Form Four at The Peninsula School
. In an interview with Peter Thompson on the ABC Television program Talking Heads, broadcast 31 May 2010, James Reyne stated that the song was about fellatio
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl
Australian Crawl were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne , Brad Robinson , Paul Williams , Simon Binks and David Reyne in 1978. David Reyne soon left and was replaced by Bill McDonough...
from their debut album The Boys Light Up
The Boys Light Up
The Boys Light Up is the debut album from Australian surf rock band Australian Crawl which was released in 1980 and contains the title track, "The Boys Light Up", "Indisposed", "Downhearted" and their previously released debut single "Beautiful People"...
(1980). The song was written by lead singer James Reyne
James Reyne
James Reyne is an Australian rock musician and singer/songwriter both as a member of the iconic 1980s band Australian Crawl and solo work.. He is a successful singer/ songwriter and prolific artist...
, but sung by Simon Binks!!
Australian Crawl's producer David Briggs
David Briggs (Australian musician)
David Briggs is an Australian musician and record producer, educated at Wesley College, Melbourne best known for his time as a guitarist in the rock band, Little River Band between 1976 and 1981.In 1976 he joined Little River Band. He wrote their hit single "Lonesome Loser", as well as "Happy...
was the Little River Band
Little River Band
Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
’s guitarist, and had helped them to a recording contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. "The Boys Light Up" peaked at #22 on the Australian Singles Chart.
The song contains the neologism "dorseted", to rhyme with "corseted".
"People aren't used to hearing 'Dorseted', and it's not actually a word - it's from the Dorset Gardens - I'm trying to be as suburban as possible, and it rhymed with 'corseted'." - James Reyne, 2003
Dorset Gardens hotel is a pub in Croydon
Croydon, Victoria
Croydon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maroondah. At the 2006 Census, Croydon had a population of 22,029.-Public transport:...
an eastern suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
The single was almost banned from radio play and some TV shows due to its explicit lyrics. Reyne makes observations about cocktail parties that his parents attended and one of his teachers was caught in the garden with someone else's wife. Many listeners believe the chorus lyrics are about smoking marijuana but Reyne has stated that it was about smoking tobacco cigarettes when he was in Form Four at The Peninsula School
The Peninsula School
The Peninsula School is an independent, co-educational, Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Mount Eliza, Victoria, Australia.Founded in 1961, the school is set on the large hilly green fields overlooking Port Phillip Bay in the Mornington Peninsula and is a member of the Associated...
. In an interview with Peter Thompson on the ABC Television program Talking Heads, broadcast 31 May 2010, James Reyne stated that the song was about fellatio
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
.
Charts
| Chart (1980) | Peak Position |
Weeks In |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 22 | 18 |