The Motorcycle Boy were an indie pop

Indie pop

Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...

 band formed in East Kilbride

East Kilbride

East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, in 1987 by former members of Meat Whiplash

Meat Whiplash

Meat Whiplash was an alternative rock band from East Kilbride, Scotland, that were amongst the first to be signed to Creation Records.The line-up was Paul McDermott , Stephen McLean , Edward Connelly and Michael Kerr . They took their name from a B-side track by The Fire Engines...

 and The Shop Assistants

The Shop Assistants

Shop Assistants were an indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as Buba & The Shop Assistants. After achieving success with independent releases they signed to Chrysalis Records sublabel Blue Guitar, releasing their only album in 1986...

.

The band consisted of Alex Taylor (vocals, formerly of The Shop Assistants), with Paul McDermott (drums), Michael Kerr (guitar), and Eddy Connolly (bass) (all formerly of Meat Whiplash), and David "Scottie" Scott (guitar). They were signed by Rough Trade Records

Rough Trade Records

Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...

, who issued their debut single, "Big Rock Candy Mountain", which reached number 2 in the UK Independent Chart. The band were then signed up by Chrysalis Records

Chrysalis Records

Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...

, with two singles and debut album Scarlet that was never released, but failed to achieve great success despite considerable press attention. The band then split with Chrysalis, with one further single released on the Nymphaea Pink label in 1990, before the band themselves split up.

The band oddly made the cover of the NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

 on September 19, 1987 despite only having a brief half-page feature. This was because the entire contents of a themed issue on censorship

Censorship

thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

 (which would have had a painting used on the Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....

' album Frankenchrist

Frankenchrist

Frankenchrist is the third album released by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles.The album was a subject of controversy because of a poster inserted in the original record sleeve. The poster, H. R. Giger's Landscape #XX, or Penis Landscape, was a painting...

, then the subject of an obscenity trial in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, on the cover) had themselves been censored, with Stuart Cosgrove

Stuart Cosgrove

Stuart Cosgrove is a Scottish journalist, broadcaster and television executive. As a journalist Cosgrove served on the NME and The Face during the 1980s, before joining Channel 4 in April 1994, serving for eight years as Controller of Arts and Entertainment and currently as Head of Programmes...

 sacked from the paper, and a new cover had to be designed at very short notice.

Singles

• "Big Rock Candy Mountain" (7") (1987) Rough Trade RT 210 (UK
  UK Singles Chart
  The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
  
  #85)
  • A. Big Rock Candy Mountain - 3:13
  • B. Room At The Top - 3:55

• "Big Rock Candy Mountain" (12") (1987) Rough Trade RTT 210
  • A. Big Rock Candy Mountain (Velocity Dance Mix) - 4:40
  • B1. Room At The Top - 3:55
  • B2. His Latest Flame - 2:18
  • B3. Big Rock Candy Mountain (7" Mix) - 3:13

• "Trying To Be Kind" (7") (1989) Chrysalis CHS 3310
  • A. Trying To Be Kind
  • B. world Falls Into Place

• "Trying To Be Kind" (12") (1989) Chrysalis CHS 12 3310
  • A. Trying To Be Kind (Extended Mix)
  • B1. World Falls Into Place
  • B2. Will You Love Me Tomorrow
  • B3. Trying To Be Kind (1,000cc Version)

• "You And Me Against The World" (7") (1989) Chrysalis CHS 3398
  • A. You And Me Against The World
  • B. Under The Bridge

• "You And Me Against The World" (12″) (1989) Chrysalis CHS 12 3398
  • A. You And Me Against The World
  • B1. Under The Bridge
  • B2. Some Girls
  • B3. You And Me Against The World (Extended Mix)

• "The Road Goes On Forever" (12") (1990) Nymphaea Pink Sensation NPS T001
  • A1. Starlight - 3:20
  • A2. Starlight (Paradise A Go-Go Mix) - 5:05
  • B1. The Road Goes On Forever (Overdrive Karma Mix) - 5:16
  • B2. Salvation - 3:13
  • B3. The Road Goes On Forever- 3:26

• "Here She Comes" (12") (1990) Nymphaea Pink Sensation NPS T002
  • A. Here She Comes
  • B1. Everything I See
  • B3. The Road Goes On Forever (Live)

Albums

• Scarlet (1989) Chrysalis

* 1. Hey Mama
* 2. Baby Let Go Of My Heart
* 3. The World Falls Into Place
* 4. Valentine
* 5. No Pain
* 6. Take Me For A Walk
* 7. Some Girls
* 8. Under The Bridge
* 9. Trying To Be Kind
* 10. Scarlet
* 11. Big Rock Candy Mountain
* 12. Up Here

Appearance on Compilation Albums

• "Indie Top 20 Volume III - War Of Independents" (2LP) (1988) Beechwood Music TT03
  • A6. Big Rock Candy Mountain - 3:13
• "Indie Top 20 Volume III - War Of Independents" (2Cass) (1988) Beechwood Music, Melody Maker TT03MC
  • A6. Big Rock Candy Mountain
• "Art Of Compilation CD 7" (CD, Promo) (1991) Art Of Mix CD 7
  • 7. Here She Comes (Digi Boy Mix) - 6:51
• "Precision Three" (12", Promo) (1991) Art Of Mix AMP-9003
  • A2. Here She Comes (Digi Boy Mix)