HISTORY
A Boy’s Own Story…
Like The Face and Vice journalist Clive Martin writes, “There aren’t many people in the history of British clubbing who are held in higher regard than the Boy’s Own crew.”
Born in Thatcher’s Britain, 1986, the London collective profoundly influenced publishing, partying and popular music: as a landmark youth fanzine inspiring the next generation of style mags, at seminal parties that came to define club culture, and with a music label whose early signings, like The Chemical Brothers and Underworld, now top festival bills worldwide.
Perhaps most importantly, though, Boy’s Own are a group of friends who built a thriving, diverse community. They encouraged creativity and cultivated a profound sense of connection – of the kind many people are seeking today.
Boy’s Own’s Fanzine – ‘Bermondsey Goes Balearic’ (1986–1992)
Boy’s Own founders Terry Farley, Andrew Weatherall, Steve Mayes, and Cymon Eckel met among the soul boy culture gathering at Chris Sullivan’s Wag club in mid-80s West London, where Boy’s Own debuted as a self-published fanzine. Its irreverence and authenticity reflected the eclectic crowd of Chelsea casuals, art school freaks and dilettante hedonists forming around the four.
Andrew Weatherall’s ‘The Outsider’ column summed up the readership: “We wont pigeonhole our readers, but are aiming at the boy (or girl) who one day stands on the terraces, the next day a sweaty club, and the day after stays in reading Brendan Behan whilst listening to Run DMC.”
Leading international DJ and producer Paul Oakenfold’s article ‘Bermondsey Goes Balearic’ is considered the first ever written piece on the acid house phenomenon. “In these days of the Internet and mass media, fanzine culture is long forgotten,” says Terry Farley in his introduction to Boy’s Own – the Collected Fanzines, now in its fifth edition, “but back in the day it was an important way to get across a view and culture that the music and fashion press ignored totally.”
The final issue was published in 1992. Original fanzines are exceptionally rare, with second hand copies reportedly sold on E-bay for £300. Boy’s Own – the Collected Fanzines was originally released by Bill Brewster’s DJ History organisation in 2009 and sold out almost immediately.
Boy’s Own Parties and the Emergence of Acid House (1988–1992)
In 1988, the ‘Second Summer of Love’ hit Britain and Boy’s Own was at its heart.
Among the ravers was film director Andrew ‘Wiz’ Winston, director of Flowered Up’s acclaimed Weekender video, who captured the moment, and the people, in his 1990 short Nish.
The Berkshire countryside provided a backdrop for their early infamous gatherings with hay bales, bouncy castles, banging sound systems. Part-rave, part-punk gig and part-garden party, Boy’s Own parties defined the anarchic, anything-goes spirit of the early rave scene, bringing together football lads, punks, fashionistas, and the wide-eyed ravers who were discovering ecstasy for the first time.
Boy’s Own Record Label: from Boca Juniors to Chemical Brothers (1990–1995)
Terry Farley and Andrew Weatherall grew in influence as DJs and producers: Weatherall with Primal Scream’s seminal Screamadelica
blending rock and acid house, and Farley with remixes for New Order and The Farm.
The team in turn grew from amateur publishers into seminal party organisers, world-famous DJs, and music business svengalis. The Boy’s Own record label set up to release club hits like DSK’s What Would We Do? signed two new acts formed amongst their community, Lemon Interrupt and The Dust Brothers – now better known as Underworld and The Chemical Brothers, respectively.
Terry Farley, Pete Heller, and X-Press 2 provided the UK’s answer to Chicago and New York house in tracks like Ultra Flava and Musik X-Press.
Other singles and remixes on Boy’s Own often incorporated cosmopolitan elements associated with the Ibizan ‘Balearic’ sound —delving into dub, ambient, and funk. Acts like One Dove, Denim and Jay Wobble showed the diversity and inspiration crucial to Boy’s Own’s character – and its enduring legacy.
In 1992 Boy’s Own joined EMI as Junior Boy’s Own, releasing LPs Second Toughest in the Infants by Underworld in 1996 and Dig Your Own Hole by The Chemical Brothers in 1997.
Boy’s Own's Culture and Legacy: the Sound of Now
The Boy’s Own collective, through its fanzines, parties, and record label, helped shape not just British dance music, but also the wider youth culture of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Their influence can still be felt today: in how the dance music industry operates, the DIY attitude that inspires artists, DJs, and promoters worldwide, and the classic pieces of music still sounding crisp on dance floors today.
Boy’s Own was about attitude, innovation, and refusal to be pigeonholed. The crew blended fashion, music, and football culture, predating the fusion of streetwear and designer styles we see today. They mixed the gritty reality of working-class London with the cosmopolitan excess of club life, offering a new, irreverent form of British identity. “Right now, the political and cultural climate feels uncannily similar,” says founder Cymon Eckel.
If you're too young to remember the acid house explosion of the late '80s firsthand, then there's a chance you may have never heard of Boy's Own fanzine; the very fact that you're reading RA right now, however, probably means that you owe a fair debt of gratitude to the lads who put it together.
Stephen Titmus - Resident Advisor.