City Boy – "Goodbye, Blue Monday" (1976)

Hey, all you creepers

Just form a line to kiss my ass

That’s all I have to say for now.  Any questions?

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I’m a sucker for seventies groups like Sparks, 10CC, and City Boy, whose songs were notable for their tongue-in-cheek and too-clever-by-half lyrics, insanely catchy tunes, and highly sophisticated arrangements.    

All these bands had musical ADHD.  They were capable of coming up with lots of appealing hooks, but seemed to become bored easily.  After a minute or two – just as a song was starting to grow on you – they would abruptly segue into something that sounded completely different.    

The British music magazine NME once had this to say about City Boy’s second album, Dinner at the Ritz – which includes “Goodbye, Blue Monday”:

Not even the highest ballyhoo of praise could do justice to City Boy's masterwork, Dinner At The Ritz. . . . You hear a composing style which has been influenced by, respectfully, Lennon and McCartney, novelist Ian Fleming, and Noel Coward.  Very English . . . but very strange.

I agree that Dinner at the Ritz is a masterwork – and that it is very strange indeed.  But I can’t say that I buy that stuff about Lennon-McCartney, Ian Fleming, and Noel Coward.

Click here to listen to “Goodbye, Blue Monday.”

Click here to buy that recording from Amazon.