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Charted at No. 22 on 17th February, had raced to No. 11 by the following week - their first hit single.Their penultimate hit single too, it turned out, with only a Number 37 follow-up to save them from official one-hot-wonderdom. A visually striking act in the mould of Sigue Sigue Sputnik (whom they apparently supported on tour) Westworld took their name from founding members Derwood (a former member of Generation X) and Elizabeth Westwood. They were one of those acts who were everywhere for a brief moment and then seemed to vanish, their second and third albums not even seeing a release in the UK.
Without wishing to sound mean, you can sort of tell why they weren't in it for the long haul. 'Sonic Boom Boy' is three minutes of retro-futurism with a big chorus and not much else. It's all very slickly packaged and knowing (see the visible cameras and boom mic in the video, a somewhat of-its-time concept) and it's fun while it lasts but it doesn't exactly leave you wanting more. Dare I say it might be of more interest to writers on The Face than normal people? Still, ephemeral thrills are better than no thrills at all.
Pop trivia: actress Rebecca Lacey, later a regular on Casualty, plays a popcorn seller in the video to this song.
Available on: Beat Box Rock'N'Roll' - The Greatest Hits
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