News

If you’ve ever wanted to search beyond “Just Got Lucky,” the worldwide hit from British New Wave group JoBoxers, a new triple-disc anthology from Cherry Red has you covered.

The aptly-titled Just Got Lucky: The Complete Works 1983-1986 highlights the release of the band’s sole album, 1983’s Like Gangbusters, along with material from two planned follow-up records and a live recording from the band’s commercial peak – some 28 unreleased tracks in all. The group, recently reunited in the 2020s, is on board with the release: bassist Chris Bostock has overseen and compiled the unreleased studio material, while all five band members participated for interviews for the liner notes, penned by Lois Wilson of MOJO.

JoBoxers rose from the ashes of Subway Sect, an early British punk outfit that dabbled in a lot of unusual styles. (When the group – singer Vic Goddard, guitarist Rob Marche, keyboardist Dave Collard, bassist Chris Bostock and drummer Sean McClusky – were in their last incarnation, they were taking influence from ’40s swing, not particularly a common influence in the scene.) With Goddard’s exit, taking the band name with him, the newly-christened JoBoxers recruited a new singer: Dig Wayne, an Ohio-born vocalist who’d recently fronted a rockabilly band. The band’s mix of Northern soul-infused pop and dance grooves proved effective on the British record-buying public, with debut single “Boxerbeat” climbing to No. 3 on the charts, just behind David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and Duran Duran’s “Is There Something I Should Know?” JoBoxers’ live prowess was honed with a slot opening for Madness.

Their second single, the infectious rave-up “Just Got Lucky,” settled for No. 7 at home but also crossed over into the Top 40 in America, briefly establishing them as a much buzzed-about act. While third single “Johnny Friendly” was another U.K. Top 40 and the album Like Gangbusters reached the Top 20, that was largely the end of the group’s influence; a follow-up to Like Gangbusters called Skin & Bone failed to materialize in 1985, as did a second, Missing Link, recorded at Hansa Studios in Berlin. The quintet went their separate ways after that, but reunited for a European tour in 2022.

Just Got Lucky looks to be the definitive word on JoBoxers’ recorded works. It’ll be available this Friday, February 21 and can be pre-ordered below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Just Got Lucky: The Complete Works 1983-1986 (Cherry Red CD3BRED916 (U.K.), 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

* previously unreleased

Disc 1: Like Gangbusters (Expanded Edition)

1. Boxerbeat
2. Crosstown Walk Up
3. Fully Booked
4. Not My Night
5. Just Got Lucky
6. She’s Got Sex
7. Curious George
8. Hide Nor Hair
9. Crime of Passion
10. Johnny Friendly
11. Between the Scenes
12. Forget Me Love
13. Let’s Talk About Love
14. Jealous Love
15. Boxerbeat (Single Version)
16. Just Got Lucky (Single Version)
17. Johnny Friendly (Single Version)
18. She’s Got Sex (12″ Remix)
19. Just Got Lucky (12″ Remix)
20. Johnny Friendly (12″ Remix)

Tracks 1-10 released as RCA BOXXLP 1 (U.K.), 1983
Track 11 from cassette version – RCA BOXXK 1 (U.K.), 1983
Tracks 12 and 16 released as RCA U.K. single BOXX 2, 1983
Tracks 13 and 15 released as RCA U.K. single BOXX 1, 1983
Track 14 released on RCA U.K. single BOXX 4, 1983
Track 17 released on RCA U.K. single BOXX 3, 1983
Track 18 released on RCA U.K. 12″ BOXX T4, 1983
Track 19 released on RCA U.K. 12″ BOXX T2, 1983
Track 20 released on RCA U.K. 12″ BOXX T3, 1983

Disc 2: The Skin & Bone and Missing Link Recordings (previously unreleased except where noted)

1. Missing Link *
2. A Thorn in My Side *
3. I Confess (Guilty As Charged) *
4. Don’t Drop My Name *
5. Talking to Joe *
6. Lon Chaney Jr. *
7. One in a Million (Single Version) *
8. For the Love of Leo *
9. Two Weeks Notice
10. My Best Friend *
11. Cry Uncle *
12. Skin and Bone *
13. Is This Really the First Time (You’ve Been in Love)
14. Some Kind of Heart
15. Don’t Add Up
16. Don’t Keep the Ladies Waiting
17. Dead End Streets
18. Strictly Business
19. One in a Million
20. Missing Link (Extended Version) *
21. Johnny Friendly (Dub Version)
22. Curious George (12″ Version)

Tracks 9 and 13 released as RCA U.K. single BOXX 5, 1985
Tracks 14 -17, 19 and 21 released on Essential Boxerbeat – Camden 74321 39341-2 (U.K.), 1996
Track 18 released on “Is This Really the First Time” 12″ – RCA BOXX T5 (U.K.), 1985
Track 22 released on “Boxerbeat” U.K. 12″ – RCA BOXX T1, 1983

Disc 3: Live At The Phoenix Theatre, London, England – 6/25/1983 *

1. Crosstown Walk Up
2. Cry Uncle
3. Why Don’t You Do Right (Give Me Some Money Too)
4. Let’s Talk About Love
5. Fully Booked
6. She’s Got Sex
7. Curious George
8. Forget Me Love
9. Crime of Passion
10. Just Got Lucky
11. Johnny Friendly
12. Not My Night
13. Hide Nor Hair
14. Boxerbeat
15. Talking to Joe
16. Jealous Love