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Jul 08, 2021 By Mark Redfern

Britpop band The Boo Radleys, who in 1995 hit #1 on the UK album charts with their fourth album, Wake Up!, have returned with “A Full Syringe and Memories of You,” their first new song in 23 years. The current lineup doesn’t feature founding guitarist/songwriter Martin Carr, but original members Sice (aka Simon Rowbottom, guitar/vocals), Tim Brown (bass/guitar/keyboards), and Rob Cieka (drums) all return. Listen to the new song below.

The Boo Radleys, named after a character in To Kill a Mockingbird, last released music with their underrated final album, 1998’s Kingsize. The band had formed a decade earlier, in 1988, releasing their first album, Ichabod and I, in 1990. The band released the rest of their albums on Creation and found critical success with their third album, 1993’s Giant Steps. Initially they were associated with the shoegaze movement, but fans of Britpop embraced them, in part due to their upbeat single “Wake Up! Boo,” which made it to #9 on the UK singles chart in 1995. Such mainstream success was a bit short-lived—1996’s C’mon Kids made it to #20 on the UK album charts, but Kingsize only got as high as 62. The band split up in early 1999. Carr went on to release several albums as Bravecaptain.

“A Full Syringe and Memories of You” is promised to be included on an upcoming new EP, with a new album and a tour also in the works. So this is a full-on reunion, not a one-off single.

Sice had this to say in a press release: “‘A Full Syringe and Memories of You’ tackles the religious hypocrisy that privileges the longevity of life above all other measures of worth and seeks to redress the distorted view that life is always worth living whatever the cost.”

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