The Bo Street Runners
| The Bo Street Runners | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Harrow, England |
| Genres | R&B, blues rock, garage rock, jazz |
| Years active | 1963-1966 |
| Labels | Decca, Columbia |
| Past members | Gary Thomas, Bob O' Brien, Nigel Hutchinson, Dave Cameron, John Dominic, Tim Hinkley, Glyn Thomas, Mick Fleetwood, Mike Patto |
The Bo Street Runners were an English R&B band formed in Harrow, England during 1963. The band released four singles and a extended play record. They gained prominence in the United Kingdom after winning the Ready Steady Go! band contest and included future Fleetwood Mac drummer, Mick Fleetwood and vocalist Mike Patto.
The band was formed in 1963 as The Roadrunners, but changed their name to The Bo Street Runners when it was doscovered that another British group was already recording with the name. The group's original lineup included Gary Thomas on lead guitar, Bob O' Brien on keyboards, Nigel Hutchinson on drums, Dave Cameron on bass guitar and John Dominic as vocalist. They were heavily influenced by Bo Diddley in both musical style and playing technique, his name also being inspiration for their name. They built a fanbase by playing on Sundays at the Railway Hotel, Harrow, Middlesex.
In the spring of 1964, the band entered the Ready,Steady -Win! competition, a contest designed to find "the next Beatles", with the grand prize being £1,000 and a recording contract with Decca Records. The band fit the criteria to enter which was having no recording history and at least one original composition. On September 8, 1964 the band won the contest with their performance of "I'm a Bo Street Runner". With this success, the band signed to the Decca label for their only single with the company. The single, "I'm a Bo Street Runner" which had a B-side entitled "Tell Me" sold over 20,000 copies in the United Kingdom, but did not chart nationally. Along with the single, 99 copies of an EP were produced for the band to sell at their gigs. By now the group were supporting acts such as The Rolling Stones and Tom Jones.
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