BOB IN BRIEF
Simon Armstrong
Guitars / Vocals
Richard Blackborow
Guitars / Keyboards / Vocals
Dean Leggett
Drums
Gary Connors
Drums 1986-1988
Jem Morris
Bass 1986-1990
Stephen Hersom
Bass 1990-1995
The initial line-up of what became BOB was Richard Blackborow (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Simon Armstrong (guitar, vocals). The pair had met at school and formed their first band in 1982. By 1985 school was over, the band had disbanded, and Simon and Richard had discussed plans for a new musical project. They began writing and recording songs in 1985, and these first photos were taken at that time.
Those first recordings were sufficient for the pair to think that there was something worth pursuing here, and over the next months they collected together enough recordings to create a cassette ‘album’ they entitled No Mean Typist, attributed to B.O.B., which, by the time of the flexi had become simply BOB.
In 1986, after advertising for a bass player, Richard and Simon were joined by Jem Morris and the trio began rehearsing that early repertoire.
In September 1986, the now three-piece BOB recorded three songs and had them pressed onto a flexi disc which, thanks to a lucky encounter with John Peel, led to the nascent band’s first national radio play. This cheeky photo shows Richard and Simon recording the backing ‘oooohs’ for the song Groove from that flexi.
That all important airplay gave the band an incentive to expand in order to play gigs, which was not going to be possible with the dodgy drum machine they’d used for the flexi. Consequently, in late ’86 or early ’87, BOB recruited the dynamic Gary Connors to play drums with the band. His driving, powerful energy transformed the sound of the band, which began rehearsals in earnest and were soon playing their first gigs in and around North London.
This shot shows the newly-minted four piece band standing outside the cottage in Banwell where the vast majority of the band’s demo recordings were made on a 1/4″ Fostex A8. This line-up of BOB recorded the band’s debut single What A Performance and a first session for John Peel.
L-R: Gary Connors, Jem Morris, Simon Armstrong & Richard Blackborow
Early in 1988, Gary was replaced by Dean Leggett. This, in many ways, was not so much a musical decision – both were great drummers – as a business decision, in that the well connected former Jamie Wednesday and The Siddeleys drummer came armed with useful charm and an address book that opened up broad new touring vistas.
L-R: Dean Leggett, Simon Armstrong, Richard Blackborow & Jem Morris, photographed in Clissold Park, London, c1988/89 by Andy Blackborow. This line-up recorded four BBC sessions, 3 singles and began touring the UK regularly in support of those records. Here are some shots from those early tours:
In 1990, bass player Jem Morris was replaced by ex-Caretaker Race bassist Stephen ‘Henry’ Hersom, a quiet, unassuming man and an excellent bass player. This final incarnation of the band is generally considered the definitive one. As well as recording an album (Leave The Straight Life Behind) and three further singles, the band toured extensively around the UK and Europe. This is also the line up that recorded the ‘new’ album You Can Stop That For A Start in 1992.
L-R: Simon Armstrong, Dean Leggett, Richard Blackborow and Stephen Hersom, photographed in Paris, 1990, for Les Inrockuptibles magazine.
For a range of reasons, BOB finally ran out of steam sometime in 1994 or ’95 (no one is entirely sure precisely when). In 2009, the song Convenience was included on a Universal Music box set Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel on the Radio. This was followed in 2014 and 2015 by two double CD sets released by 3 Loop Music: Leave The Straight Life Behind (Expanded Edition) and The Singles and EPs. These releases stimulated a renewed interest in the band that led to further releases – this time with Optic Nerve Recordings – including the new album You Can Stop That For A Start in 2020.
The full story of the band, provisionally being referred to as ‘The Book of BOB’, is being written by John Hartley, author of Capturing the Wry and The View from Orlando Bridge. The book, which is being written with the full support, compliance, encouragement and incredulity of the band, is due for release in 2021. It’s going to be fab, and in due course you will be heartily encouraged to buy it on these pages!
