BBC (Bob, Billy and "Charly") - A Band You Don't Know About, and You're Missing Out

Back in 1980 I heard a song on the radio called "Life-size American Heroes" thankfully the disc jockey named the song and the band. If it was ever played again I never heard it. I loved the song, it was very British sounding, and with a name like BBC they were aiming big if they wanted to compete with their likewise named counterpart.

So off to the record store I went ... and I couldn't find the album anywhere. I did manage to find the 45, so I bought it. I was never a fan of singles, although I had a few. I used to have"Bohemian Rhapsody / I'm In Love with My Car" and a few other treasures that were lost over time to natural disasters.

I put the song on a lot of mixed tapes, and over the years I tried to find it on CD but to no avail. When the internet became a thing trying to search out BBC was a pain, and proved that the BBC were the only BBC. Like Highlander, there could only be one. Although in the case of the BBC there are quite a few, but they're all BBC. Kind of like how Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul were able to co-exist. Still, there is a BBC One ... man, I'm drifting...

Anyway, when I started frequenting record stores again I figured it was only a matter of time until I managed to find the elusive album. I was in one of my favourite shops and I decide to ask for help. I hummed the riff and sang what I remembered to "Life-size American Heroes" and all I got in return was a quizzical look. I tried a different tact I mentioned the band was called BBC ... which is where I should have started. He yells out to someone I can't see and a head pops up in the far corner. "Hey, do we have BBC? Some band with a song that goes American Hero?" There was a pause. "Does he mean Joey Scarbury?" I got a look and a raised eyebrow. I shook my head no.

A few minutes later I'm presented with a rather cheesy looking album. I turn it over and there it is, and the first song listed is "Life-size American Heroes". I paid my money and grinning came home and immediately put it on. It was a gatefold with the lyrics across the two panels. I'm reading and the credits, and these guys aren't British ... they're Canadian, and by all accounts based on the liner notes they're from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Holy crap, all these years, and the guys are from the freakin' prairies. BBC was just the first letters of their first names. Bob, Billy, and "Charly".

Yeah, and the internet? These guys are ghosts. I can find absolutely nothing out there. NOTHING. Oh sure if you dig you can find a listing of the album, and maybe the 45 but nothing else. So weird. This album wasn't just a late night shoe string budget release. The album sounds great. It was mastered by the legend Bob Ludwig. I mean that is a big name. So how come there's absolutely nothing out there? Even on AllMusic it's not listed as one of his mastering credits. Heck on the dead wax it's stamped and everything "MASTERDISK RL" these guys are ghosts.

I dropped the needle and the first track catches me right in the ear hole. It's just as powerful as I remembered ... more so because I have almost 40 years of pent up nostalgia. It was awesome. 1980 was a great year and the echoes of the first generation punk and new wave bands were spilling over and washing through the songs on the album. This was probably why I thought they were British. After a few spins through I have to say that the whole album is solid new wave power pop with just enough of a classic rock feel to really keep you hooked all the way through. "Nothing I Need"is probably the other standout and what really puts it over the top is a killer acoustic guitar solo as the song starts it's fade to end side one.

It's a mystery to me why this didn't get traction here at home. I mean this was really good stuff, and it's not like the guys didn't give it their all.

To the guys in the band, where ever you may be or where ever you ended up. THANK YOU for making the album. I wonder what might have been if things had been different. If nothing else at least there's something out there now that talks about your fantastic record.

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