The American kids show The Electric Company from the 70s starts with someone shrieking ‘Hey you guys!’ A far more sedate version of said catchphrase is delivered by Sloth in the much-loved 80s film The Goonies, though there’s nothing sluggish about Worcester pop punkers Hey You Guys!
Everyone knows that one of the most popular Christmas gifts these days is an 89-second song about a doomed attempt to catch a whale in 1848, and once again, Hey You Guys! deliver. Their new single ‘Brave Bwoys’ is a frenetic update of the sea song ‘Greenland Whale Fisheries’. With typical gusto, frontman Peter Richard Adams recalls the pursuit of a ‘fine whale fish’ while, in the song’s video, wearing sunglasses and a flat cap in the usual Elton John Del Boy style, though with a hint of Trevor Horn from The Buggles.
Chance would have it that this isn’t an entirely silly way to describe the relentlessly joyous Hey You Guys! sound. In fact, it reminds me of one my albums of the year, Not Again Cribbins God Save The King #2 (Number VIII) by God Save The King, whom are *checks notes* also fronted by Peter Richard Adams.
At 89 seconds long, ‘Brave Bwoys’ might be a tad too lengthy for the TikTok generation, but it’s a mere blink for us Generation Attention Spanners. Indeed, if Christmas is about mass as well as Christ, Hey You Guys! have left me wanting more like a malnourished Oliver!
‘Brave Bwoys’ is out now on Bandcamp and Spotify.
By: Neil Laurenson