Wake Up Boo!

Album: Wake Up! (1995)
Charted: 9
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This track is an upbeat guitar-pop song in which vocalist Martin Carr contrasts his own optimism ("Twenty-five I don't recall a time I felt this alive") with his lover's pessimism ("You have to put the death in everything").
  • The song was the lead single from Wake Up!. Its release in March 1995 coincided with the emergence of Britpop as a driving force in mid-1990s British music and the track's brassy optimism fitted in well on the radio alongside the likes of Oasis and Supergrass. As a result, it became the Boo Radleys' biggest hit in the UK.
  • The origins of "Wake Up Boo" lay in some sessions spent by the Boo Radleys at London's Protocol Studios in June 1994, when they pierced together early versions of the song along with a few other tracks. The plan was to release the tune in October 1994 but Martin Carr halted the original recording. He recalled to Music Week:

    "I'd heard Take That's cover of 'Could It Be Magic' and liked the way the beat moved the song along. I knew Wake Up Boo should have a certain sound and momentum without relying on guitars, so we changed it."

    Carr told Mojo it took four days to piece together the final version of "Wake Up Boo" and it was the only track on the album that was written "just for the fun of writing a pop song."
  • The Boo Radleys recorded the bulk of this song at Rockfield Studios in the countryside of Wales. Many famous bands recorded there - Queen, Rush, Oasis - but there are few tales of debauchery or shenanigans, in part because there wasn't much trouble to be found, but also because the studio owners wanted to protect the artists from the press. One rumor that did leak concerns The Boo Radleys. While making the Wake Up! album, they supposedly took a lot of acid and tried to paint sheep on the property blue. This has not been confirmed, but makes a great story.

Comments: 1

  • Daddio from UkTheir name is taken from the character Boo Radley in Harper Lee's 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman Jack

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman JackSong Writing

The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"They're Playing My Song

Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."

Desmond Child

Desmond ChildSongwriter Interviews

One of the most successful songwriters in the business, Desmond co-wrote "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Livin' On A Prayer."