Acquired Tastes XLIII: Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 222 Bad Boys Part 1 of 4

Acquired Tastes XLIII: 

Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 222

Bad Boys

Part 1 of 4

Today, we take a first look at the Bad Boys imprint.

Brought to you by the good people at Star Distributors, LTD., the Bad Boys imprint published 46 titles, from 1989-1994. Star Distributors, LTD. operated out of a P.O. Box at the Canal Street Station in New York City.

The imprint's numbering system begins with BA-101, and continues thusly. The book number only appears on the spine of the book.

All the books feature the imprint's distinctive Bad Boys logo somewhere on the book's cover.  The cover design varies, but consists of an all-caps title and a color illustration by Craig Esposito. The initial design features a white backdrop, the logo at the top, a framed color illustration in the middle and the books title at the bottom, framed in a black circle. This eventually gives way to the illustration taking over the whole of the cover with the logo and title placed in various ways. 

All titles are attributed to 'anonymous'. Some of the manuscripts are originals, while others are republished from other imprints. In addition, Bad Boys would republish some them, yet again, as part of its own imprint.  

 

The original price point for the books was $3.95.Typically, you can buy these books today for between $25-$50.

 

Here are the first twelve titles. Came up short four times this week!

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Caged Lust

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1989 

BA-101

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 Terry Chained

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1989 

BA-102

This title was first printed in 1982. It has been published as part of the following imprints: Macho Books, Gay Incest (twice), and Man To Man.

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 Summer Heat

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

1989 

BA-103

Reprinted by Man To Man as MN-173.

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 Bondage Boys

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1989 

BA-104

(Cover not found.)

Reprinted by Brutes as BR-129, and reprinted by Bad Boys as BA-135.

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 Slave Master

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1990 

BA-105

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 Delinquent Hunk

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1990 

BA-106

(Cover not found.)

Originally printed by Hot Male Readers as  HMR-110.

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 Gangster’s Slaveboy

Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1990 

BA-107

Originally published by Hot Male Readers as HMR-109.

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 His Black Lover

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1990 

BA-108

Originally published by Jock Studs as JS-115, then reprinted by Hot Rods as HR-103.

(Cover not found.)

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 Juvie Hall Hunk

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1990 

BA-109

(Cover not found.)

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 Locker Room Tough

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1990 

BA-110

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 The Prowler

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1990 

BA-111

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 Cellblock Beefcake

 Author: Anonymous 

Bad Boys

 1990 

BA-112

(Cover not found.)

Originally published by New Male/Gaytimes Book Club as NM-051.

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And that's all for now.

Next up: Twelve more tantalizing titles from the Bad Boys imprint.

Until then...

Thanks for reading.

Summer Heat - Brick

Wonderland Burlesque's Down The Rabbit Hole: The Birthday Party/The Boys Next Door

Wonderland Burlesque's 

Down The Rabbit Hole: 

The Birthday Party/The Boys Next Door

Down The Rabbit Hole merely places a spotlight on something slightly unusual that's caught my interest. With the help of Wikipedia, YouTube, and other sites, I gather information and learn something new.

Today, we take a look at the history and music of the influential Australian band The Birthday Party/The Boys Next Door.

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From Wikipedia and other sources:

The Birthday Party/The Boys Next Door were an Australian post-punk band, active from 1977 to 1983. They began life as The Boys Next Door, but then changed their name to when  they headed for London in 1980. The nucleus of the band first met at the private boys school Caulfield Grammar School, in suburban Melbourne, in the early seventies. A rock group was formed in 1973, with Nick Cave (vocals), Mick Harvey (guitar), and Phill Calvert (drums), with other students filling in various roles. Most were also members of the school choir. The band played under various names at parties and school functions with a mixed repertoire of glam rock.

After their final school year in 1975 the band decided to continue as a four-piece group, with friend Tracy Pew picking up the bass. Greatly affected by the punk explosion of 1976, The Boys Next Door, as they were now called, began performing punk and proto-punk cover versions. The Boys' second guitarist, Rowland S. Howard, joined in 1978, and about this time the group's sound changed dramatically with the introduction of the use of audio feedback. Their sound drew upon punk, rockabilly, free jazz and blues, defying categorization.

In producer/engineer Tony Cohen they found a sympathetic collaborator who encouraged experimentation. In manager Keith Glass they found an enthusiastic financial backer and a record label. Glass' label Missing Link Records released all of the group's early records. The Boys Next Door's best known song, Shivers, written by Howard, and first performed and recorded by his band The Young Charlatans, was banned by radio stations because of a reference to suicide.

After numerous live gigs, recordings and having found moderate success in Australia, the group moved to London in 1980, prompting a name change. Their new environment launched a period of innovative and aggressive music-making. However, they quickly grew disillusioned with the state of the music scene in London, only finding like-minded groups in the Fall and the Pop Group. 

After tours in the UK, Australia and the US, the group relocated to West Berlin in 1982. Here, their sound became noisier, with Nick Cave barely being heard above the din. Though Cave drew on earlier rock and roll shriekers such as Iggy Pop and Suicide's Alan Vega, his singing with the Birthday Party remained powerful and distinct, with his lyrics also drawing on the likes of Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire.

Their single Release the Bats came out during the emergence of the gothic scene. The song, about "vampire sex" was promoted by an advertisement with the words "Dirtiness is next to antigodliness". The group's 1982 album Junkyard was inspired by American Southern Gothic imagery.

Then the band was rocked by several changes. Calvert was ejected from in 1982 due to his inability to "nail down the beats". Harvey then moved to drums. Then Pew was jailed for drunk driving and petty theft. He would rejoin the band in July of 1982.

After a one-off recording project with Lydia Lunch, which Cave and Harvey disavowed, the group toured in January of 1983. They soon found themselves whittled down to a four-piece. By this point, tensions between Howard and Cave had grown intense, leading to Harvey's departure from the group. 

The Birthday Party played their final show at the Crystal Ballroom in St Kilda on 9 June 1983 and disbanded not long after, due in part to the split between Cave and Howard, as well as work and drug-related exhaustion.

 

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These Boots Are Made For Walking - The Boys Next Door

Shivers - The Boys Next Door

Nick, The Stripper - The Birthday Party

Release The Bats - The Birthday Party

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Weekend Onesie: Eveready Tales Of Terror! - Part 1

Weekend Onesie: 

Eveready Tales Of Terror!

Part I

As a kid, I remember going to my grandmother's house on Sundays and seeking out the funnies section of the local paper. There, in glorious color, were households I remember well. There was Family Circle, Blondie and Dagwood, Hagar The Horrible, The Peanuts, Nancy and Sluggo... the list goes on and on. 

And there, at the bottom of the front page of the funnies, there was always an advertisement disguised as one of the paneled comics. 

The Eveready ads always got my attention. Terrorists, wolves, ghosts... you never knew what they were gonna throw at you. They were bold and forewarned of the dangers of cheap batteries, bad decisions and poor planning. 

I know they were still running them in the 1970s, but I believe they got their start back in the 1950s.

The ones here? I've done what I could to make them legible. 

In any event, I thought I share a few of the ones I found recently.

Just click on 'em to read 'em.

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Eveready Battery Commercial

Ever Ready Battery Commercial

(1982)

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Friday Fun: It's World Party Day!

Friday Fun: 

It's World Party Day!

It's time to celebrate! For it is World Party Day!

And nobody parties like a bunch of gay dudes.

So, put on your glad rags - or better yet - be like the men below and take 'em off!

For we are here to party.

And by that - I mean congregate, decorate, and celebrate.

All you need is a bunch of balloons, a few glittering streamers and some premium cake - and you have a party.

Now, I don't know about you...

But this is one party where I am going to be eating all the icing on that cake!

Nobody parties like the gays.

So gather and work up a lather...

Good times are here to stay.

- uptonking from Wonderland Burlesque

Here For The Party - Gretchen Wilson

We Like To Party! - Vengaboys