Formed in 1976, punk band The Boys split up in 1981 and reformed in 1999. From the London SS band, singer and guitarist Matt Dangerfield joined forces with guitarist Honest John Plain and ex-Hollywood Brats Casino Steel (born Stein Groven in Norway, keyboards and vocals) to create The Boys, completed by Kid Reid (bass) and Jack Black (drums). Affiliated with the fashionable punk scene, the band signed with the NEMS label and produced the singles "I Don't Care" and "First Time". The Boys' debut album, released in September 1977, reached number 50 in the UK charts, after a guest appearance on BBC DJ John Peel's show. After a second, unrated album, Alternative Chartbusters (1978), The Boys supported The Ramones and signed to the independent Safari label for the next, To Hell with the Boys (1979), featuring the hits "Kamikaze " (#9) and "Terminal Love" (#32). Every Christmas, the band reverses its name and becomes The Yobs, recording songs such as "Run Rudolph Run", "Silent Night" and "Rub-a-Dum-Dum", as well as the Chrismas Album (1980), before splitting up in the summer of 1981, after the release of Boys Only. Several live albums followed, including the archive Live at the Roxy, April '77 (1990) and the acoustic Power Cut (1997), before The Boys reformed for performances in Japan in summer 1999, then across Europe in the following years. In 2014, the three original musicians Matt Dangerfield, Honest John Plain and Casino Steel recorded an album of new compositions, Punk Rock Menopause, following on from numerous compilations. Following the cancellation of an official tour of China, the band performs a series of low-key concerts, from which they release the live album Undercover - Live in China (2015). In 2021, a new EP entitled I'm a Believer is released. On June 12, 2025, Honest John Plain passes away at the age of 73.
