Song of the Day 4/30: The Boo Radleys, “Wake Up Boo!”

Not woke yet, or just feeling a bit lacking in the wokeness department? Let the Boo Radleys remedy that.

The Boo Radleys were an early ’90s Liverpool indie four-piece that released its most commercial album, “Wake Up!” in 1995, just in time for the Britpop boom that made Oasis internationally famous. Their LP caught the wave and soared to No. 1 in the UK, with this song topping out at No. 9 on the singles chart. It didn’t chart in the USA but did get the band some airplay.

Martin Carr, the band’s main songwriter, spent a year writing the tune in what he admitted was a concerted bid for a pop hit. This was the first version the band came up with.

Record company execs suggested they punch it up a bit, so Carr said he listened to some Style Council and reworked the arrangement, adding horns to give it a more Motown feel. The album version also featured an a cappella opening that was dropped for the single and the song’s long afterlife in visual media; it was used as the theme song for a popular BBC radio show in the ’90s.

The Boo Radleys disbanded in 1999 but reunited in 2020, minus Carr, who moved into electronic music once the group broke up. The other three Boos have been releasing new music intermittently since. This was their latest, released in February.