*Excerpt*
Simon Toulson-Clarke formed his first band at age thirteen with school friend Paddy Talbot, playing covers of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple as well as some self-penned material. On leaving school he moved to Middlesbrough and formed another band in the vein of New York Dolls.
In the late '70s he travelled south to study at The Polytechnic of Central London (now University of Westminster), where he formed a band with Bristolian Julian Close. Initially the band performed under the name Harlequins and comprised Toulson-Clarke (vocals/guitar) and Close (saxophone) together with Paddy Talbot (keyboards), Rob Legge (bass) and Martin Nickson (drums).
The band later took the name Red Box—after some deliberation—from a box left behind by the rock group Slade following a performance at college (and in which they had since been storing microphones). The name was favoured for its political (Red) connotations—Toulson-Clarke describes the band members as 'Student Activists'. He was also attracted to the notion of square (Box) being an old North American Indian term for 'white man' (circle being the term for 'man' before Europeans were encountered), a concept which would be explored further on the debut The Circle & The Square album in the song "Heart of the Sun", a line from which gave the album its title.
The group released their debut single "Chenko" on the Cherry Red label in 1983. Following this, the band slimmed down and took on a more synth pop direction. Their second single "Saskatchewan" (a cover of the Buffy Sainte-Marie song) brought them to the attention of WEA, which signed the duo.
In August 1985 they enjoyed their first UK hit single, "Lean on Me", a song which reached number three in the UK Top 40. The following year, Red Box (with the help of numerous guest musicians, including violinist Alexander Balanescu) released the album The Circle & The Square.
Toulson-Clarke responded to WEA's request for something to appeal to American radio with the sardonic "For America", which lambasted what he saw as the style-over-content approach of the American media, as well as alluding to American military involvement in Grenada and Nicaragua. The song was not a hit in the USA, though it did reach the top ten in several countries as well as the UK, where it spent twelve weeks in the chart including two at number ten.
Two more tracks were released as singles—"Heart of the Sun" and a second re-working of "Chenko"—but both failed to make a significant impact on the charts. Due to increasingly strained working relations between the band and the Record Company, Close left to work in A & R and Toulson-Clarke took time out from writing and recording in order to travel.
Both "Lean on Me" and "For America" remain staples of UK radio.
In the late '80s Toulson-Clarke was persuaded back to recording by Max Hole—a former contact at WEA—who had been given charge of the subsidiary company EastWest. He began work on a new album in collaboration with musician and arranger Alastair Gavin, as well as David Motion (who had produced The Circle & The Square), under the proviso that the 'tribal' elements which contributed so strongly to the sound of the earlier record be toned down.
Motive is less synth-based than its predecessor, with several tracks built around piano, brass provided by The Kick Horns and full orchestral arrangements. It also displays a more personal style of writing from Toulson-Clarke combined with the cultural and political allusions of the previous record.
"Train" was selected as the first single and released in the autumn of 1990, garnering interest from radio and television. The video was aired on the ITV Chart Show, and the band performed on the re-vamped Juke Box Jury hosted by Jools Holland, with the panel proclaiming the song a hit.
Despite the positive reception for "Train", however, and for reasons which remain unclear, the song was recalled from retailers. No further singles were issued and the album was eventually released without further publicity.
Both The Circle & The Square and Motive received only a limited release on CD. Though the first album was widely released on LP and cassette in 1986, a CD issue was limited to Germany, with a reissue in Japan in 1998. Due to the scarcity of both albums on CD format, rare copies are now offered for sale at vastly inflated prices.
In 1997 Toulson-Clarke collaborated with Phill Brown (who had produced the Cherry Red version of "Chenko") and Alastair Gavin—using the acronym SPA—on a concept album in tribute to the Late American Comedian Bill Hicks.
Toulson-Clarke is currently working in collaboration with several musicians, among them singer-songwriter Emily Maguire, on an album of "love songs" under the name Plenty.
Valley - a Red Box website
Vote for the re-release of 'The Circle & The Square'
Lean On Me (1985 promo video)
For America (1986 promo video)
Heart Of The Sun (1987 promo video)
Chenko (1987 promo video)
