Mondo Rock: Come said the boy

The first time that I had come across this band known as Mondo Rock was on a compilation compact disc of Australian music which I had picked up while holidaying in Western Australia some years ago.

There were good tracks on that CD featuring various Aussie acts such as Midnight Oil, Little River Band, Crowded House, INXS, Cold Chisel, Savage Garden, Rick Springfield, Dragon, Kylie Minogue, Men At Work, John Farnham, Australian Crawl, Russell Morris, Masters Apprentices, Sherbet, Split Enz, Mondo Rock, Axiom, Ted Mulry Gang and yes, even the Bee Gees, spanning the years from the late 1960s till the 1980s. Heard of them? Yes? No?

Anyhow, Mondo Rock's name sprang up again when I was browsing through the second-hand vinyl records at Joe's Mac in the AmCorp Mall earlier this month. I came across the band's fourth studio album which was called The Modern Bop. I flipped the cover over and among the 10 titles on the back, the name of the second song, Come Said The Boy, sprang out at me. Another bell rang. That was exactly the same song that was picked for the Australian Legends compact disc. Without a moment's hesitation, I included this record into my "must buy" list.

I must say that my spur-of-the-moment decision was well worth the RM17 that I put down for the purchase. There was not a dull moment in the 10 songs. I never got tired of playing this record and I was certainly give it a few more spins before putting it away in the cupboard.

Side One: Lovers of the world, Come said the boy, Happy families, The modern bop, Take me away.
Side Two: Baby wants to rock, Flight 28, Marina, Cost of living, In my house.

Come Said The Boy was a rather controversial song. When it was released in December 1983, the song was banned by many radio stations in Australia because of the suggestive lyrics. Despite the absence from the airwaves, Come Said The Boy became the band's most successful single, peaking at No. 2 in the Australian music charts.