Oh, Corey Hart. YouÁ¢€â„¢re trying so hard to say something meaningful and deep here, but weÁ¢€â„¢ll be damned if we know what youÁ¢€â„¢re on about. Is it about James Dean, as you claimed in many an interview? Or is it just a bunch of random rhymes that sounded good at the time? Á¢€the wolf cried Á¢€ËœfoxÁ¢€â„¢ to the boy in the boxÁ¢€¦Á¢€ Really? YouÁ¢€â„¢re gonna go with that one? YÁ¢€â„¢sure, hun? Okay.

A graduate of the Simon Le Bon School of Lyrics, Corey Hart began his questionably poetic career with the equally bewildering Á¢€Å“Sunglasses at NightÁ¢€. See, he wears Á¢€Ëœem in the dark so he can Á¢€Å“weave and breathe your storylineÁ¢€. Or something. While lyrically lacking, Hart could definitely whip up a hook, evidenced by Á¢€Å“SunglassesÁ¢€, and his second albumÁ¢€â„¢s smash single Á¢€Å“Never SurrenderÁ¢€ (which kinda takes an Elmer Fudd sheen with his delivery, Á¢€Å“nevah suwwendahhhhh!Á¢€).


Oh, Canada, so much to answer for…

After Á¢€Å“Never SurrenderÁ¢€ hit #3, the albumÁ¢€â„¢s title track, Á¢€Å“Boy In The BoxÁ¢€, was up next, a dancey time capsule that sums up 1985 pretty neatly; obtuse lyrics, fake, compressed drums with a snare that sounds like someone spanking a thawed turkey with a ping pong paddle, and that annoying little orchestral sting that was in every third song released that year. The 12Á¢€ version takes it to even more ludicrous levels. But ya know what?

I still like it. When the “one, two / you can’t get enough” of the chorus hits, I’m right there.

Á¢€can you see me from outside? / can you hear me from outside?Á¢€ Uh, no dude, youÁ¢€â„¢re IN A BOX.

“Boy In The Box” is out of print, but Amazon has an import and used copies for sale.

Á¢€Boy In The BoxÁ¢€ peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #19 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

About the Author

John C. Hughes

John C. Hughes began his Lost in the ’80s blog in 2005 and is now proud to be a member of the Popdose family, where he’s introduced LIT80s’s companions, the obviously named Lost in the ’70s and Lost in the ’90s, alongside the slightly more originally named Why You Should Like…

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