Biography
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Years Active
1980 – 1984 (4 years)
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Founded In
San Francisco, California, United States
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Members
- Cynthia Manley
- Jackson Moore
The Boys Town Gang were a disco and hi-NRG band from San Francisco, California. Their popularity peaked in the 1980s when the group reached No. 1 in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain as well as No. 4 in the UK with their cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You".
In 1980, DJ Bill Motley saw an opportunity to form a disco group that catered to San Francisco's large gay clientele. In his search to form a group, he auditioned hundreds of vocalists, both male and female. Local cabaret singer Cynthia Manley captured the lead spot.
The idea was originally for one 12" single with two tracks of high energy disco music. Motley, a Diana Ross fan, picked two Ashford & Simpson songs to form a medley for the A-side track. For the B-side track, he wrote a disco drama in four acts. A private record label was founded to release the two songs.
When "Remember Me"/"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was released, the song took off with Manley's vocals propelling the song to the top of the club charts. The four-act explicit "Cruisin' the Streets" was a snapshot of San Francisco's South of Market District - Ringold Alley at sundown.
Manley departed after the release of these two records, and Jackson Moore took over lead-vocal responsibilities in 1981 for the group's second LP Disc Charge, which contained three pop charting disco cuts: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" (both of which were performed on Top of the Pops in 1981 and 1982) and "Come and Get Your Love".
The group's last LP, A Cast of Thousands brought in fellow disco artists such as Debbie Jacobs, Two Tons O' Fun, Sylvester, Margaret Reynolds (KC and the Sunshine Band), and Marlena Shaw. With one more overseas hit, the group disbanded, and Jackson Moore took on a short-lived solo career until the decade came to a close.
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