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Label: Deram
Year of Release: 1973

Tommy James and The Shondells "Mony Mony" is, to this day, a bit of a floor-filler.  Whilst I cant profess to truly adore the single myself and only play it once every so often at home, theres still something incredibly potent about the track at high volume at around one in the morning.  Its a record you can tease the wallflowers with, those uncertain looking people propped up at the bar who have been frantically tapping their feet all evening as if theyre about to make a move, only to uncertainly twitch away from the action.  Its also one of those records for which bouts of hand-clapping are only to be expected.  Handily, you can also follow it with just about any sixties pounder of the same tempo and keep people on the floor, even if its an ultra-obscure flop like Chris Andrews "Yo Yo" (Ive done it).

Covers of the track have always been apparent, with attempts from Amazulu and Billy Idol working their way out of pressing plants in the eighties alone.  This particular stomping seventies glam version of the record perhaps should have been a hit at the time - whoever had the idea that the tracks pounding would lend itself well to the echoing thud and slap of glitter grooves was obviously utterly on the money.  Theres space and sparseness to this effort which does create a major contrast between the noisy, busy nature of the original, but for all that its still a nagging little disc which seems determined to pull people towards the dancefloor.

As for who Boss were, Im guessing that they were a studio group formed for the benefit of this record rather than a proper gigging band.  However, the B-side "Live Together" - a cover of a track by the equally obscure group Trainer - is a very different beast altogether (beneath the scratchy noises, which I apologise for) appearing to be an almost Joe Cocker-styled ballad designed to highlight the singers talents.  Im guessing the members of this group will have done other things besides in their careers, and please leave a comment if you know more.