Sonic Boom Six first appeared on the Manchester punk scene in April 2002. Some of their members were previously in the band Grimace. Their self-titled demo, recorded with Jerry Melchers, was self-released in October 2002. To promote the CD, they toured the UK with third wave ska veterans The Toasters and London ska punk/hip hop band King Prawn. They also toured with Coolie Ranx and performed as his backing band. In September 2003, they released The Turbo EP, their first release for Moon Ska Europe. This was produced by Ace (of Skunk Anansie) and Christophe. After a series of good reviews, Sonic Boom Six were invited to perform a session on BBC Radio One's The Lock Up.
After further touring with Catch 22, as well as on the Moon Ska Launchpad Tour 2004 (alongside Zen Baseballbat, Graveltrap, Babar Luck and Dumpster Pop), the band re-united with Ace and Christophe to record their second EP. Sounds to Consume was released on Moon Ska Europe in August 2004, and include the Turbo EP as bonus tracks. After tour dates with Leftöver Crack and The Suicide Machines, the band appeared on BBC2's Asian arts programme Desi DNA performing in a scrapyard, as well as being interviewed by Adil Ray for his show on the BBC Asian Network.
Sonic Boom Six performing "All In" with Itch of The King Blues. Leeds Festival, Bramham Park, 27 August 2006
In early February 2005, Sonic Boom Six replaced guitarist Dave "Hellfire" Kelly with guitarist Ben, who used to play sax, thus making SB6 a four-piece. Ben's old sax parts are now played through a sampler when performing live, or by musicians from other bands, such as Grown at Home and The Flaming Tsunamis. In 2005, the band opened the Love Music Hate Racism event on the Leftfield Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, played Belgium's Sortie 23 festival and performed at the premier of the Rock Against Racism film Who Shot the Sheriff? with HARD-Fi and Roll Deep. 2005 also saw the release of the Champion Edition of Sounds to Consume, which featured four of their original demo tracks (remixed by Tim G), three remixes, an acoustic track and a video. They also embarked on several dates on the inaugural Good To Go Tour alongside The Aquabats and Never Heard of It.
In 2006, the band recorded their second session for BBC Radio 1's The Lock Up, which was broadcast on 27 June. They were joined by Pete and Tucker from Jesse James and Itch from The King Blues. Their debut full-length album, The Ruff Guide to Genre-Terrorism, was released on 10 July 2006 on Deck Cheese Records, and in August 2006 the band played the Reading and Leeds Festivals as a last minute replacement for Paramore. They were joined again by Itch of The King Blues for a performance of "All In" (singing the parts of the song written by Coolie Ranx) and Nick 'The Blade' Horne of Howards Alias, partner of vocalist Laila, who played trombone on the songs "Bigger Than Punk Rock" and "Until the Sunlight Comes".
In May 2007, they played at the Slam Dunk Festival at Leeds University Union with Paramore and Reel Big Fish. During Reel Big Fish's set, Laila joined the band on stage to sing parts of "She Has a Girlfriend Now" alongside Aaron Barrett. She joined them again during Reel Big Fish's Monkeys for Nothin' winter tour in 2008. They played the Reading and Leeds Festivals again in 2007, on the Lock Up stage, playing not only their own material but covering the song "Sound System" by Operation Ivy. During this song, Itch from the King Blues once again joined them on stage to sing it. November 2007 saw the release of the band's second full-length CD, Arcade Perfect, on their own Rebel Alliance Recordings.
In May 2008, the band embarked on the Rude Awakening 2008 tour, alongside Big D and the Kids Table and Random Hand. 2008 also saw a second Ruff and Ready tour. This was followed by the release of a remixes, b-sides and rarities album entitled Play On: Rare, Rejected and Arcade Perfected, which the band toured in support of in late 2008. Nick Horne also joined the band as a full time member, now playing guitar and bass live as well as trombone. They played at the Hevy Music Festival on 1 August 2009.
In May 2009 Sonic Boom Six released their third album City of Thieves, once again on Rebel Alliance Recordings. August 2009 saw Sonic Boom Six open the Main Stage at the Reading and Leeds Festival.
On 8 October 2009, it was announced on the band's official website that Ben Childs would be leaving the band after the forthcoming "Boom or Bust" tour and that he would be temporarily replaced by Matthew Reynolds – current vocalist and guitarist with rock band Drawings and also formerly of Howards Alias. In February 2010 new permanent member James "Jimmy T Boom" Routh, formerly of Myth of Unity, joined the band on guitar.
Rum Little Skallywag
Sonic Boom Six Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Raise your glasses gentlemen and say goodbye
To a Rum Little Scallywag.
Got the verdict through yesterday,
They gave him twenty years and threw the key away.
Oh the rum little scallywag.
Yeah, I′m scared of you
And you're a wild one,
You left him lying on the floor and off you run.
And how I hate it, I hate to feel like this,
Sound like my granddad after drinks at Christmas
But you try being liberal and all of that
When he's waving round a loaded gun behind your flat.
He′s a rum little scallywag.
He put a kid in a bodybag.
Just an everyday kind of guy.
Raise your glasses gentlemen and say goodbye
To a Rum Little Scallywag.
What we gonna do?
It′s bad enough they're stabbing now there′s kids with guns too.
And life passes by,
Too busy paying bills to fall about and cry
But all I know is it kills me watching this
And I don't really mean to take the piss
It′s well and good them telling us how nice he was
When he was loading up his gun to kill a kid because he's a dumb little scallywag.
[From "007 (Shanty Town)" by Desmond Dekker:]
Dem a loot dem a shoot dem a wail (a shanty town)
Dem a loot dem a shoot dem a wail (a shanty town)
Dem rude boys out on probation (a shanty town)
Dem a rude when dem come up to town (a shanty town)
In “Rum Little Skallywag” by Sonic Boom Six, the lyrics tell the story of a violent criminal who has been sentenced to twenty years in prison. The singer is scared of the criminal, who is wild and aggressive, and who has killed a child. The song reflects on the issue of violent crimes and gun violence, and the problem of having to live among them. The chorus mentions the idea of raising a glass and saying goodbye to the rum little scallywag, which could be interpreted as a final farewell to a violent criminal who has caused harm.
The lyrics of the song show how violence and crime can affect ordinary people’s lives, making them feel scared and helpless. Despite being afraid of the criminal, the singer speaks out against violence and gun-related crimes, expressing their disdain towards the senseless violence that has taken a child's life. The song highlights a societal problem that needs to be addressed, and challenges people to take action to prevent any more senseless deaths.
Line by Line Meaning
Just an everyday kind of guy.
The Scallywag is an ordinary person who lives amongst people.
Raise your glasses gentlemen and say goodbye To a Rum Little Scallywag.
The Scallywag is dead. He's drank himself to death, and now it's time to say goodbye.
Got the verdict through yesterday, They gave him twenty years and threw the key away. Oh the rum little scallywag.
The Scallywag has received a guilty verdict and now he's been sentenced to serve 20 years away from society.
Yeah, I′m scared of you But that don't mean a thing you know I′m scared of dogs too. And you're a wild one, You left him lying on the floor and off you run.
The artist is scared of both the Scallywag and dogs, however, it's quite evident that the Scallywag is much more dangerous based on his violent behavior.
And how I hate it, I hate to feel like this, Sound like my granddad after drinks at Christmas But you try being liberal and all of that When he's waving round a loaded gun behind your flat.
The artist expresses his innermost hatred towards feeling scared, particularly when a dangerous person such as the Scallywag is around, which reminds him of his grandfather reminiscing after Christmas drinks. Even though he wants to be open-minded and accepting, there's no way he can feel comfortable when someone is wielding a deadly weapon.
He′s a rum little scallywag. He put a kid in a bodybag.
The Scallywag is a terrible person who has murdered a young child and now is irredeemable.
What we gonna do? It′s bad enough they're stabbing now there′s kids with guns too. And life passes by, Too busy paying bills to fall about and cry.
The singer is struggling to find a solution to the issue of young people using guns to murder each other on the streets. He knows that adults are too busy with other responsibilities to take notice and respond accordingly.
But all I know is it kills me watching this And I don't really mean to take the piss It′s well and good them telling us how nice he was When he was loading up his gun to kill a kid because he's a dumb little scallywag.
The artist finds it difficult to watch innocent kids dying at the hands of the Scallywag while others try to justify his actions. He criticizes anyone who tries to sugarcoat the atrocities committed by the Scallywag.
Writer(s): Ben Childs, Neil Mcminn, Horne, Paul Barnes, Laila Khan
Contributed by Aiden F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.