BOXER – BELOW THE BELT LP – Nr MINT UK 1975 OLLIE HALSALL MIKE PATTO

Boxer – Below The Belt
(Virgin Records  1975  V2049)
Matrix No’s: A3/B3 – UK Pressing

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Gatefold Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– tiny mark in top right corner on back
Plain White Inner Sleeve

Boxer were a rock band formed by keyboardist Mike Patto and guitarist Ollie Halsall in 1975. They signed to Virgin and three albums followed, Below the Belt (1975), Absolutely (1977) and Bloodletting (1979), which also featured Bobby Tench and Boz Burrell. The band dissolved after Absolutely when Patto became ill.

The band was managed by Nigel Thomas who secured a five-album deal over five years with CBS, reputed to have been worth £1.2million, and was never fully executed due to Patto’s death on 4 March 1979. During a six-year period, Boxer also toured the US and Europe.

Below the Belt was the first album by Boxer, released on the Virgin label in January 1976. The album attracted less attention for its music than for its artwork. Photographed by Alex Henderson with graphics by Richard Evans, the cover featured model Stephanie Marrian spreadeagled and nude but for a pair of shoes, with a man’s arm reaching up between her legs and his boxing-gloved hand hiding her genitalia. The back cover at first showed Stephanie in complete full-frontal nudity, but later pressings covered her up with the band’s belt-styled logo. The cover was completely re-designed for the US market using the band photo from the inside of the UK gatefold cover. The lineup on this album is a live show quartet with keyboardist Chris Stainton brought in during the recording sessions.

Track listing

1. “Shooting Star” (Mike Patto, Ollie Halsall)
2. “All the Time in the World” (Halsall)
3. “California Calling” (Patto, Halsall)
4. “Hip Kiss” (Patto, Halsall, Keith Ellis, Tony Newman)
5. “More Than Meets the Eye” (Patto)
6. “Waiting for a Miracle”(Halsall)
7. “Loony Ali” (Patto, Halsall)
8. “Save Me” (Patto)
9. “Gonna Work Out Fine” (Patto, Halsall)
10. “Town Drunk” (Terry Stamp, Jim Avery)

Personnel

• Ollie Halsall – guitar, keyboards
• Mike Patto – keyboards, vocals
• Keith Ellis – bass
• Tony Newman – drums