Episode 133: Anne Richmond Boston (The Swimming Pool Q's)

Back in the late 70s Anne Richmond Boston was a part of a then up-and-coming, young new-wave band called The Swimming Pool Q’s—a band that would find a spiritual home alongside contemporaries like fellow Georgians The B-52s and R.E.M.In 2026 Boston is still (bar a few years when she had moved on from the band) playing shows as a member of the band. Indeed The Swimming Pool Q’s have some shows coming up this May, information for which you can get here from their website.But there’s another story to be told here. The story of how Boston set out to record the follow up to her debut solo record The Big House Of Time, only for that album (I Should Be Happy) to remain unfinished and unreleased for more than 30 years on from its original recording sessions. So what happened? That’s what we’re here to discuss (as well as looking back on Boston’s musical upbringing and tales from the early years of The Swimming Pool Q’s). At the time of this conversation Boston was rehearsing with a band to hopefully see songs from I Should Be Happy performed on stage. Hopefully this will come to pass. In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out the album, if you aren’t already familiar with it. It’s an elegant and affecting set of songs dealing with loss and longing and hope. Incidentally, the interview show I refer to during our conversation (but then couldn’t remember the name of) was Into Music.Photo: Jason ThrasherI Should Be Happy on CD, vinyl and digitally on bandcamp. Thanks for Howard at Howlin’ Huelf MediaCheck out my latest album ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Real Silence on Drama Recorder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠My music on AmpwallPodcast artwork and logo: Get A Real Job KidIntro music: “Detachment” by Tom Osman This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tomosman.substack.com