Boo Radleys --Learning by Doing

The Boo Radleys may have taken their name from a character in an American novel (“To Kill a Mockingbird”), but the group hails from that fountainhead of British rock: Liverpool.

While the Beatles is one of the groups cited as an influence by the alternative rock quartet, the sound is closer to the atmospheric, guitar-based style of such rival British groups as Ride and Curve than the melodic pop-rock brightness of the Fab Four.

Formed in 1989 by lead singer Sice and guitarist Martin Carr, the Boo Radleys has progressed quickly. Within two years, the group, which also includes bassist Tim Brown and drummer Rob Cieka, had enough of a buzz going in England to land a Columbia Records contract.

The Radleys’ first album, “Everyone’s Alright Forever,” was hailed early this year by critics in England and stirred enough interest in this country for the group to win a coveted spot as the opening act on the recent, highly anticipated Sugar tour.

On stage last Saturday at the Palladium, the quartet delighted the responsive crowd with its grinding, seductive musical textures. But the group’s lack of stage presence was a reminder of just how new it is on the scene.

In an interview before the concert, Sice and Carr, both 23, acknowledged they are still learning their craft. In fact, they said, they still marvel sometimes at just how lucky they were in ever getting a career going.

Like thousands of other young people, the two schoolmates had talked about starting a band for years. But when they finally got a chance to play, they found themselves woefully unprepared.

“We somehow booked about three gigs, and after we booked them we realized that we had to learn how to (perform),” says Carr, who writes the songs. “It was wild. We didn’t even have a bass player and a drummer.”

Needless to say, they also didn’t have a clue about how to get a record contract.

“It is weird,” injects Sice, whose real name is Simon Edward Andrew Fuchflappe. “It is like being an astronaut, it is so far out there that not many people can do it. We just breezed into it, played a couple of gigs and made a record.”

Unlike a lot of rock artists from the arty, alternative British scene, there is nothing pretentious about Sice--despite all the attention the group’s album has received, including reaching the Top 20 on the college rock radio charts.

“We have always just considered ourselves a pop band, and it really freaks me out when people tell us that we are really avant-garde,” Sice says. “As far as I’m concerned, we are just singing pop songs. We see ourselves as a (pop-oriented) Haircut 100 or Human League.”

If the pair still seem a bit amazed at how it has gotten this far so quickly, they aren’t overwhelmed by it. They speak about their music--and their next album--with considerable ambition and passion.

“We don’t like repeating ourselves,” says Carr. “Our first EP was a lot of noise, really relentless . . . the album was a little more structured. We are trying something new, something a little different. We aren’t scared to do it and we don’t hold fame uppermost in our mind or pander to what people want.”