The Ordinary Boys are an English Brit-Pop group from Worthing, originally named Next in line. They have admitted their influences to be based largely on Mod Revival, Britpop and other notable 1980s bands, such as The Specials, Morrisey and The Smiths; their name deriving from a Morrisey single. Despite their limited success in the British charts, their popularity has been growing, particularly due to media coverage the lead singer, Samuel Preston received when participating in Celebrity Big Brother UK.
Samuel Preston appeared on the reality television show in the UK in January 2006, which subsequently caused the sales of the band's albums to soar beyond that of their exclusively online franchise; forcing there to be physical copies of "Boys Will Be Boys" released on compact disc; making the single rise from position 33 to 3 in four weeks. Despite the increase in sales, the band has always been backed by loyal followers, naming themselves "The Ordinary Army".
Their most notable single release to date has been "Boys Will Be Boys". Despite approval from Ranking Junior, son of Ranking Roger of The Beat, the band has been criticised for their lack of originality owing to similarities in style with those who they claim influence from, such as The Jam, The Ramones and The Clash. Such views have been encouraged because the band and their albums are named after phrases coined by other bands.
Despite such criticisms, the band has made a reputation for themselves amongst fans, and have had several original creations; from "Maybe Someday", "Talk Talk Talk", and "Seaside" on their debut album, to "Boys Will Be Boys" as their latest release, and "Over the Counter Culture", which was featured in the soundtrack for Burnout 3: Takedown.