The Outfield

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Biography

The Outfield are an United Kingdom|English pop rock / power pop power trio based in London , England . The Outfield are unusual for a British band in that they enjoyed commercial success in the U.S., but never enjoyed a similar success in their homeland. The Fixx being another example from the 1980s. They began recording during the mid-1980s, and they released their first album, Play Deep , in 1985 through Columbia Records . The album reached #9 on the Billboard 200 list and then reached Music recording sales certification|triple platinum in United States|America . Their single (music)|single Your Love (The Outfield song)|"Your Love" reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #7 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks|Mainstream Rock chart, and it became their signature song . It went on to be featured in a number of 1980s in music|80s-themed compilation albums, and over 1,000 cover (music)|covers and remixes by other artists have been released physically and/or online. The other singles "Say It Isn't So" and "Everytime You Cry" also made it into the top 20 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks|Mainstream Rock chart.

The band continued to record and tour through the 1980s and then into the early 1990s. While their second album, '' Bangin' '', hit the top 20 on the Billboard 200 list had both singles hit the Top 40 Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks|Mainstream Rock chart, the group began losing their popular audience by their third album, Voices of Babylon , in 1989. Drummer Alan Jackman left and, now as a duo, they recorded Diamond Days in 1991. After the disappointing response to their 1992 album Rockeye , which represented a shift towards progressive rock and arena rock , the group essentially disbanded in the 90s. They resumed touring in 1998, and thereafter released two live album s via their website including a new studio album, Any Time Now (The Outfield album)|Any Time Now , released by Sidewinder Records in March 2006. In 2009, original drummer Alan Jackman announced he was returning to The Outfield and the band would be recording a new album. The band's latest album, Replay , was released on June 28, 2011 and constituted a comeback to their traditional pop rock sound which has produced two #1 regional chart hits in "California Sun" and "A Long, Long Time Ago".

History

Beginnings and Columbia era

Bassist / singer Tony Lewis, guitarist / keyboardist and songwriter John Spinks, and drummer Alan Jackman played together in the late-70s in a straightforward power pop band called Sirius B. Although rehearsing for about six months and playing several gigs, their style did not match the punk rock that was surging in popularity in England and they broke up. Several years afterward, they gathered back together in London's East End of London|East End under the name The Baseball Boys . They performed in and around London until a demo (music)|demo got them signed to Columbia Records|Columbia/CBS Records in 1984.

Spinks adopted the name 'Baseball Boys' from a teen gang called "The Baseball Furies" in the cult film The Warriors (film)|The Warriors , a movie that he had just seen. Although he used the name as a joke and "ust to be outrageous", record company people responded favourably. The band got a reputation as a very "American-sounding" group and signed in the U.S. after playing for just a few months in England. Their manager, an American living in England, recommended a new band name with a similar attitude since 'Baseball Boys' seemed too "tacky" and "tongue-in-cheek". Spinks has said, "the Outfield was the most left-wing kind of thing we liked."

Spinks expressed a strong love for the American sport of baseball , while also being a devoted fan of association football , saying:

Their debut album, Play Deep , produced by William Wittman, was issued in 1985, and was a success. The album would go on to reach triple platinum sales status and the Top 10 in the US album charts; it also featured a Top 10 single entry with " Your Love (The Outfield song)|Your Love ", which peaked at #6. The band toured extensively, opening for Journey (band)|Journey and Jefferson Airplane#Starship|Starship .

Spinks made a point of mentioning that band was "totally into not smoking or doing drugs" in interviews.

1987 saw the release of their second album, '' Bangin' . This album did not achieve the acclaim of Play Deep'', but it did spawn a Top 40 single "Since You've Been Gone" (not to be confused with the 1970s Rainbow (band)|Rainbow and Head East hit of the same name) and the minor radio/MTV hit "No Surrender", and the album was certified Gold in the U.S.. A US summer tour opening for Night Ranger followed.

For the group's third album, 1989's Voices of Babylon , a new producer (David Kahne) and sound was evident. The title track was a Top 25 single and "My Paradise" was a mid-sized album-rock hit, but overall the group's popularity continued to decline.

After the Babylon LP, Alan Jackman parted ways with the band and was replaced for a concert tour by Paul Read.

MCA era

Spinks and Lewis continued as a duo, switched labels and began recording Diamond Days for Music Corporation of America|MCA . Playing drums on the disc was session drummer Simon Dawson (drummer)|Simon Dawson . The LP, released in 1990, produced a Top 30 US hit, "For You".

Quick to follow was "One Hot Country", included on the soundtrack for the 1991 action film If Looks Could Kill .

The Outfield returned with 1992's Rockeye . Its leadoff single, "Closer to Me", was a near Top 40 hit, and a second release, "Winning It All", gained some notice due to extensive play during NBA on NBC|NBC 's NBA Finals coverage, NBA Superstars series featuring Larry Bird , the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics and the film The Mighty Ducks (movies)|The Mighty Ducks . Simon Dawson, who played on Rockeye , would eventually become the band's official third member.

1990s and 2000s

The band took an extended hiatus during the mid-1990s as changing musical fashions, especially the popularity of edgier bands such as Nirvana (band)|Nirvana and Pearl Jam , made life difficult for older bands with a less fashionable aesthetic.

The Outfield returned to their East End roots, and often played low-key gigs at a local Public house|pub , where much of the clientele were unaware that the group had sold millions of records in the United States|US . Unfortunately, this situation was typical of the problems The Outfield had faced in their homeland: little recognition and a much smaller following than they had experienced in the US.

Nevertheless, the band would reappear with a fan club-only release, entitled '' It Ain't Over... , and resume touring. Soon thereafter, in 1999, they released Extra Innings , an odds-and-ends compilation of new and older, unreleased songs.

In the early 2000s, the band issued two live collections via their official website: Live in Brazil (The Outfield album)|Live in Brazil and The Outfield Live . In March 2006, the band released Any Time Now (The Outfield album)|Any Time Now , a new studio album.

In 2009, the original line up of John Spinks, Tony Lewis and Alan Jackman returned to a London recording studio to record their first album together since Voices of Babylon was recorded in 1988. In addition, The Outfield announced Brent Bitner had taken over the band's management and launched their official Facebook , Twitter , YouTube and MySpace pages in November 2009. On March 22, 2011, the Outfield announced that their upcoming album will be called Replay (The Outfield album)|Replay . Replay was recorded in various studios in the south of England that included production work at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Replay was produced by The Outfield and Brent Bitner with executive production by John Spinks. On June 28, 2011, Replay was released to rave reviews. The lead single, "California Sun", was a regional number one AOR chart hit and has subsequently been the second most added song on AC radio as of August 15, 2011. A limited advanced release of the band's possible second single, "A Long, Long Time Ago", reached number one on Worldwide FM ClassX Radio's AOR chart in the second week of August 2011.

Style and influences

John Spinks said in 1986 interview with the Los Angeles Times that he was very influenced by "the music that gives me a rush" and that he "grew up on the Beatles ". He also cited contemporaries Journey (band)|Journey , Foreigner (band)|Foreigner , and Mister Mister — particularly the latter's hit " Broken Wings (Mr. Mister song)|Broken Wings ". American pop culture critic and poet Daniel Nester has stated that the group sounds like "if The Knack found a Helium#Applications|helium dispenser ".

Members

Current members

Tony Lewis — lead vocals|vocals , bass guitar (1984–present)

John Spinks — lead guitar|guitar , backing vocals|vocals (1984–present)

Alan Jackman — drumkit|drums , percussion (1984–1989, 2009–present)

Former members

Simon Dawson — drums (1990–2009)

Guest members

David Lane — Keyboard instrument|keyboards , producer (1990, on Voices of Babylon )

Reg Webb — keyboards (1985, on Play Deep )

Touring members

Grahame Leslie — guitar (1985–1987)

Paul Read — drums (1989)

Discography

Studio albums

US !! Certification
1985
1987
1989
1990
1992
1998
1999
2006
2011

Compilations

Playing the Field (album)|Playing the Field (1995)

Big Innings: The Best of The Outfield (1996)

Super Hits (1998)

Playlist: The Very Best of The Outfield (2011)

Live albums

Live in Brazil (The Outfield album)|Live in Brazil (2001)

The Outfield Live (2005)

Singles

Year	Song	US Hot 100	US MSR	UK Singles	Album
1985	"Say It Isn't So"	—	18	—	Play Deep
1986	Your Love "	6	7	83
	"All the Love in the World"	19	14	96
	"Everytime You Cry"	66	20	—
1987	"Since You've Been Gone"	31	11	—	Bangin
	"Bangin' on My Heart"	—	40	—
	"Alone with You"	—	—	—
	"No Surrender"	—	—	—
1989	"Voices of Babylon"	25	2	78	Voices of Babylon
1989	"My Paradise"	72	34	—	Voices of Babylon
1990	"For You"	21	13	—	Diamond Days
1992	"Closer to Me"	43	46	—	Rockeye

Copyright Citations

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The Outfield Photo by: www.produccionesplaza.com.ar


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