Union Jacks

Biography

This name can refer to either a 70s British group or a Japanese band: 1. The Babys, a British pop rock band, chose their name to give them a greater chance of a recording contract as they felt the record labels were leaning more towards the teen market. They released their eponymous first album in 1976 and followed it up with 'Broken Heart' the next year. The group's songs were melodic, sensitive, and far from the shallow teen pop market that the Babys ended up boxed into (albeit something that...

This name can refer to either a 70s British group or a Japanese band:

1. The Babys, a British pop rock band, chose their name to give them a greater chance of a recording contract as they felt the record labels were leaning more towards the teen market. They released their eponymous first album in 1976 and followed it up with 'Broken Heart' the next year. The group's songs were melodic, sensitive, and far from the shallow teen pop market that the Babys ended up boxed into (albeit something that they had partly done themselves). Many modern critics cite them as an influence of the 70s and 80s power pop movement led by bands such as The Knack, The Cars, and The Raspberries (that the Babys both preceded and were contemporaries of). The band also notably featured a young John Waite, known later for other hits such as "Missing You".

The band's deliberate focus likely affected its appeal to wider audiences. The overall result was that the Babys seemed to live in the shadow of other Chrysalis artists such as Blondie and Pat Benatar. The cover of 'Broken Heart', with the Babys' members in glossy make-up, may have been part of the aforementioned marketing ploy.

The Baby's classic early line-up, existing from 1976 to 1978, consisted of vocalist/bassist John Waite, drummer Tony Brock, keyboardist/guitarist Michael Corby, and guitarist Wally Stocker. From 1979 to 1981, the band's line-up changed as Corby exited with Ricky Phillips and Jonathan Cain came on board. 'Broken Heart' produced a top 20 U.S. hit, "Isn't it Time", and they toured the U.S. successfully. The album also spent two weeks at number one in Australia, though it did not produce another top 40 single anywhere.

Early in 1979, "Every Time I think of You" from the band's third album, 'Head First', again reached the top 20 in the U.S. It did even better in Australia, breaking into the top 10. Whilst recording the album Mike Corby left the group. In a recent radio interview posted on his website, John Waite said that after the Babys Corby left the music scene altogether. The band's fourth album, 'Union Jacks', featured a more aggressive, punchy rock sound similar to label-mate Benatar, with single "Back On My Feet Again" hitting the top 40.

Flagging commercial success dogged the band, with their fifth album, 'On the Edge', proving to be their last. Wally Stocker and Tony Brock have not worked with John Waite since the breakup and there have never been any signs of the original 1976 line-up reforming.

According to the notes included in the compilation album 'The Essential John Waite', the band's touring came to an end when Waite tore a ligament on stage during a concert in Akron, Ohio in December 1980, within a day of the assassination of John Lennon. Waite, Ricky Phillips, and Jonathan Cain later played together in the supergroup Bad English. Cain also enjoyed great success with arena rock band Journey while Brock spent many years post-Babys drumming for Rod Stewart.

2. The Babys is a Japanese indie rock band. The members are Shunsuke - vocals/guitar, Rie - drums, and Haruna - bass. The Babys are on Japan's Infinity Records label. Their sound is heavily inspired by 1970s and 80s American and British punk rock. The Babys' style, though, is more melodic and influenced by rockabilly and contemporary pop music.

Their most recent release is an EP ('mini album' in Japan) entitled "My Name is Future" (2006). Aside from that, they have released another EP, "Shounen Knife" (2005) and two singles, "The Babys" (2004) and "Alien" (2005). Their only full-length release at this time is "Star Luster" (2005).

Recently, The Babys lent much of their music to a Japanese animation TV soundtrack entitled "Paradise Kiss." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.