The Babys

The Babys can refer to either the popular British rock group of the 1970s or the Japanese rock band. 1. The Babys (British) The name was chosen to give them a greater chance of a recording contract as they felt companies were leaning towards the teen market. The cover of "Broken Heart" with the group members in make-up may have been part of this marketing ploy. The music and lyrics were melodic, sensitive and far from shallow and the packaging may have affected the groups appeal to wider audiences. The overall result was that the Babys seemed to live in the shadow of other Chrysalis artists Blondie and Pat Benatar. The classic early 1976-1978 Babys line-up consisted of vocalist/bassist John Waite, drummer Tony Brock, Keyboard player/guitarist Michael Corby, and guitarist Wally Stocker. From 1979-1981, the Babys line-up consisted of vocalist John Waite, drummer Tony Brock, bassist Ricky Phillips, guitarist Wally Stocker and keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "Broken Heart" produced a top 20 U.S. hit "Isn't it Time" and they continued to tour the U.S. successfully. It spent two weeks at number one in Australia but the album did not produce another top 40 single. Early in 1979 "Everytime I think of You" from "Head First" again reached the top 20 in the United States, and top 10 in Australia. Whilst recording the album Mike Corby left the group. In a recent radio interview posted on his website Waite says that after the Babys Corby left the music scene altogether. Their fourth album "Union Jacks" had a more punchy sound similar to Benatar with "Back On My Feet Again" spending a very short time in the top 40. The single "Turn and Walk Away" from "On the Edge" only reached the top 100 and the band was not far away from the end of a short life. Wally Stocker and Tony Brock have not worked with 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. John Waite, Ricky Phillips, and Jonathan Cain later played together in Bad English. Cain enjoyed great success with Journey and Brock spent many years post-Babys drumming for Rod Stewart. 2. The Babys (Japanese) There is also a Japanese indie band called The Babys. 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."