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The Outfield
The Outfield were an English pop rock band formed in London in 1984. The band achieved success in the mid-1980s and are best remembered for their hit single "Your Love". The band's lineup consisted of guitarist John Spinks, vocalist and bassist Tony Lewis, and drummer Alan Jackman.
The band achieved commercial success in the United States but did not gain similar recognition in their home country, the United Kingdom. They began recording in the mid-1980s and released their first album, Play Deep, in 1985 through Columbia Records. The album was No. 9 on the Billboard 200 list and went double platinum in the United States. The band's single "Your Love" reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as No. 7 on the Mainstream Rock chart, and it became their signature song. The Outfield continued to record and tour into the early 1990s. While the albums Bangin' (1987) and Voices of Babylon (1989) had some chart successes, the group's popularity waned.
After drummer Alan Jackman left in 1989, the Outfield became a duo and recorded Diamond Days in 1991. After a disappointing response to their 1992 album Rockeye, which represented a shift towards progressive rock and arena rock, the group pretty much disbanded in the 1990s. They resumed touring in 1998 and released two live albums via their website, along with a new studio album, Any Time Now in 2004, which was later re-released in 2006. In 2011, the band released their final album, Replay, with original drummer Alan Jackman re-joining the band. Spinks died in 2014, after which the group officially disbanded.
On 22 March 2018, lead singer/bassist Tony Lewis announced a solo album called Out of the Darkness, which was released on 29 June 2018 through Madison Records. Lewis died on 19 October 2020, aged 62.
Bassist/singer Tony Lewis, guitarist/keyboardist and songwriter John Spinks and drummer Alan Jackman played together in the late 1970s in a power pop band called Sirius B. After rehearsing for about six months and playing several gigs, their style did not match the punk rock which was surging in popularity in England and they broke up. Several years afterward, the three gathered together in London's East End under the name the Baseball Boys. They performed in and around England until a demo of theirs had them signed to 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, a movie he had just seen. Although he used the name as a joke and "just to be outrageous", record company people responded favourably. The band acquired a reputation as a very "American-sounding" group and signed in the United States 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 said, "The Outfield was the most left-wing kind of thing we liked."
Spinks expressed an interest in baseball, while also being a devoted fan of association football. He claimed that the group "didn't know what an outfield was" until they visited the U.S. He said, "We're just learning about baseball. It's an acquired taste and we're trying to acquire a taste for it." He expounded in a Chicago Tribune article,
The thing about American sports–baseball and football–is that they're far more show business, far more a spectacle, than British sports. In England, it's just sort of everyday soccer matches. You get 30,000 people in the freezing cold in the middle of winter watching guys chase around in mud. In America, you have the sunny days, and the baseball diamond is really nicely laid out. In England, you'd see these guys covered in mud within 10 minutes. It's not such a nice spectacle to watch.
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The Outfield
The Outfield were an English pop rock band formed in London in 1984. The band achieved success in the mid-1980s and are best remembered for their hit single "Your Love". The band's lineup consisted of guitarist John Spinks, vocalist and bassist Tony Lewis, and drummer Alan Jackman.
The band achieved commercial success in the United States but did not gain similar recognition in their home country, the United Kingdom. They began recording in the mid-1980s and released their first album, Play Deep, in 1985 through Columbia Records. The album was No. 9 on the Billboard 200 list and went double platinum in the United States. The band's single "Your Love" reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as No. 7 on the Mainstream Rock chart, and it became their signature song. The Outfield continued to record and tour into the early 1990s. While the albums Bangin' (1987) and Voices of Babylon (1989) had some chart successes, the group's popularity waned.
After drummer Alan Jackman left in 1989, the Outfield became a duo and recorded Diamond Days in 1991. After a disappointing response to their 1992 album Rockeye, which represented a shift towards progressive rock and arena rock, the group pretty much disbanded in the 1990s. They resumed touring in 1998 and released two live albums via their website, along with a new studio album, Any Time Now in 2004, which was later re-released in 2006. In 2011, the band released their final album, Replay, with original drummer Alan Jackman re-joining the band. Spinks died in 2014, after which the group officially disbanded.
On 22 March 2018, lead singer/bassist Tony Lewis announced a solo album called Out of the Darkness, which was released on 29 June 2018 through Madison Records. Lewis died on 19 October 2020, aged 62.
Bassist/singer Tony Lewis, guitarist/keyboardist and songwriter John Spinks and drummer Alan Jackman played together in the late 1970s in a power pop band called Sirius B. After rehearsing for about six months and playing several gigs, their style did not match the punk rock which was surging in popularity in England and they broke up. Several years afterward, the three gathered together in London's East End under the name the Baseball Boys. They performed in and around England until a demo of theirs had them signed to 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, a movie he had just seen. Although he used the name as a joke and "just to be outrageous", record company people responded favourably. The band acquired a reputation as a very "American-sounding" group and signed in the United States 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 said, "The Outfield was the most left-wing kind of thing we liked."
Spinks expressed an interest in baseball, while also being a devoted fan of association football. He claimed that the group "didn't know what an outfield was" until they visited the U.S. He said, "We're just learning about baseball. It's an acquired taste and we're trying to acquire a taste for it." He expounded in a Chicago Tribune article,
The thing about American sports–baseball and football–is that they're far more show business, far more a spectacle, than British sports. In England, it's just sort of everyday soccer matches. You get 30,000 people in the freezing cold in the middle of winter watching guys chase around in mud. In America, you have the sunny days, and the baseball diamond is really nicely laid out. In England, you'd see these guys covered in mud within 10 minutes. It's not such a nice spectacle to watch.