BABYS: Perfectly Healthy
From Dutch magazine Muziekkrant Oor
January 11th 1978.
(Note: in the preface of the following article, the author Harry van Niewenhoven states as follows: "my colleague Kees Baars was so impressed by the music of The Babys that he put the LPs "The Babys and "Broken Heart" on his list of "twenty best records of 1977").
In a surprisingly short period of time 'The Babys' have developed into one of the most successful young English bands in the USA. Their single 'Isn't It Time' is a hit in the USA and is about to become a major hit internationally as well.
The Babys were in Holland for a short time to promote this single by means of performance on Dutch Toppop TV, interviews and photo sessions.
I'm drinking a beer in the bar of the Amsterdam 'Memphis Hotel' while the members of The Babys enter. They get prepared for a photo session with photographer Claude Vanheye. Claude has arranged for a specially equipped photo studio in the adjoining restaurant. As the cover of The Babys' 2nd album 'Broken Heart' already showed, the members of The Babys looked kinda poppy, despite the hard rock on their promising debut 'The Babys.' They look more like members of a teenybopper band like the Bay City Rollers: dyed, blow-dried hair, makeup on their faces, nail polish, open shirts, earrings, etc. The Babys City Rollers? Oh no! This is all just misleading show of an English band which deserves the sympathy of the Dutch pop audience. John Waite fully agrees with this proposition. I enjoy dinner with The Babys, by compliments of their Dutch record company. Waite doesn't eat: he has an enormous hangover. With Dutch milk he tries to get sober. Meanwhile he whispers the answers to my questions into my tape recorder.
The Babys started approximately 2 years ago in London. John Waite took the initiative for starting The Babys and he developed not only as the lead singer and bass player, but also as main composer for The Babys. He tried his luck as a composer in the USA for a couple of years, but he returned to England, disillusioned, in 1975. In a pub in Hampstead he got in contact with rhythm guitarist and keyboard player Michael Corby. Waite and Corby got along very well musically and they decided to start a band. They now were in need of a drummer and a lead guitarist. They found a drummer quickly. They attended to a show in the Marquee Club in London where Tony Brock played in a group called The One. This former Strider member made such an impression on Waite and Corby, that they immediately asked him to join their group. Brock was only too happy to say yes, as he had the impression that the group The One wasn't really going to make it. After finding a good lead guitarist (Wally Stocker) and a very business-like manager, the birth of The Babys was a fact. Their problem was now how to get a contract with a record company?
BABYS CITY ROLLERS
Waite: "Our manager at the time had his own ideas about getting a contract. According to him there was no sense in presenting The Babys as a new hard rock band to the record companies. He advised us to make a metamorphosis and to dress up in one's (Sunday) best, like working class youngsters. That's the image we assumed. Then we made a video which we sent to several record companies. Chrysalis was the highest bidder and took us under contract." The bid of Chrysalis was exceptionally good. The members of The Babys got known as "tax-exiles" as their record debut album The Babys, on which they appear as a hard rock band, was recorded in Toronto, Canada. The album was produced by Brian Christian and Bob Ezrin. The album sold 5000 copies until the release of the 2nd album. The single 'Looking for Love' became a small hit in the USA. Bob Ezrin is well-known for his work as producer with bands like Kiss, Alice Cooper and Peter Gabriel. How did The Babys get in contact with Bob?
