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Originally from the east end of London, the three founding members, John Spinks, Tony Lewis and Alan Jackman began recording and playing together as "The Baseball Boys" in the early 80's. They played a series of shows around London and recorded a couple of early demos, which eventually caught the ear of management. Who put them in touch with Columbia Records in the United States. Shortly thereafter, they were signed as a CBS/Columbia Records recording artist and began polishing up the songs which would become their debut album, "Play Deep" released in 1985. This album spawned a series of hit singles including "Say It Isn't So", "All The Love In The World", "Every Time You Cry" and the most memorable of all, "Your Love". In support of "Play Deep", they mounted a massive summer tour, opening for Journey and Starship.
In 1986, they began recording the "Play Deep" follow-up album, titled "Bangin'". This album, released in 1987, was no disappointment to fans and cranked out more hit singles, such as, "Since You've Been Gone" and the groove oriented ballad, "No Surrender". No strangers to the road, they headed back out on tour with Night Ranger, in support of "Bangin'".
The band's third album, "Voices of Babylon" for CBS/Columbia, was released in 1988. The lead-off single, "Voices of Babylon" was well received in Billboard's Rock Charts. Other noteable tunes from this album included "My Paradise" and "The Night Ain't Over". This album marked a bit of a change in the band's sound, it was an incredibly well produced album with a very polished sound. It was definitely the band at their best. After the recording of this album, original drummer, Alan Jackman, made the decision to leave the band before the supporting tour began. Alan was replaced with session drummer Paul Reed to fill in on the drums for the "Voices" tour. That summer, "The Outfield" played a series of very successful shows that opened for "Mike and The Mechanics". In many cases, getting a more energetic and excitable response from the crowd than the headliner.
With the dawn of the early 90's, John Spinks and Tony Lewis set out to record their fourth album, on a new label, MCA. Officially now a duo, the band began experimenting more with electronic drums and session drummers. The album titled "Diamond Days" (East London slang for: The Best of Times) was released in 1990 and produced one of their biggest hits, the ballad "For You". This single rocketed up the pop and adult contemporary charts because of the connection many people felt to the song with the Gulf War closing in. Because of the war, the band was unable to tour in support of this album. Choosing rather to go back and begin work on their fifth album and the second for MCA called "Rockeye". This album was much more a throw back to the band's earlier sound and featured more of an energetic vibe with straight ahead song arrangements and great guitar hooks. With songs like "Closer To Me" and "Winning It All" this album more than satisfied the rock craving in it's fan base! The song "Winning it All" was used in several sports broadcasts and videos for the NBA, as well as landing on the soundtrack for one the "Mighty Ducks" movie.
As music changed in the mid 90's and as the band saw classic, well written pop/rock become overthrown by the raw gritty grunge sound of band's like Nirvana, and Pearl Jam. It became clear to them that they would need to take a few steps back and see where all this was leading. Never one to follow fads or trends, they decided to stay out of the limelight and rather opted to write and record for themselves, waiting until the time was right. In 1998 as a renewed interest in well written melodic rock began to surface, the band once again started compiling songs for demos to pitch to record companies. In 1998 they released a self produced CD, for the fan club and tour only, that was appropriately titled "It Ain't Over". The band toured the states in the fall of 1998 and sold out nearly every club and theatre they played. Highlighting the tour was a show in Trinidad at Queen’s Park Oval where they played along with "Survivor" and "Air Supply" for nearly 40,000 fans. Having received a massive response from "It Ain't Over" and having sold out every last copy, they decided to look into major distribution. After singing with Platinum Entertainment they released "Extra Innings - Unreleased", which was a compilation of music that they recorded over 5 years as well as 4 brand new songs recorded in 1998/99. Although it was a sort of "closet cleaning" project of out-takes & b-sides, the album showcased the classic style and timeless sound of The Outfield and is a testament to the band's early influences including the Police, The Beatles, Led Zepplin, & The Cars.
Throughout the summer of 2001-2002 the band toured non-stop headlining shows and sharing the bill for festival and shed dates with Berlin, The FIXX, and ASIA all across the States, steadily rebuilding their original fan base. In 2002 the Outfield's classic hit “Your Love” from the triple platinum selling “Play Deep” was included on the "GRAND THEFT AUTO - VICE CITY " game, and on the accompanying CD called "FLASH FM," introducing them to a whole new generation of pop/rock fans. In 2003, The Outfield was back in full force with a great summer tour schedule and a brand new studio CD entitled: “ANY TIME NOW” recorded and released as a limited edition. This album is the first full length studio record the band had recorded in 15 years, and it showcased their incredible ability to write and record great songs! The album is full of hooks, lush melodies, and big choruses that have you singing along and remembering why you loved them in 1986 when you first heard "Josie's on a vacation far away" come blasting out of the speakers! The album's first single "It's All About Love" grabbed rave reviews and received spins all over AC radio!
The band signed with Immortal/Sidewinder Records in the winter of 2006 for the full release of “Any Time Now” to retail, which by now had 4 new tracks that were recorded since the original limited edition version came out in 2003. In addition, Immortal/ Sidewinder Records also released an acoustic rendition of “Your Love” on the “80’S HITS STRIPPED” compilation. John Spinks recently signed a new a new publishing deal with Nettwerk Publishing. And who knows what the future holds for the Outfield, with the 25th anniversary of both the band and their breakout triple-platinum album “Play Deep” looming, the possibilities are endless...
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