The only thing confusing about The Outfield is the English band's uniquely American name. Everything else about lead singer/bassist Tony Lewis and songwriter/guitarist John Spinks is as direct as the missile that sees itself hitting the target and after which they named their new album, "Rockeye."

"We're just two blokes who grew up together in East London influenced by bands in the sixties," says Lewis. "We're not characters who smash up hotel rooms. We've always been the blokes-next-door. We don't want much more out of life than to play music."

Through four previous albums--one double platinum and Top 10 and one gold (plus five Top 30 hit singles)--Lewis and Spinks have sold millions of records worldwide even though their image is so low-profile that they're hardly recognized on the streets of their native London. Perhaps it's because The Outfield doesn't spew fire or wear kilts. Asks Lewis, "What's the matter with just making good music?"

On "Rockeye" (MCA Records), the duo's fifth album (and second on MCA), The Outfield does what it does best by returning to the bright spirit of its smash debut album "Play Deep." Filled with the classic pop songs, from the first single "Closer To Me" to the play-it-in-the-car-and-head-for-the-beach "Young Love" and "Take Me Home," from the rockers "Winning It All" and "Under a Stone" to the ballads "Tonight You're Mine" and "The Way It Should Be" to the flashback "Jane" featuring Alvin Lee, "Rockeye" defines pop rock in the 90's.

"When you have success, everyone has an opinion," explains Spinks. "When you're naive and innocent, you take notice of what everyone says and that's detrimental. What we were originally trying to achieve was a combination of all the good music that we liked to listen to, a rock sound with Beatles harmonies, but it all got a little misguided for a while. We were pushed to expand, to show growth. But in all honesty I never wanted to be a Bob Dylan. When we print our lyrics for the album, they're just sing-along sheets."

What prompted them to reclaim their roots was the mail from soldiers in the Gulf War. "A lot were 15 or 16 when our first album came out," Spinks says, "and now they're fighting a war. They asked for copies of "Play Deep". They, and others, remembered an album that made them feel good in otherwise depressing times."

The band's previous effort, "Diamond Days" (1990), had been released just as the war began. Plans for a tour were quickly scuttled and, though the single "For You" reached #21 on the charts, Spinks only slightly tongue-in-cheek blames Saddam Hussein for the album not achieving greater heights.

But then The Outfield has been conquering obstacles even before it crawled out of tough East London. Both Spinks and Lewis grew up in council flats to blue-collar families whose breadwinner was generally a dockworker, machinist or a manual laborer. In fact, they lived on the same street for a few years. "The neighborhood was very close," recalls Lewis. "During World War II it had been bombed so bad that there were no class distinctions left. Nobody had anything so we stuck together."

As youngsters, the music of The Beatles seemed to be everywhere. "They were like our daily bread," remembers Spinks. Their music inspired him to pick up a guitar when he was seven years old. By the time he was 14, he had left home, quit school and become a laborer during the day. At night, though, "I'd always be in a band of some sort. It became an obsession. I'd sell my guitar when I needed money, but I'd always buy another. I'd write songs, do a gig and then the band would fall to pieces."

Spinks became a respected figure in the local music community that hung out at a four-track garage studio set above an old printing shop. Encouraged by the owner, Spinks was given free recording time in return for running the place every now and then. At the height of the punk revolution, Spinks was laying down demos of his pop songs. Soon afterwards, Lewis came on board as well as original drummer Alan Jackman. "I had no idea we'd be a band," says Spinks. "To put a group 'on the road'--playing a few pubs really--seemed just a vehicle for getting the songs heard."

Left-handed Lewis had started playing bass with a school band. When he went looking to buy his first guitar he noticed the music shop had sold the only left-handed bass they had in stock, so he bought a right-handed instrument instead. As with Spinks, he, too, left school early: "I wondered why I wasn't getting a wage!" Becoming a printer's apprentice, at night he'd practice for pub bands: "I lived for the weekends."

Spinks encouraged Lewis to sing leads in a higher range. With Spinks in a lower register, Lewis says the pair's harmonies took on a Beatles-with-a-twist tone: "John's got a London buzzsaw style and I'm more pure round-sounding."

In 1985, "Play Deep" sold more than two million copies, cracked the pop Top 10 and spawned two hit singles, "Your Love" and "All The Love." The follow-up, "Bangin'" (1987) earned gold certification, with "Since You've Been Gone" breaking into the Top 30. "Voices of Babylon" (1989) was next with its hit title track. The Outfield then moved to MCA, which released "Diamond Days" and its Top 20 single, "For You." On the rock radio charts, each of the band's albums has spawned a Top 10 single.

Ironically, The Outfield became a major act in the States but has been largely ignored at home, told that it sounds more American than English. Says Spinks, "The U.K. press is so influential that it can guide trends. But America's so big no one can completely dictate. Besides, America has always stayed loyal to the British sound of the Sixties, and we're just trying to carry that on. We didn't leave England, we were just adopted by America." Lewis agrees: "Trends change so fast in England it's hard to keep up with it. Most music becomes dated very quickly. America has always been more consistent. We've never been a fad band."

The Outfield is also genuinely down-to-earth and unpretentious. There are no between-the-lines messages in Spink's songs, no obtuse mumbo-jumbo. They don't take themselves too seriously. These are working-class heroes--loyal to friends, hard working, confident, and not likely to suffer fools lightly.

For The Outfield, rock 'n' roll is about being real, being honest and having good fun. With "Rockeye", The Outfield is once again on target.

THE ALBUM

John Spinks, songwriter/guitarist for The Outfield, recently talked about the songs on "Rockeye" (MCA Records), the duo's fifth album (second on MCA). Produced by Spinks, "Rockeye" was recorded in England in 1991. The initial single is "Closer To Me."

"Winning It All": "Not coming in second."

"Closer To Me": "A blow-by-blow of getting near to someone."

"The Way It Should Be": "Sometimes stupidity outweighs reality."

"Under A Stone": "Looking at a mirror image--20 years later."

"Young Love": "The first relationship."

"Jane": "When I was a kid, I once met Jane Asher, Paul McCartney's girlfriend, on the set of a movie being filmed in my neighborhood. I had a photo taken with her. And I remember asking her about the Maharishi and she said 'He's a very funny man.'"

"Take Me Home": "Being at your first high school party."

"Tonight You're Mine": "A clash of ideals. You want, she wants. But you're not sure if she wants at the same time as you."

"On The Line": "Infidelity."

"Stranger In My Own Town": "I now live on the outskirts of London and have only been away from East London for four years but already I see such a difference there. The old traditions have disappeared."

"Going Back": "We did a live BBC radio show (unplugged style) and I wrote this on the spur of the moment beforehand. We recorded it a few days later in our studio. It's about The Outfield, going back to being us."