AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Outfield

Artist:The Outfield
Song:Your Love
Album:Best Of The Outfield: Big Innings





Here's a song I'm sure you remember hearing. But I bet you don't remember who recorded it. It turned out to be the only top ten hit for the British band The Outfield. The band was lead singer and bassist Tony Lewis, guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter John Spinks and drummer Alan Jackman. They had a band in the late 70s called Sirius B. It was a power pop band and with the surging popularity of punk rock, they decided they weren't getting anywhere and the group disbanded. With New Wave emerging a few years later, the three decided to get back together as The Baseball Boys. The name came from the gang The Baseball Furies in the 1979 film The Warriors. Spinks said the name was a gag but record companies liked it as "American sounding". Their manager, an American living in England, changed it to The Outfield. He thought The Baseball Boys was too corny. Spinks was a soccer fan. He didn't know what an outfield was until he toured the US. Ironically, the name may have hurt them in England as most of their chart success was in the US. The Outfield signed with Columbia and their 1985 debut album Play Deep was produced by Columbia house producer William Wittman. Your Love reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lewis sounds a lot like Sting so fans may have thought Your Love was a new single by The Police. The second single All The Love In The World reached #19. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. The 1987 album Bangin' didn't do as well. it was certified Gold and Since You've Been Gone reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. For the 1989 album Voices of Babylon, there were management changes at Columbia and new A&R head David Kahne produced the album. The title track reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 but the album didn't sell. Jackman left and The Outfield moved to MCA. They recorded two albums there. This budget comp covers the Columbia albums. The Outfield returned to England and continued to play gigs and record occasionally until Spinks died in 2014. Tony Lewis released his solo debut CD last month. Here's the video for Your Love by The Outfield.