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Babybird

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Babybird is a British indie band formed in 1995. The band is fronted by Stephen Jones, who has also released records as a solo artist, using his own name and the name Baby Bird.

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Formation

Jones had begun writing songs and recording home demos as part of an experimental theatre group in Sheffield. A collection of these demos (I Was Born a Man) was released in the summer of 1995, under the name Baby Bird. Following a warm critical reception for this record, he recruited a band made up of Huw Chadbourn (keyboards), Robert Gregory (drums), John Pedder (bass) and Luke Scott (guitar), in order to tour and promote his work.

During 1995, two further albums of demo recordings were released under the name Baby Bird (Bad Shave and Fatherhood) and two in 1996 (The Happiest Man Alive and Dying Happy).

By the end of the year, a decent public following had been built up, as well as quite considerable excitment within the press and music industry. Babybird were signed to Echo Records (a division of the Chrysalis Group), and the first "proper" single, a full-band recording of "Goodnight", which had appeared in demo form on Fatherhood, was eventually released in the summer of 1996, becoming a minor chart hit in the UK.

"You're Gorgeous"

The second single, "You're Gorgeous", reached number 3 in the UK in October 1996, and was also one of the biggest selling singles of the year, going on to chart around the world. This remains the song for which Stephen Jones and Babybird are best known.

However, it presented a much more commercial face to the public in comparison to Jones' previous work. The early demo albums won Jones great credibility with those who heard them, but had had not reached a wide audience (each one being a one-off pressing limited to 1,000 CDs). Arguably, the commercial sound and success of "You're Gorgeous", which received massive exposure by comparison, made it hard for many to take Jones seriously as an indie artist.

After "You're Gorgeous"

The album Ugly Beautiful was released to a warm reception, but was not the unmitigated critical triumph that some had anticipated from Babybird's first studio-recorded album. The album produced two more hit singles, "Candy Girl" and "Cornershop".

Babybird returned, minus keyboardist Huw Chadbourn, in 1998 with There's Something Going On, preceded by a single, "Bad Old Man". The album was a modest success and was followed by further minor hits, "If You'll Be Mine" and "Back Together".

In 2000, a line-up of Babybird comprising Stephen Jones, Luke Scott and Matt Hay created a third album. Bugged, which was well-received critically (it might be suggested that it is an album of the right quality, but four years later than expected). However, sales were poor and the two singles from it, "The F-Word" (later the theme tune to a UK TV cookery show of the same name) and "Out of Sight" barely dented the charts. Babybird were dropped by their record label soon after. A third single from the album "Fireflies/Getaway" was released on Animal Noise records, but sold few copies. The band subsequently split.

Stephen Jones went on to write fiction, release solo work and score a film, Blessed, in 2004.

In October 2005, a posting on the official Babybird website announced that the band had reformed as a three-piece featuring Stephen, Luke Scott and Robert Gregory, and would be releasing a new album, entitled "Between My Ears There's Nothing But Music" on September 25, 2006.

UK Babybird Discography

Singles

  • Goodnight (Echo Records, June 1996) 28
  • You're Gorgeous (Echo Records, September 1996) 3
  • Candy Girl (Echo Records, February 1997) 13
  • Cornershop (Echo Records, May 1997) 37
  • Bad Old Man (Echo Records, April 1998) 31
  • If You'll Be Mine (Echo Records, July 1998) 28
  • Back Together (remix) (Echo Records, February 1999) 22
  • The F-Word (Echo Records, March 2000) 35
  • Out of Sight (Echo Records, May 2000) 58
  • Getaway/Fireflies (Animal Noise, September 2000)

Compilation tracks

Albums

"Jones can't decide whether to sell out by writing polished, shamelessly catchy pop like You're Gorgeous or retain his street cred by affecting to despise the genre. Babybird's best is yet to come: this time he's laid a curate's egg." - Daily Telegraph

  • There's Something Going On (Echo Records, August 1998)

"...an album that - at the risk of sounding like the kind of armchair psychologist who thinks Ally McBeal contains Freud-like wisdom - deals with what it means to be a man in the late-20th century...self-pity, self-loathing and staggering narcissism...you know you'll love it." - NME

  • Bugged (Echo Records, June 2000)

"Bugged is an immaculate, complex, bursting-at-the-seams pop delight. You won't hear it on the radio, so there's only one thing to do: go and buy this record. You won't regret it." - Sunday Times

  • Best of Babybird (Echo Records, February 2004)

"...chart success isn't everything. Listening to this collection what strikes you is that BabyBird's sound still sounds very 2004. There's nothing that really dates these songs...but from a presentation point of view this should have been so much better." - BBC

  • Between My Ears There is Nothing but Music (September 2006)
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