THE BABYS

The inception of THE BABYS began in Smalls Café on the Fulham Road in London 1973, where a chance meeting had taken place between two unlikely gentlemen: one a well-traveled, ever-aspiring musician; Michael Corby and the other, a clever, supremely-confident mentor; Adrian Millar, who presented himself as a financier of bands. Results, after a great deal of posturing and the dust firmly settled, ended with Corby giving way to allowing a band to be molded around his image. An ‘agreement’ was drafted and signed on September 4, 1974 with Corby as guitarist and Millar as the manager. Months of preparation ensued (plotting, actually) and plans were laid to form a coveted four-man rock outfit. Auditions would commence with only one goal in mind: become the Greatest Rock Band in the World! Through this mutually resourceful contractual effort, many talented ‘artistes’ were auditioned with hopes pinned on unearthing those equal in musical fortitude, charisma, personality and desire. The fruition of this intensely fierce and somewhat-testy union introduced the world to that of: (in proper order) John Waite, Tony Brock and Walt Stocker, effectively giving birth to THE BABYS!- END BIO ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------- THE BABYS ON VIDEO -

“In Tune with THE BABYS” (January 1977):An extremely rare WPVI Channel 6 Newscast segment called ‘In Tune’ with Judi Bloom on ‘Action Cam’ assignment at the Barkley Hotel in Philadelphia (the city that ‘broke’ THE BABYS!). While THE BABYS blast through rare versions of “If You’ve Got The Time” and “Wild Man,” Russ Shaw (Director of Artist Relations) describes the action of this now historic video concept pioneered by an “unknown manager and yet unknown group.” Ms. Bloom closes our segment by prophetically proclaiming the concept: “It looks like the wave of the future. Someday you won’t just buy a record of your favorite group; you’ll be able to watch them perform at the same time.” In a day when late-night musical variety sparred with mainstream television shows such as ‘Midnight Special/American Bandstand and DKRC’ battled the more popular day-time talk shows of Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin and Dinah Shore, it is easy to see they were all in search of the next ‘Beatles’ (The Ed Sullivan Show - February 9, 1964). Looking at the pioneering video concept now it obviously pre-dates what would become our modern music television…

“Looking For Love” (May 14, 1976):Quite possibly the rarest of all performances from THE BABYS, seen here for the first time ever!!! Taken from THE BABYS’ privately commissioned three-song promotional film as produced by the legendary Mike Mansfield. Adrian Millar had grown tired (to put it mildly) of the lackluster promotional efforts afforded by Chrysalis Records, Ltd and decided it was time to stir a bit of interest by hiring Mansfield who was currently producing the hit LWT weekly variety musical program called ‘Supersonic.’ Millar thought out a wise angle to hire Mansfield in hopes of a feature slot on that very program. As you can clearly see, the plan worked, THE BABYS got their promotional film, Millar got the band on the boob-tube and the rest they say is history!

“If You’ve Got The Time” (September 16, 1976):THE BABYS are featured performing their new single on Mike Mansfield’s ‘Supersonic.’ A brilliant opportunity to catapult THE BABYS on a unique platform, complete with pyrotechnics! With this thunderous performance under wraps, a stern message was sent to the boys over at Chrysalis Ltd to get ‘arses’ in gear. The notion obviously taken as the ‘butterfly boys’ promptly shipped ‘Project Babys’ over to their fledgling company across the pond called Chrysalis, Inc…

“I’m Falling” (September 1977):Taken from the brilliant ‘Broken Heart Promotional Film,’ featuring a track written by Corby/Waite in the earliest years of THE BABYS. Michael says “I wrote the music in the middle of the night in a house in Battersea. The electricity had been cut off, so it was down to a joint, some chemicals and an acoustic guitar for amusement. The next day, I met John Waite in Tooley Street and the two of us worked on it. This was the one and only time that we did that…” This magnificent clip would not be complete without the now unmistakable trademark introduction by William ‘Jackson’ Baker…a fitting tribute to perhaps their greatest song ever!

“Silver Dreams” (February 24, 1978):THE BABYS were on the crest of their fame, riding high on the charts with their current hit single “Isn’t It Time.” Shortly before embarking on a massive 38 City U.S. Concert Tour, they were scheduled to perform on THE MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW Live from Las Vegas! A widely anticipated week-long series of shows featuring all the glitz and glam of the most popular entertainers of that time. Although THE MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW was a popular daytime variety show with a robust following, the viewers were especially keen on the once a year gala’s booked in Vegas, plus there was an already ripe climate developing due to the upcoming ALI vs. SPINKS Heavy Weight Title Bout. As the daytime extravaganza labored on, cue cards were eventually turned and the audience, loaded with BABY FAN FAITHFULS, reached a fever pitch as the curtains suddenly rose, exposing a brilliant white upright and grand piano. Topping the bill was a stunning center stage vocal performance of “SILVER DREAMS” by Sir Tony Brock (Notice Mr. Stocker sitting in on the drum kit). Appropriate now to offer a huge round of applause for the greatest rock and roll drummer ever…TONY BROCK!!!

“Isn’t It Time” (November 1977):THE BABYS were booked for prime-time viewing on THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW shortly before the end of the 1st leg of their BROKEN HEART CONCERT TOUR. Merv seems genuinely interested in the group as he asks each member questions and receives some rather hilarious answers from Tony Brock as a seemingly-shy John Waite fiddles continuously with his CUSTOM MADE TONY ZEMAITIS ‘metal faced' BASS GUITAR. Interesting to note that Michael Corby received the scare of a lifetime on this day when a ‘death threat’ was phoned in about (20) minutes before the taping of the show, causing a bit of unrest for the entire group. Corby explains: “There was a guy who wanted me dead!” as this alarming scenario unfolded further with a 'bomb threat' shortly before THE BABYS’ live performance at Santa Monica Civic Center Auditorium on November 30, 1977. Michael Corby was then escorted to and from the stage by armed body guards in a true "Elvis Has Left The Building" type fashion…(Please see photo captions in the slide show).

“Broken Heart” (November 1977):THE BABYS conclude their performance on THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW with the title track to their new album...BROKEN HEART!!!SPECIAL NOTE: In the audience were noted BABYS FANS Judy Byrne, Trish O’Brien and Debby Reese, offering their support and undying enthusiasm.In memory of Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr.(July 6, 1925 ~ August 12, 2007)VIDEO EDITING PROVIDED AS A COURTESY BY RIK FENNELLPROPERTY OF THE BABYS OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL ARCHIVES, LLC