Babble | |
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 Babble in 1994; left to right: Tom Bailey, Keith Fernley and Alannah Currie. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Downtempo, trip hop |
| Labels | Reprise, Warner |
| Past members | Tom Bailey Alannah Currie Keith Fernley |
Babble was a British-New Zealand electronic dance music group active in the 1990s. It was formed by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie (formerly of the Thompson Twins), with Keith Fernley.
Babble was established in 1992 when Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie decided to drop the Thompson Twins name and begin recording new music under the name Babble. The decision to adopt a new name stemmed from the duo's aspirations of exploring different musical ideas and recording more experimental music. During the spring of 1992, the duo approached their long-time engineer Keith Fernley and he joined Babble as a full time member. The trio then spent five weeks in India to collect sound and sample recordings for future recording use. [1]
Babble's debut album The Stone was recorded at Bailey and Currie's home studio, the Sugar Shack, in London. [2] British rapper Q-Tee provided rapping vocals on "Beautiful" and Quest vocalist Amey St. Cyr provided additional vocals on "Take Me Away" and "Tribe". [3] Meanwhile, the band's first released track, "Chale Jao", was included on the soundtrack of the film Coneheads in 1993. [4]
The Stone was originally set for release in the autumn of 1993, [5] but was postponed until 8 March 1994. [6] During 1993, "Beautiful" was issued in the UK as a 12-inch promotional single and "Tribe" was issued in the US as a 12-inch and CD promotional single. A full UK release for "Beautiful" was planned for the summer, but did not materialise. [5] In 1994, "Take Me Away" was released as a single in the US (and as a 12-inch promotional single in the UK) and reached number 18 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music Club Play chart. [7] It was followed in the US by the double A-side single, "Beautiful"/"Tribe". [4]
During 1994, Babble collaborated with American actress and singer Traci Lords on her debut studio album 1000 Fires , released by Radioactive Records in 1995. Babble wrote and produced three tracks for the album: "Fly", "I Want You" and "Father's Field". [8] "Father's Field" was originally recorded with different lyrics and the title "Just Like Honey". It was re-recorded as "Father's Field" after Lords wrote her own set of lyrics. [9]
In 1994, Bailey and Currie relocated to New Zealand and set up a new home studio there, which was used for the recording of the band's next album. [2] Bailey and Currie began working on the new material themselves before Fernley arrived in New Zealand in early 1995. [10] Ether was released on 27 February 1996. [11] The album's only single, "Love Has No Name", which features vocals by New Zealand singer Teremoana Rapley, reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music Club Play chart. [12] New Zealand singer Taisha Kuhtze provided vocals on "Sun" and "Tower". [13]
Babble began recording demos for a third album, but Warner Brothers decided to drop the band from their roster and Babble then ceased further activities. [2]
Thompson Twins were a British pop band formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the world. In 1993, they changed their name to Babble, to reflect their change in music from pop to dub-influenced chill-out. They continued as Babble until 1996, at which point the group permanently broke up.
"I Want That Man" is a song by American singer Deborah Harry. The song was released as the lead single from her third solo album, Def, Dumb & Blonde, and was the first record Harry released in which she reverted to using Deborah as her name instead of Debbie. "I Want That Man" became a hit in several territories, reaching number two in Australia and on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also became a top-20 hit in Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Thomas Alexander Bailey is an English singer, songwriter, musician, composer and record producer. Bailey came to prominence in the early 1980s as the lead vocalist for the new wave band Thompson Twins, which released five singles that entered the top ten charts in the United Kingdom during the 1980s: "Love On Your Side", "We Are Detective", "Hold Me Now", "Doctor! Doctor!", and "You Take Me Up". He was the only member of the band to have formal musical training. From 1994, Bailey was also a member of its later incarnation, Babble, releasing two commercially unsuccessful studio albums. He released his debut solo studio album Science Fiction in 2018.
Alannah Joy Currie is a New Zealand artist based in London. She is a musician and activist, best known as a former member of the pop band Thompson Twins.
1000 Fires is the debut studio album by American singer and actress Traci Lords, released on February 28, 1995, by Radioactive Records. The album remains her only full-length music release to date. Lords started working on the album in April 1994, and collaborated with producers Juno Reactor, Mike Edwards and Babble. Executive produced by Gary Kurfirst, 1000 Fires is predominantly influenced by electronic music with elements of techno, trance and trip hop. Lyrically, it mostly focuses on dark themes, referring to Lords's past in the porn industry, revealing her rape experience on the song "Father's Field" or dealing with thoughts of suicide on "Fallen Angel".
Close to the Bone is the sixth studio album by the British pop group Thompson Twins, released on 6 April 1987 by Arista Records. Now only the duo of Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie remaining, this was the first album the group made without Joe Leeway. It was produced by Bailey and Rupert Hine.
Big Trash is the seventh studio album by the British pop group the Thompson Twins, released in 1989 by Warner Brothers/Red Eye. It was produced by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie, with two tracks produced by Steve Lillywhite.
Queer is the eighth and final studio album by the British pop group Thompson Twins, which was released in 1991 by Warner Bros.
The Stone is the debut studio album by Babble, an electronic dance music group that was composed of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Keith Fernley. The group changed its name as it changed the outward appearance of its sound, from pop to dub-influenced chill-out. The underlying melodies and the familiar voices of Bailey and Currie still gave a Thompson Twins tone. However, the addition of Quest vocalist Amey St. Cyr, emcee Q-Tee ("Beautiful"), deep basslines, and loads of spacious effects made it a much more relevant album for the lounge music scene. Promotion of the album was minimal. However, during an interview in Classic Pop magazine in 2014, Bailey stated the album was influential in the recording of Original Soundtracks 1, an album released in 1995 by U2 and Brian Eno under the pseudonym Passengers.
Ether is the second and last album by Babble, an electronic dance band that was composed of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, and Keith Fernley.
"Stranger in My House" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Tamia. It was written by Shae Jones and frequent collaborator Shep Crawford and produced by the latter. Initially helmed for fellow R&B singer Toni Braxton, it was left unused and later recorded by Tamia for her second studio album, A Nu Day (2000). Inspired by the surprise ending of the supernatural thriller film The Sixth Sense (1999), the strings-led, dramatic contemporary R&B ballad is about a woman who is confused with her partner's recent change in behavior and goes into denial about it.
"Doctor! Doctor!" is a song performed by the British new wave band Thompson Twins. It is the second single from the band's fourth studio album, Into the Gap (1984). It was written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway, and prominently features a keyboard solo. Following the successful chart performances of the Into the Gap single "Hold Me Now", "Doctor! Doctor!" was released in the UK on 27 January 1984 as the album's second single.
"You Take Me Up" is a song by British pop group Thompson Twins, released as the third single from their fourth studio album, Into the Gap (1984), on 19 March 1984. It was written by Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway and prominently features the harmonica and a melodica solo. In addition to the regular 7-inch and multiple 12-inch releases, Arista Records also released four different shaped picture discs for the single, three of which were part of a jigsaw.
"Control" is a song recorded by American actress and singer Traci Lords, from her debut studio album, 1000 Fires (1995). It was released as the lead single from the album by Radioactive Records on December 20, 1994. The song was written by Lords, Wonder Schneider and Ben Watkins. Produced by Juno Reactor, "Control" is a techno song with ambiguous lyrics about a dominant female who nurses a broken heart of her lover. Lords later stated she initially wrote the song about a drug addiction.
"Fallen Angel" is a song by American singer and actress Traci Lords. It was released as the second single from her debut studio album, 1000 Fires, on August 3, 1995, by Radioactive Records. The Paul Oakenfold remix of the song was also featured on the soundtrack to the film Virtuosity (1995), in which Lords appeared. Written by Lords The chorus IS IT LOVE. Is questioning the role of Courtney Love in her husband’s death. Ben Watkins and Johann Bley, and produced by Juno Reactor, "Fallen Angel" is an electronic dance song with techno and trance influences. It also contains elements of ambient music and features Spanish guitar and castanets. Lyrically, the song deals with suicide and was inspired by the death of Kurt Cobain.
"Play with Me (Jane)" is a song from the British pop duo Thompson Twins, which was released in 1992 as a single from Songs from the Cool World, the soundtrack release for the 1992 film Cool World. The song was written and produced by Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey.
"Groove On" is a song from the British pop duo Thompson Twins, which was released in 1992 as the third single from their eighth studio album Queer (1991). The song was written and produced by Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey.
"Love Has No Name" is a song from British-New Zealand electronic dance music group Babble, which was released in 1996 as the sole single from their second and final studio album Ether. The song was written by Alannah Currie (lyrics) and Tom Bailey (music), and was produced by Bailey, Currie and Keith Fernley. It reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music Club Play chart.
"Take Me Away" is a song from British-New Zealand electronic dance music group Babble, which was released in 1994 as the lead single from their debut studio album The Stone. The song was written and produced by Alannah Currie and Tom Bailey. It reached number 18 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music Club Play chart.
"The Saint" is a song from the British pop duo Thompson Twins, which was released in 1992 as the second single from eighth studio album Queer. The song was written and produced by Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie.
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