BBMak are an English band consisting of Mark Barry,
Christian Burns
Christian Anthony Burns (born 18 January 1974) is an English singer. He is the son of Tony Burns of The Signs, a Liverpool-based rock band signed to Decca Records in the 1960s.
Career
Burns was a member of the popular British band BBMak, ...
and
Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and othe ...
. Formed in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in 1996, they sold over three million albums worldwide between 1999 and 2003. The band first achieved success when their single "
Back Here
"Back Here" is the debut single by English pop rock band BBMak. It was written by the three members of the group ( Christian Burns, Mark Barry, and Stephen McNally) along with songwriter Phil Thornalley. It was originally released in August 1999 ...
" gained popularity in radio stations in Asia and they later signed with
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...
in the U.S. The band reworked their debut album ''
Sooner or Later'' for an American release in 2000, and the album charted at number 38 on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart with "Back Here" becoming a top 20 hit. BBMak's success in the American market helped the band finally break through in their home country.
In 2002, the group released their second album ''
Into Your Head
''Into Your Head'' is the second studio album by the English music group BBMak, released on 27 August 2002 by Hollywood Records. It peaked at #25 in the US, spawning the hit single " Out of My Heart". The album is an enhanced CD, containing regu ...
'' which charted at number 25 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. In 2003, the group dissolved as each member went on to pursue solo careers. BBMak reunited in 2018 after a 15-year absence. They recorded and released a third studio album, ''
Powerstation'' (2019).
Career
1996-1998: Formation and debut
Christian Burns
Christian Anthony Burns (born 18 January 1974) is an English singer. He is the son of Tony Burns of The Signs, a Liverpool-based rock band signed to Decca Records in the 1960s.
Career
Burns was a member of the popular British band BBMak, ...
, who was raised in
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
, learned to play rhythm guitar when he was fourteen years old.
Burns's father had been a guitarist for the band The Signs, which opened for
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
in their early years.
Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and othe ...
, of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, aspired to be a guitarist and initially had no ambitions to sing.
Mark Barry, of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, got his musical start playing the bagpipes as a kid.
The trio met each other while playing with different bands on the Northwest England music circuit
and began performing as a group in 1997. McNally came up with the group's band name, which is a combination of the first letters of the band's surnames Burns, Barry, and McNally.
After the group recorded a demo, they traveled to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in the hopes of securing a record deal.
[ "'We went to Sony Records in London carrying this book with all these record company contact numbers and names. We went in and said we had a meeting with Tommy Mottola. We didn’t realize that he was in New York. And they were like, 'Really?' It was quite funny. I think a lot of record companies admired the cheekiness of us just going and doing it.'"] The trio would sing outside the offices of major record companies.
Once they generated enough industry buzz, BBMak put on a five-song, acoustic showcase in Liverpool.
The show drew the attention of record label executives and sparked a bidding war for the band.
The band secured a record deal with
Telstar Records
Telstar Records was a British record label that operated from 1982 to 2004.
Background
Telstar was founded in 1982 by Sean O'Brien and Neil Palmer with a government loan of £120,00Telstar RecordsIt was launched as a specialist compilation mar ...
in the UK in 1998.
1999-2001: Breakthrough and ''Sooner or Later''
The group's debut single "
Back Here
"Back Here" is the debut single by English pop rock band BBMak. It was written by the three members of the group ( Christian Burns, Mark Barry, and Stephen McNally) along with songwriter Phil Thornalley. It was originally released in August 1999 ...
" was initially released in August 1999 in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, reaching only number 37 on the
UK Singles chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
that month.
The group did not achieve breakthrough success until their debut in North America.
The group performed live at Walt Disney World's
Epcot
Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...
park in February 2000; their performance was recorded for an episode of ''
Disney Channel in Concert'' which focused on both BBMak and
M2M and aired on 29 April on Disney Channel. BBMak's debut album, ''
Sooner or Later'', was released in the United States on 16 May 2000, peaking at number 38 on the
''Billboard'' 200.
"Back Here" reached number 13 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in July 2000.
"Back Here" was subsequently re-released as a single in the UK on 12 February 2001, and the single eventually climbed to No. 5 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and No. 1 for 11 weeks on the US
adult contemporary chart
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...
.
The album would eventually go on to sell over one million copies.
The band appeared in episodes of the ABC show ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
'' in May 2000 and opened for
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
on the North American leg of her
Oops!... I Did It Again Tour tour. BBMak closed out the year with a sold out 26-date US concert tour and a live performance on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
New Year's Eve 2001 special.
The band's next single, "
Still on Your Side", was released in 2001 and reached No. 8 in the UK and No. 54 in the US, respectively. That year, BBMak released a
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
called ''Sooner or Later: Our First Year in America.'' The band released their third single, "
Ghost of You and Me", on 11 May 2001; it peaked at No. 8 on the US adult contemporary chart. The band also appeared on an episode of Disney Channel series ''
Even Stevens
''Even Stevens'' is an American comedy television series that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003, airing a total of 65 episodes over three seasons. It follows the life of the Stevens, a family living in subur ...
''. BBMak continued to tour U.S. stadiums in 2001 as a supporting act for
NSYNC
NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...
on the
PopOdyssey
PopOdyssey was the fourth concert tour by American boy band NSYNC. Sponsored by Verizon Wireless and Chili's, the tour promoted the band's third studio album, ''Celebrity''. The tour's name is defined as "an adventurous journey towards popularity ...
tour.
In July 2001, the group's track "Miss You More" was featured on the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
to ''
The Princess Diaries
''The Princess Diaries'' is a series of epistolary young adult novels written by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The series revolves around Amelia 'Mia' Thermopolis, a teenager in New York who discovers ...
''. In October of that year, Christian Burns' vocals were featured along with those of
'N Sync
NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...
's
Lance Bass
James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, dancer, actor, film, and television producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC. NSYNC's success led Bass to work in film ...
and
Joey Fatone
Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (born January 28, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, actor, and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband NSYNC, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC realit ...
,
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...
and
True Vibe on the single "On the Line" for the
film of the same name; the group's song "Don't Look Down" was also featured on the soundtrack. In 2002, the band covered the song "Always Know Where You Are" by
John Rzeznik
John Joseph Theodore Rzeznik (; born December 5, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, best known as the founder, guitarist and frontman of the American rock band Goo Goo Dolls, with whom he has recorded 14 studio albums.
Early life
Rzeznik w ...
of the
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska.
After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sound, ...
for
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's ''
Treasure Planet
''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 43rd Disney animated feature film, it is a science fiction adaptatio ...
'' soundtrack. BBMak also covered the song "
Do You Believe in Magic" for Disney's ''
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...
'' sequel, ''
Return to Never Land
''Return to Never Land'' (also known as ''Peter Pan in: Return to Never Land'' and later retitled ''Peter Pan II: Return to Never Land'' on current home video release) is a 2002 American animated adventure fantasy film produced by Disney MovieToo ...
''.
2002-2003: ''Into Your Head''
In August 2002, BBMak released their second album titled ''
Into Your Head
''Into Your Head'' is the second studio album by the English music group BBMak, released on 27 August 2002 by Hollywood Records. It peaked at #25 in the US, spawning the hit single " Out of My Heart". The album is an enhanced CD, containing regu ...
''. The album reached No. 25 on the
''Billboard'' 200. The first single from the album, "
Out of My Heart (Into Your Head)," peaked at No. 56 on the Hot 100 chart and No. 25 on the adult contemporary chart. In 2003, the single "Staring Into Space" was released in select countries. The band split amicably in 2003.
2018-present: ''Powerstation''
On 29 March 2018, Christian Burns confirmed that the band had reunited. On 1 April 2018, the group uploaded a video to Facebook of a performance of their first single, "Back Here". In January 2019, the band confirmed plans for a worldwide tour and a new album. After numerous delays, the first single from their new album, "Bullet Train", was released on 3 May 2019. The album, titled ''
Powerstation,'' was released on 11 October 2019. In 2021, BBMak released ''The Lost Tapes'', composed of nine B-sides.
Awards and nominations
{, class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
, -
! scope="col" , Award
! scope="col" , Year
! scope="col" , Nominee(s)
! scope="col" , Category
! scope="col" , Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable",
, -
! scope="row",
ASCAP Pop Music Awards
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
, 2000
, "
Back Here
"Back Here" is the debut single by English pop rock band BBMak. It was written by the three members of the group ( Christian Burns, Mark Barry, and Stephen McNally) along with songwriter Phil Thornalley. It was originally released in August 1999 ...
"
, Most Performed Song
,
,
Members
* Mark Barry (born on 26 October 1978 in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England) –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*
Christian Burns
Christian Anthony Burns (born 18 January 1974) is an English singer. He is the son of Tony Burns of The Signs, a Liverpool-based rock band signed to Decca Records in the 1960s.
Career
Burns was a member of the popular British band BBMak, ...
(born on 18 January 1974 in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, England) – vocals,
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
*
Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and othe ...
(born on 4 July 1978 in Liverpool, England) – vocals,
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
Discography
Studio albums
{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
, -
! rowspan="2" style="width:12em;", Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;", Album details
! colspan="2", Peak chart
positions
! rowspan="2" style="width:8em;",
Certifications( sales threshold)
, - style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:40px;",
UK
! style="width:40px;",
US
, -
! scope="row", ''
Sooner or Later''
,
* Release date: 16 May 2000 (US),
28 May 2001 (UK)
* Label:
Telstar
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the fir ...
* Formats:
CD,
cassette
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...
, 16
, 38
, style="text-align:left;",
*
US: Gold
, -
! scope="row", ''
Into Your Head
''Into Your Head'' is the second studio album by the English music group BBMak, released on 27 August 2002 by Hollywood Records. It peaked at #25 in the US, spawning the hit single " Out of My Heart". The album is an enhanced CD, containing regu ...
''
,
* Release date: 27 August 2002 (US),
18 November 2002 (UK)
* Label:
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
* Formats: CD
, —
, 25
,
, -
! scope="row", ''
Powerstation''
,
* Release date: 11 October 2019
* Label: Triple Jet Music/Topanga Creek
* Formats: CD, digital distribution
, —
, —
,
, -
, colspan="5" style="font-size:8pt", "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles
{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
, -
! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;", Title
! rowspan="2", Year
! colspan="9", Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2", Album
, - style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:35px;",
UK
! style="width:35px;",
AUS
! style="width:35px;",
CAN
! style="width:35px;",
IRE
Ire or IRE may refer to:
Ire
* Extreme anger; intense fury
* Irē, the Livonian name for Mazirbe, Latvia
* A town in Oye, Nigeria
* ''Ire'' (album), a 2015 album by the Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive
* Ire (Iliad), a town mentioned in ...
! style="width:35px;",
NZ
! style="width:35px;",
US
! style="width:35px;",
US AC
! style="width:35px;",
US Adult
! style="width:35px;",
US Pop
, -
! scope="row", "
Back Here
"Back Here" is the debut single by English pop rock band BBMak. It was written by the three members of the group ( Christian Burns, Mark Barry, and Stephen McNally) along with songwriter Phil Thornalley. It was originally released in August 1999 ...
"
, rowspan="1", 1999
, 5
, 47
, 11
, 26
, 18
, 13
, 1
, 12
, 8
, rowspan="3", ''Sooner or Later''
, -
! scope="row", "
Still on Your Side"
, rowspan="1", 2001
, 8
, —
, —
, 30
, —
, 54
, —
, 40
, 14
, -
! scope="row", "
Ghost of You and Me"
, rowspan="1", 2002
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, 110
, 8
, —
, 28
, -
! scope="row", "
Out of My Heart (Into Your Head)"
, 2002
, 36
, 65
, 22
, —
, 19
, 56
, 25
, 23
, 20
, rowspan="2", ''Into Your Head''
, -
! scope="row", "Staring into Space"
, 2003
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, -
, -
! scope="row", "Back Here (Acoustic)"
, rowspan="2", 2018
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, rowspan="2", Non-album singles
, -
! scope="row", "Out of My Heart (Acoustic)"
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, -
! scope="row", "Bullet Train"
, rowspan="4", 2019
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, rowspan="4", ''Powerstation''
, -
! scope="row", "So Far Away"
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, -
! scope="row", "Uncivil War"
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, -
! scope="row", "Wolves"
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, —
, -
, colspan="15" style="font-size:8pt", "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Music videos
*"
Back Here
"Back Here" is the debut single by English pop rock band BBMak. It was written by the three members of the group ( Christian Burns, Mark Barry, and Stephen McNally) along with songwriter Phil Thornalley. It was originally released in August 1999 ...
" (UK & US version) — directed by
Dani Jacobs
Dani Jacobs (born April 16, 1963) is a British music video director and editor.
Background
Jacobs was born in London, United Kingdom. He went to University of Manchester to study physics but left to pursue his interests in film.
He worked at T ...
*"Still on Your Side" (UK version) — directed by Dani Jacobs
*"
Ghost of You and Me" — directed by
Nigel Dick
Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...
*"
Out of My Heart" — directed by Katie Bell
*"Staring into Space" — directed by Katie Bell
DVDs/videos
*2001 - ''Music in High Places: Live In Vietnam'' (DVD/VHS)
*2001 - ''Sooner or Later: Our First Year in America'' (DVD/VHS)
*2002 - ''Out of My Heart (Into Your Head)'' (DVD)
References
External links
{{Authority control
English pop rock music groups
Hollywood Records artists
EMI Records artists
Telstar Records artists
Musical groups from Liverpool
Musical groups established in 1999
Musical groups disestablished in 2003
British musical trios
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
1999 establishments in England