Babe Ruth are an English
rock band from
Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. They were initially active in the 1970s and reformed in 2005.
History
A predecessor of the group, called Shacklock after guitarist
Alan Shacklock, was formed in 1970.
Members included Janita Haan and Dave Hewitt, with Dave Punshon and Dick Powell later joining.
The first release was their single "Wells Fargo"; their first album, ''
First Base'',
went gold in Canada. In 1973, Ed Spevock replaced Powell and Chris Holmes replaced Punshon on the second album.
In 1975, Steve Gurl, keyboardist from
Glenn Cornick's
Wild Turkey
The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally ...
replaced Holmes for the third album.
The same year, Shacklock left the band to become a record producer and
Bernie Marsden (Wild Turkey) joined the team for the fourth album. After this, Haan and Hewitt left.
Though no original member remained, the group incorporated Ellie Hope and Ray Knott for the fifth album in 1976.
Shortly before Babe Ruth disbanded, they were joined by the young 17-year-old
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
born Simon Lambeth who made a few appearances on their last tour. Marsden moved on to join
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...
(after the short lived
Paice Ashton Lord
Paice Ashton Lord was a short-lived British rock band featuring Deep Purple band members Ian Paice and Jon Lord with singer Tony Ashton. The band was formed in 1976, released its only album in 1977 and broke up in 1978.
History
After Deep ...
broke up) and Lambeth left the band.
Their 1975 single "Elusive" became a popular song on the
Northern soul scene. In the US, "Elusive" also was a hit in the discos, peaking at #12 on the
National Disco Action chart.
A disco cover of Babe Ruth's "
The Mexican
''The Mexican'' is a 2001 American dark comedy adventure crime film directed by Gore Verbinski and stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt in lead roles. Its plot is a mixture of different genres.
Plot
In Los Angeles, a traffic light changes to red ...
" appeared in the late 1970s, performed by the Bombers. This version inspired an electro/freestyle cover produced by
Jellybean Benitez in 1984, for which he managed to recruit Haan on vocals' the cover subsequently becoming noted for its popularity as an underground dance hit.
Between late 2005 and early 2006, Haan (now Janita Haan Morris), Hewitt, Shacklock, and Punshon reunited to record new material together in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...
, with Spevock recording his drums in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
. The album, titled ''
Que Pasa'', was completed September 2006, and after being made available in digital form via the band's official web site, was released on Revolver Records in 2009.
The band embarked on a successful reunion tour of Canada in July 2010, playing three concerts at
Ottawa Bluesfest,
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
, and ''Festival International du Blues de Tremblant''.
On 28 June 2014, Babe Ruth played their only show of 2014 at
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
's
Summerfest; over 7,000 attended.
Members
;Current members
* Ed Spevock
(born Edmund Anthony Spevock, 14 December 1946, London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
) – drums
(1973–present)
* Jenny Haan
(born Janita Haan, 9 May 1953, Edgware
Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...
, Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...
, now Janita Haan Morris) – lead vocals
(1970–1975, 2005–present)
* Dave Hewitt
(born David John Hewitt, 4 May 1950, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...
) – bass, backing vocals
(1970–1975, 2005–present)
* Alan Shacklock
(born Alan Albert Shacklock, 20 June 1950, London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
) – guitars, backing vocals, organ, percussion, string arrangements
(1970–1975, 2005–present)
* Dave Punshon – keyboards, piano
(1971–1973, 2005–present)
;Past members
*
Jeff Allen (born Jeffrey Allen, 23 April 1946, Matlock, Derbyshire) – drums
(1970–1971)
* Dick Powell – drums, percussion
(1971–1973)
* Chris Holmes
(born Christopher Noel Holmes, 12 September 1945, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...
) – keyboards
(1973–1975)
* Steve Gurl – keyboards
(1975–1976)
*
Bernie Marsden (born Bernard John Marsden, 7 May 1951, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
) – guitars
(1975–1976)
* Ellie Hope – lead vocals
(1975–1976)
* Ray Knott – bass
(1975–1976)
* Simon Lambeth – guitars, backing vocals (1976)
Discography
Albums
* ''
First Base'' (1972), Harvest - U.S. No. 178
[ Billboard ]Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
CAN No. 87
* ''Amar Caballero'' (1973), Harvest
* ''Babe Ruth'' (1975), Harvest (LP), (1993) One Way (CD) - U.S. No. 75;
[ CAN No. 85
* ''Stealin' Home'' (1975) - U.S. No. 169][
* ''Kid's Stuff'' (1976) - CAN No. 53]
* ''Qué Pasa'' (2009)
* ''Qué Pasa'' (2021) (Renaissance Records Reissue) (Vinyl)
Singles
* "Wells Fargo" / "Theme from '' A Few Dollars More''" (1972), Harvest
* "Ain't That Livin'" / "We Are Holding On" (1973), Harvest
* "If Heaven's on Beauty's Side" / "Doctor Love" (1974), Harvest
* "Wells Fargo" / "The Mexican
''The Mexican'' is a 2001 American dark comedy adventure crime film directed by Gore Verbinski and stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt in lead roles. Its plot is a mixture of different genres.
Plot
In Los Angeles, a traffic light changes to red ...
" (1974) (unofficial release, released in Brazil)
* "Private Number" / "Somebody's Nobody" (1975), Harvest
* "Elusive" / "Say No More" (Spevock / Gurl) (1976), Capitol
* "The Duchess of New Orleans" / "The Jack O'Lantern" / "Turquoise" (1976), Harvest
Compilation albums
* ''Greatest Hits'' (1977)
* ''Grand Slam: The Best of Babe Ruth'' (1994)
* ''First Base / Amar Caballero'' (1998), BGO (two albums remastered with a comprehensive article about the band and photos)
* ''Babe Ruth / Stealin' Home'' (2000), BGO (two albums remastered with a comprehensive article about the band and photos)
Video
* ''Babe Ruth in Concert'' (DVD of 1975 Montreal concert)
Bootleg
* A CD of a live recording from the BBC 1975 program called ''The Archive Session'' introduced by Alan "Fluff" Freeman. Track listing:
#"Intro"
#"Joker"
#"Black Dog"
#"King Kong"
#"Amar Cabellero Pt. 2"
#"Isn't That So"
#"Gimme Some Leg"
#"Baby Pride"
#"Outro"
References
* ''The Tapestry of Delights'' - ''The Comprehensive Guide to British Music of the Beat, R&B, Psychedelic and Progressive Eras 1963-1976'', Vernon Joynson,
External links
Babe Ruth plays in Canada 2010
Babe Ruth
discography at Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
Babe Ruth Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babe Ruth
English hard rock musical groups
English progressive rock groups
Musical groups established in 1971
Musical groups disestablished in 1976
Musical groups reestablished in 2005
People from Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Musical groups from Hertfordshire
Harvest Records artists