Baby Animals is an Australian hard rock band active from October 1989 to 1996 and reformed in 2007. The original line-up was Frank Celenza on drums; Suze DeMarchi on lead vocals and guitar; Dave Leslie on guitar and backing vocals; and Eddie Parise on bass guitar and backing vocals. They recorded two studio albums, '' Baby Animals'' (September 1991) – which peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, and '' Shaved and Dangerous'' (August 1993) – which reached No. 2. At the
ARIA Music Awards of 1992
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanimen ...
the group won three trophies:
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to:
Awards
* ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia
* Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK
* Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US
* Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA
* Lati ...
The Baby Animals were formed in Sydney in October 1989 by Frank Celenza on drums (ex- Boys, Bamboo Curtain, DD and the Rockmen); Suze DeMarchi on lead vocals and guitar (ex-Photoplay, the Kind, DD and the Rockmen), Dave Leslie on guitar and backing vocals (ex-Swingshift); and Eddie Parise on bass guitar and backing vocals (ex-Boys, Bel Aires, Bamboo Curtain). De Marchi, from
Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
, had previously recorded three solo singles with EMI in the United Kingdom.
Upon her return to Perth in July DeMarchi contacted former bandmate Celenza to form a new band in Sydney. He was initially reluctant to go but recommended another former bandmate, Parise. In Sydney, DeMarchi approached her then-manager, John Woodruff ( The Angels, Dieselx-the Kind, with DeMarchi, who signed the new group and referred Leslie to her. Celenza then officially joined. Woodruff later recalled "I'd seen eMarchiin London performing some bad
Stock Aitken and Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...
tunes on television late one night. I found her and she turned out to be Australian. She also turned out to have a lot of attitude. I brought her back to Australia and put a band together around her."
The band's first performance was in November 1989 at the Kardomah Café in Sydney, where they were billed as Woody's Heroes, then they worked the city's pub and club circuit. According to ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication '' Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' magazine's writer, Celenza provided the new name, Baby Animals, after seeing an ad for a local TV show, '' Wheel of Fortune'', hosted by "Baby" John Burgess. Another version suggests the name came from a calendar in a mall. In a New Zealand magazine, ''RTR Sounz'', DeMarchi indicated that they changed the story of the name's origins in different interviews as they were bored with that question.
Baby Animals were assisted by the Angels including one of their demos, "Break My Heart", on the B-side of the established band's single, "Dogs Are Talking" (April 1990). "Break My Heart" was co-written by DeMarchi and Parise. Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Break My Heart; or at "Performer:" Baby Animals The single also included a track each, from two other new
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
bands – the Desert Cats and the Hurricanes – a national tour by the Angels followed with all three new bands supporting.
In August 1990 Baby Animals signed a publishing deal with SBK Songs (later EMI Music Publishing). After attending a gig,
Terry Ellis
Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine).
People
Male
* Terry Albritton (1955–2005), ...
BMG BMG may refer to:
Organizations
* Music publishing companies:
** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008
*** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...
. Ellis described the performance, "the band was great, the songs were terrific and to me Suze clearly had that indefineable magic that separates one artist from the crowd and makes them a star."
Debut album: 1991–1992
The band flew to New York to record their debut eponymous album, '' Baby Animals'', at Bearsville Studios, Woodstock and Second City Studio, Long Island with ex-pat Australian Mike Chapman producing. DeMarchi said of the production process: "He very rigidly made us pull things back and just concentrate on the essence of the song rather than being fancy. Mike was the taskmaster – ‘Let me hear the hooks’. Like Early Warning - that tag at the beginning ‘too young to know too old to listen’ - Mike said ‘I’m going to take that part of the chorus, let’s put that at the front; that’s the hook'."
Woodruff had organised for his band to work with Chapman and Kevin "Caveman" Shirley (audio engineer): "I had never met hapman I knew his work. I'd listened to everything he'd ever done... I thought 'if we can drag him out of retirement to get the song structure right'... Susie was writing great songs and great sentiments, but the structure wasn't quite there. I thought if I can then convince him to work with a young rude engineer, which turned out to be hirley and you couldn't get much younger or ruder than that, then I'm going to end up with a record that has an edge to it, that has some tone to it, that has some rock and roll and that has some feel to it that's as edgy as she is but with great songs."
Their debut single, Early Warning (April 1991), reached the Top 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The track was written by DeMarchi, Parise and Leslie. After the release of the single, the band flew to the United States for a series of showcases for the Imago/BMG people, to coincide with the earlier release of the album there. Their second single, "
Rush You
"Rush You" is a song by Australian rock band Baby Animals. It was released in August 1991 as their second single from their debut studio album ''Baby Animals'' (1991). The song peaked at number 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts ar ...
", was issued in August, which also reached the Top 30.
''Baby Animals'' was released in September 1991, which debuted at No 6 on the ARIA Albums Charts. In the following February–March it spent six weeks at No 1. It spent a total of 46 weeks in the top 50 and was certified four times platinum by ARIA for shipment of over 280,000 units. It remained the highest-selling debut Australian rock album until the release of Jet's effort, '' Get Born'' (September 2003) – twelve years later. ''Baby Animals'' also appeared in the top 30 on the
Official New Zealand Music Chart
The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Musi ...
Ian McFarlane
Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017.
As a journalist h ...
felt it "showcased the band's confident and melodic brand of hard rock and, in particular, highlighted DeMarchi's provocative vocal growl."
After listening to the album,
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
asked them to join his European tour. Whilst overseas, in November 1991, they won the Best New Act category at the inaugural Australian Music Awards. By Christmas that year the band were back in Australia for more national touring, and the release of two more singles, "
Painless
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
" (November) and " One Word" (February 1992); the latter peaked at No. 15 on the ARIA Singles Chart – their highest position. Baby Animals' Let Go of My Ears Tour had them playing to sell out crowds.
In 1992 the band joined
Black Crowes
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...
on tours of Australia and New Zealand. In the US they appeared on ''
Late Night with David Letterman
''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...
'' and performed "
Painless
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
". At the
ARIA Music Awards of 1992
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanimen ...
they won trophies for
Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to:
Awards
* ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia
* Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK
* Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US
* Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA
* Lati ...
and Breakthrough Artist – Album for ''Baby Animals'' and Breakthrough Artist – Single for "Early Warning".ARIA Music Awards for the Baby Animals:
* Search Results 'Baby Animals': Note: The 2016 ARIA site does not list their win for 1992: Breakthrough Artist – Single for "Early Warning".
* 1992 winners and nominees: Note: The archive copy of the 2007 ARIA site does show their third win for 1992.
* 1993 winners and nominees:
* 1994 winners and nominees:
The band then toured as a support act for Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour across the US from 28 January to 31 May, playing to arena-size audiences.
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...
requested their presence after his wife Valerie had heard their album, and suggested them. Australian ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' placed DeMarchi on the cover. It was the first time they had put an Australian artist or group on the cover on the merits of a debut album. The band had played over 500 shows when they ended that tour in August 1992.
In November 1992, Baby Animals released a new single, titled "
Impossible to Fly
"Impossible to Fly" is a song by Australian rock band Baby Animals. It was released in November 1992. It was the first new music from the band since the release of the multi-platinum selling debut studio album, ''Baby Animals'' (1991). The song pe ...
". It peaked at No. 48 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
''Shaved and Dangerous'' and disbandment: 1993–1996
In 1993 Baby Animals returned to Bearsville Studios, to start work on their second album, '' Shaved and Dangerous'' (August 1993), with two weeks of pre-production. They went to the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...
and spent two months recording at Compass Point Studios with Ed Stasium producing (Ramones, Living Colour, Hoodoo Gurus). Next, they travelled to Los Angeles, where they worked with Nuno Bettencourt (of
Extreme
Extreme may refer to:
Science and mathematics Mathematics
*Extreme point, a point in a convex set which does not lie in any open line segment joining two points in the set
*Maxima and minima, extremes on a mathematical function
Science
*Extremop ...
); he provided song writing and guitar on "Because I Can" and produced "Life From a Distance" and "Be My Friend".
McFarlane described the album as "a more adventurous progressive rock album. It had less of a commercial feel, and Leslie layered the songs with snaking guitar solos." Daniel Gioffre of
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 ...
felt that "For the most part, the songwriting here is topnotch, with most of the songs showcasing fairly sophisticated harmonic and rhythmic ideas. Despite the proggy nature of some of the compositions, the mix is total pop, with DeMarchi way up front. However, this is a good thing, as she has a very strong, if sometimes overemotive, singing voice." The album peaked at No. 2 in Australia. Bettencourt also contributed to "She Does Whatever" on the ''Shaved and Dangerous'' Tour CD. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 the group received two nominations for " One Word": Single of the Year and Best Group.
During mid-1993 Baby Animals supported
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...
's US tour, before returning to Australia late in the year to prepare for a 27-date Australian tour. The tour was cut short when DeMarchi experienced throat problems, vocal fold nodules, which required her to undertake surgery on her vocal cords. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994 they received another nomination for Best Group – this time for ''Shaved and Dangerous''.
In August 1994 Baby Animals shared the stage with Extreme in a concert on the Azores island of São Miguel. In that month DeMarchi and Bettencourt married and the couple moved to Boston. Song writing and recording for a proposed third album was anticipated for November. In 1995 on the verge of their first major US tour, US-based Imago Records folded after losing support from BMG. In early 1996 Baby Animals officially disbanded as the band members undertook separate projects.
Reformed and new albums: 2007–2017
Baby Animals reformed in 2007 in the US with all four original members: Celenza, DeMarchi, Leslie and Parise. They released an acoustic CD of their previous hits, '' Il Grande Silenzio'', on 19 January 2008, as part of the Liberation Blue Acoustic Series. The band appeared live on Australian breakfast TV program, ''
Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology ...
'', three days later, and confirmed local tour dates for that year. In the following January they announced another national tour throughout that year, which was subsequently sold out.
Early in 2009 internal conflicts become apparent, Celenza and Parise eventually left. In April that year Demarchi and Leslie continued the group with Matt Cornell on bass guitar and vocals, and Mick Skelton in drums. Cornell was later replaced by Dario Bortolin.
In April 2013 the Baby Animals line-up of Bortolin, Demarchi, Leslie and Skelton released their first new single in 20 years, "Email". It was followed by the release of a new album, '' This Is Not the End'', in late May. This was the first album released by new label Social Family Records, which peaked at No. 19.
In May 2016 the Baby Animals re-released ''Baby Animals'' as '' Baby Animals 25th Anniversary'' (or ''BA25''), to celebrate 25 years since the original release of their debut. This expanded version includes live songs, unreleased tracks, B-sides and pre-studio demos. Also in that month they provided two gigs with the original line-up performing the debut album in full and the new line-up playing tracks from ''This Is Not the End''. Baby Animals performed a national headline tour with The Screaming Jets in June and July 2017. A live album was released in November 2017.
''Greatest Hits'': 2018–present
In February 2018, Baby Animals released "Tonight" which lead singer Suze DeMarchi wrote after her father died suddenly. In January 2019, the band announced their first
greatest hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
would be released in February 2019. The album will include three new recordings including a cover of
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
's "
How Do I Make You
"How Do I Make You" is a song composed by Billy Steinberg and recorded by Linda Ronstadt in 1980, reaching the top 10 in the United States.
Writing and recording
Steinberg stated that he was "a little bit influenced" by the Knack hit "My Sharona ...
". From November 2019, The Baby Animals co-headlined the "They Who Rock 2019" tour with The Angels. To promote the tour, The Angels released a cover of The Baby Animals' "One Word" and the Baby Animals covered The Angels' "Marseilles", both released on 1 October 2019.
In 2020 the Baby Animals were part of the Red Hot Summer Tour series of outdoor shows around Australia, alongside Boom Crash Opera, Killing Heidi, The Angels, The Living End, James Reyne and headliner, Hunters and Collectors.
Members
Current members
* Suze DeMarchi – lead vocals, guitar (1989–96, 2007–present)
* Dave Leslie – guitars (1989–96, 2007–present)
* Mick Skelton – drums, percussion (2009–present)
* Dario Bortolin – bass guitar, backing vocals (2011–present)
Former members
* Frank Celenza – drums, percussion (1989–96, 2007–09, 2016)
* Eddie Parise – bass guitar (1989–96), (2007–09, 2016)
* Matt Cornell – bass guitar, backing vocals (2009–10)
Timeline
APRA Awards
APRA Awards may refer to one of two awards ceremonies:
*APRA Awards (Australia)
*APRA Awards (New Zealand)
The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association ...
are presented annually from 1982 by the
Australasian Performing Right Association
APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".
!
, -
,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, "Tonight" (Suze DeMarchi / Dave Leslie)
, Urban Work of the Year
,
,
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Baby Animals have won three awards.
!
, -
, rowspan="6", 1992
, rowspan="3", ''Baby Animals''
,
ARIA Award for Album of the Year
The ARIA Music Award for Album of the Year, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indu ...
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, rowspan="3", "One Word"
, Best Group
,
, rowspan="3",
, -
, Single of the Year
,
, -
, Song of the Year
,
, -
,
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...
, ''Shaved and Dangerous''
, Best Group
,
,
, -
References
Notes
Taken from the book ''Baby Animals Guitar Tablature'', Published by EMI