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| L to R: Wally Stocker, nobody, nobody, Tony Brock |
For those who remember the short-lived VH1 reality series "Bands Reunited", where former rockers are ambushed by a camera crew and asked to reunite with their former band, The Babys would have made for some must-see TV. Instead, viewers were treated to weak reunion attempts by Kajagoogoo, ABC, and Dramarama, among others. Of course, The Babys will forever be known as the band John Waite and Jonathan Cain were in before they were famous, Waite scoring such hits as "Change", "If Anybody Had A Heart", and "Missing You" as a solo star and Cain replacing Gregg Rolie in Journey and writing their mega-hit "Faithfully", among others.
For all the talent on display, The Babys desire to be seen as a hard rock band clashed with soft pop sheen of their early radio hits "Isn't It Time" and "Every Time I Think Of You" (neither of which was written by the band) and a record label that had zero faith in the band's harder-edged original material. After a line-up change that would see Cain join the band, The Babys scored big AOR hits with "Back On My Feet Again", "Midnight Rendezvous" and "Sweet 17", but broke up during the final leg of a tour opening for Journey.
So it was with some disbelief that we read the email announcing the reunion of The Babys, as we knew there was no way Waite or Cain could be part of such an endeavor. Our worst fear was that some joker had gained rights to the name or that one founding member had put together a band of hired guns to exploit the brand. As it turns out, the "reunited" Babys include TWO original members; Wally Stocker (guitar) and Tony Brock (drums) and are rounded out by two other guys whose names don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.
If anything, we were kind of hoping Michael Corby, who'd been sacked by the band quite unceremoniously, had finally decided to get his due. As it stands, if you're cool with two out of four original members, the band will be performing two West Coast shows in November.
November 15 - Las Vegas Convention Center - Las Vegas, NV
November 30 - Ramona Mainstage - Ramona, CA
For more info, check out The Baby's website: http://thebabysofficial.com/