Babybird tickets and listings

Remember that Tank Top I bought you? Goldenvoice present...

BabyBird////

Jones had begun writing songs and recording home demos as part of an  experimental theatre group in sheffield. A collection of these demos (I was born a man) was released in the summer of 1995, under the name Baby Bird. Following a warm critical reception for this record, he recruited a band made up of Huw Chadbourn (keyboards), Robert Gregory (drums), John Pedder (bass) and Luke Scott (guitar), in order to tour and promote his work.

During 1995, two further albums of demo recordings were released under the name Baby Bird (Bad Shave and Fatherhood) and two in 1996 (The Happiest Man Alive and Dying Happy).

By the end of the year, a decent public following had been built up, as well as quite considerable excitement within the press and music industry. Babybird were signed to Echo Records (a division of the Chrysalis Group), and the first "proper" single, a full-band recording of "Goodnight", which had appeared in demo form on Fatherhood, was eventually released in the summer of 1996, becoming a minor chart hit in the UK.

The group's second single, "You're Gorgeous", reached number 3 in the UK in October 1996 and was one of the biggest selling singles of the year, going on to chart around the world. It remains the song for which Stephen Jones and Babybird are best known.

However, it presented a much more commercial face to the public in comparison to Jones's earlier work, as well as in comparison to the rest of the material on the Ugly Beautiful album. The early demo albums won Jones great credibility with those who heard them, but had had not reached a wide audience (each one being a one-off pressing limited to 1,000 CDs and 1,000 LPs). The commercial sound and success of "You're Gorgeous" received massive exposure by comparison, but was not representative of the group's overall style.

Profiles of artists at this event:

Babybird