Babe Ruth | |
|---|---|
 Babe Ruth in 1973 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Shacklock (1970–1972) |
| Origin | Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1970–1976, 2002–present |
| Labels | Harvest Records |
| Members | Jenny Haan David Hewitt Alan Shacklock Dave Punshon |
| Past members | Jeff Allen Dick Powell Ed Spevock Chris Holmes Steve Gurl Bernie Marsden Ellie Hope Ray Knott Simon Lambeth |
Babe Ruth are an Englishrock band fromHatfield, Hertfordshire, England. They were initially active in the 1970s and reformed in 2002.
In 1971 after graduating fromRoyal Academy of Music,Alan Shacklock formed "Shacklock" with David Hewitt on bass, Dave Punshon on piano, Dick Powell on drums, and Jenny Haan as vocalist.[2]Roger Dean (artist) later introduced Shacklock to Nick Mobbs, vice president of A&R to theEMIHarvest Records, who got them a show atMarquee Club before signing the band on to theEMI Harvest label.[2]
In 1972, Shacklock was renamed to Babe Ruth after the baseball playerof the same name.[2] In 1972,Rupert Perry signed Babe Ruth for theUnited States, and their first album,First Base, was released.[2]
In 1973 Ed Spevock joined Babe Ruth, replacing Powell on drums.[2] Babe Ruth appeared twice onBBC Two'sThe Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973 on 2 January and 2 August.[2][3][4]Shacklock, Haan, Punshon, Hewitt and Spevock survived a near fatal car crash on theM1 motorway coming home from a 1973 performance atLiverpool University.[2] Chris Holmes then joined Babe Ruth on keyboards.[2]Amar Caballero, Babe Ruth's second album, was released in 1973.[2] During a 1973 performance Shacklock electrocuted himself.[2]
In 1974 Babe Ruth's first album,First Base, was certified gold inCanada.[2] Steve Gurl joins Babe Ruth, replacing Chris Holmes on keyboards.[2] Babe Ruth appeared again onBBC Two'sThe Old Grey Whistle Test, this time getting banned from BBC byBernie Andrews.[2] Babe Ruth was unbanned from BBC in 1975.[2]
The next two albums,Babe Ruth andStealin' Home, were released in 1975. In 1975 Babe Ruth received theGold Leaf Award for outstanding sales of their first album,First Base.[2] Babe Ruth's concert in Jardin des Étoiles, Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 9 April 1975, was filmed for television.[5]
With none of the original members left, Babe Ruth released their fifth album,Kid's Stuff, in 1976.
In 2002 Punshon, Haan, Shacklock, Spevock, and Hewitt started working on the sixth album,Que Pasa.Que Pasa was completed in September 2006, and after being made available in digital form via the band's official website, was released on Revolver Records in 2009. The band embarked on a successful reunion tour of Canada in July 2010, playing three concerts atOttawa Bluesfest,MetropolisMontreal, and at the Festival International du Blues de Tremblant.
On 28 June 2014, Babe Ruth played their only show of that year atMilwaukee'sSummerfest.
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