Bad English
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| Bad English | |
|---|---|
Bad English, clockwise L-to-R: Neal Schon, Deen Castronovo, Ricky Phillips, Jonathan Cain, and John Waite
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Hard rock |
| Years active | 1987–1991 |
| Labels | Epic |
| Associated acts | Journey, The Babys |
| Past members | John Waite Neal Schon Jonathan Cain Ricky Phillips Deen Castronovo |
Bad English was an American/British hard rock supergroup formed in 1987, reuniting keyboardist Jonathan Cain from Journey with singer John Waite and bassist Ricky Phillips, his former bandmates in The Babys.
Contents
History
The members decided on a name for the band while playing pool. John Waite missed a shot and Jonathan Cain made a comment on how bad his "english" was (referring to the spin a player puts on the cue ball) and the band decided to use the phrase.[1] The name is also thought to be a reference to The Babys, since the name was misspelled and an example of bad English.
Jonathan Cain and guitarist Neal Schon, who had enjoyed enormous success in Journey, formed Bad English with Waite after Journey disbanded.[2] The first album, eponymously titled, was a big seller containing three hit singles: the number one hit "When I See You Smile" written by Diane Warren, the top 10 hit "Price of Love," and "Possession." Another track from the debut album, "Best of What I Got", was featured in the soundtrack to the 1989 feature film Tango and Cash.[3]
The band's second album, Backlash (1991), came and went without any fanfare. The only single, "Straight To Your Heart," just missed the Top 40, peaking at No. 42. Ricky Phillips writes on his website that the group had parted company before the second album had been mixed. Both Phillips and guitarist Neal Schon expressed frustration with the "pop" side of the band's songs and wanted a harder edge. In the end, it proved to be the band's undoing as everyone left to pursue other projects.
In later interviews Waite revealed that although he loved playing to stadium-sized audiences, he was uncomfortable with the corporate rock image that he felt the band had presented and has been a solo artist ever since.
Bad English drummer Deen Castronovo later went on to join a reformed Journey with singer Steve Augeri, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, and Ross Valory. He also played on Ozzy Osbourne's album Ozzmosis in 1995.
Band members
- John Waite - lead vocals
- Neal Schon - lead and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
- Jonathan Cain - keyboards, backing vocals
- Ricky Phillips - bass, backing vocals
- Deen Castronovo - drums, backing vocals, percussion
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
AUS [5] |
CAN [6] |
SWE [7] |
SWI [8] |
UK [9] |
||||
| 1989 | Bad English
|
21 | 12 | 34 | 39 | — | 74 | ||
| 1991 | Backlash
|
72 | — | 34 | 21 | 30 | 64 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Greatest Hits
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [12] |
US AC [13] |
US Main [14] |
AUS [15] |
UK [9] |
NL [16] |
||||
| 1989 | "Forget Me Not" | 45 | — | 2 | — | — | — | Bad English | |
| "When I See You Smile" | 1 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 61 | — | |||
| 1990 | "Price of Love" | 5 | — | 30 | 44 | 80 | — | ||
| "Heaven Is a 4 Letter Word" | 66 | — | 12 | — | — | — | |||
| "Possession" | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1991 | "Straight to Your Heart" | 42 | — | 9 | — | — | 41 | Backlash | |
| "Time Stood Still" (Bad English featuring John Waite) |
— | — | — | — | — | 19 | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or not released to that country | |||||||||
References
- ↑ Rock Band Name Origins at WHAT'S IN A NAME
- ↑ A ROUSING RECEPTION FOR BAD ENGLISH, Daily News of Los Angeles, January 29, 1990
- ↑ Tango & Cash (1989), Yahoo Movies
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