Baby Animals
Encyclopedia
- Note: For the correct names of offspringOffspringIn biology, offspring is the product of reproduction, of a new organism produced by one or more parents.Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way...
in the animal kingdom, see List of baby animal names.
Baby Animals are a 1990s hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Early history
The Baby Animals were formed in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1989
1989 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
by singer Suze DeMarchi
Suze DeMarchi
Suze DeMarchi is an Australian singer/songwriter best known for fronting the band Baby Animals .-Biography:...
, drummer Frank Celenza, guitarist Dave Leslie, and bassist Eddie Parise. De Marchi had previously recorded threes singles with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in the United Kingdom, and before that had played with Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
bands Photoplay
Photoplay
Photoplay was one of the first American film fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded a similar magazine entitled Motion Picture Story...
, The Kind, and DD and the Rockmen.
November 1989 saw the band’s first gig at the Kardomah Café in Sydney, under the name 'Woody's Heroes', and the start of constant touring through the city’s pubs and clubs. The name 'Baby Animals' came about after seeing an advertisement 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 at least one interview, however, DeMarchi mentioned they changed the origins of the name in different interviews as it got boring answering the same questions.
The Baby Animals' early success was driven by The Angels
The Angels (Australian band)
The Angels are a hard rock band that formed in Adelaide, Australia in 1970. The band later relocated from Adelaide to Sydney and enjoyed huge local success until well into the 1990s. For the purposes of international release, their records were released under the names Angel City and later The...
including one of the band’s demos "Break My Heart" on the B-side of their single "Dogs Are Talking", along with tracks from two other rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
bands - Rob Tognoni's Desert Cats & The Hurricanes. A national tour showcasing all four bands shortly followed.
In August 1990, the band signed a publishing deal with SBK Songs (now EMI Songs). Whilst attending one of their gigs, Terry Ellis, president of the newly formed Imago Recording Company
Imago Records
Imago Records was an independent record label which was active during the late 1980s – early 1990s. Several influential artists released albums through Imago, including Henry Rollins, Aimee Mann, Paula Cole and Love Spit Love...
signed them to his label. He described the experience as
"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
The band flew to New York to record the debut album (Bearsville Studio / Second City Studio, Long Island), produced by Mike Chapman. DeMarchi said of the production process: "It was great. Basically, Mike left us alone to make the kind of music we know how to make; and whenever he did have a suggestion, it was always something that made the sound better. So what you hear is pure recording, the band as it really is."Their debut single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Early Warning", was released in April 1991 and immediately reached the Top 20 on the Australian Singles charts. 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. With the Top 20 chart success of "Early Warning" at home, the second single "Rush You" was released in August 1991.
Their eponymous debut album Baby Animals
Baby Animals (album)
Baby Animals is the self-titled debut album by Australian band Baby Animals, released in 1991. The album debuted at number six on the ARIA Album Charts and spent six weeks at number one, eventually going eight times platinum and becoming the highest-selling debut Australian rock album of all time...
was released in September 1991. The album debuted at number six on the ARIA Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
and spent six weeks at number one, eventually going eight times platinum and becoming the highest-selling debut Australian rock album until the release of Jet
Jet (band)
Jet are an Australian rock band formed in 2001 while attending St Bede's College Mentone in Melbourne, . The band consists of lead guitarist Cameron Muncey, bassist Mark Wilson, and brothers Nic and Chris Cester on vocals/rhythm guitar and drums respectively...
's album twelve years later.
After listening to the band's album, Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
asked the band to join him on his European tour. Whilst overseas, the band picked up the 'Best New Act' at the inaugural 1991 Australian Music Awards. Christmas 1991 saw the band back in Australia for more touring, and the release of two more singles from the album "Painless" and "One Word". The 'Let Go Of My Ears' tour saw the band playing to sell out crowds all over the country.
In 1992 the band joined the Black Crowes on a national tour of Australia and New Zealand. They made an appearance on the David Letterman Show, performing the single "Painless".
The band picked up a number of honours at the 1992 ARIA Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
, receiving awards for 'Best Debut Album', 'Best Single', and 'Best Album'. DeMarchi was also nominated for 'Best Female Vocalist'.
The band then toured in the opening slot for Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
's "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour
The For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour was a North American concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen in support of their album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. It was one of the band's longer tours, divided into a vast number of dates...
" across America from 28 January to 31 May, again playing to arena-size audiences. Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
requested their presence after his wife Valerie heard their album, and suggested them.
Australian Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
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 Editor's letter was used to explain why DeMarchi is on the cover, despite the fact that the band insisted on a photo of the whole band or no cover at all.
Sales of Baby Animals
Baby Animals (album)
Baby Animals is the self-titled debut album by Australian band Baby Animals, released in 1991. The album debuted at number six on the ARIA Album Charts and spent six weeks at number one, eventually going eight times platinum and becoming the highest-selling debut Australian rock album of all time...
reached 8 times platinum in Australia, and topped 800,000 worldwide. The band having played over 500 shows when they stopped touring in August.
Shaved and Dangerous
In 1993, the band returned to New York (Bearsville Studio, where they also recorded their first album). After two weeks of pre-production they went to the Bahamas, where they spend two months recording at Compass Point Studio (AC/DCAC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
) which resulted in a more mature sound with producer Ed Stasium
Ed Stasium
Ed Stasium is an American record producer and engineer who has worked on albums by The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Smithereens and Living Colour.- History :Stasium first surfaced in 1970 fronting the band Brandywine, appearing on their sole LP Aged....
. Next, the band move on to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
(Extreme
Extreme (band)
Extreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Among some of Extreme's musical influences are Queen and Van Halen...
) met up with the band. He contributed his songwriting/guitar skills ("Because I Can") and produced "Life From A Distance" and "Be My Friend". He also contributed to "She Does Whatever" on the Shaved and Dangerous Tour CD.
Shaved and Dangerous
Shaved and Dangerous
Shaved and Dangerous is the second studio album by Australian band the Baby Animals, released in 1993- Track listing :All tracks written by Suze DeMarchi, Dave Leslie and Eddie Parise unless otherwise noted.# "Backbone" - 5:18...
was released in August 1993 and they supported Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
's US tour, before returning home around Christmas time to prepare for a 27-date Australian tour.
Demise
Touring was cut short when DeMarchi experienced throat problems, which required her to undertake surgery for her vocal cords. In August 1994 Baby Animals shared the stage with ExtremeExtreme (band)
Extreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Among some of Extreme's musical influences are Queen and Van Halen...
in a concert on the Azores island of Sao Miguel. DeMarchi and Bettencourt's wedding ceremony was also performed there. Songwriting/recording for the third record was anticipated for November.
In 1995 on the verge of their first major US tour, their US-based record company Imago Records
Imago Records
Imago Records was an independent record label which was active during the late 1980s – early 1990s. Several influential artists released albums through Imago, including Henry Rollins, Aimee Mann, Paula Cole and Love Spit Love...
folded after losing its distributor, BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
. In early 1996 the band officially disbanded.
In October 1999, DeMarchi released her first single, "Satellite" as a solo artist, which was followed by her debut album, Telelove
Telelove
Telelove is the debut album by Suze DeMarchi former lead singer of Australian band the Baby Animals, released in March, 1999. The album's original title was to be Messages Delayed but was changed prior to release.- Track listing :...
. In June 2004, she was one of the inaugural inductees into the WAM (West Australian Music Industry Awards
West Australian Music Industry Awards
The Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
) Hall of Fame.
Reformed
In 2007, the rumors of a reformed Baby Animals with all original members were confirmed. They released an acoustic CD of their hits titled Il Grande Silenzio on 19 January 2008, as part of the Liberation Blue Acoustic Series. The following month, Liberation RecordsLiberation Records
Liberation Records is a Southern California record company. It was formed by 16-year-old David Taba in 1994. The label notably discovered and released the debut album of Home Grown and, in 1994, released the classic Punk Sucks compilation...
re-released their previous two albums (Baby Animals and Shaved and Dangerous remastered) as a 2 CD set. The remastered version of their first record was missing the track "Big Time Friends". The band indicated that they had such a great time recording that they wrote more songs which will be released in a future, as-yet-untitled CD. Meanwhile, the band has some Australian tour dates already confirmed for January 2008. The band also appeared live on the Australian breakfast TV program Sunrise
Sunrise (TV program)
Sunrise is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network. On weekdays the programme follows Seven Early News, and runs from 6am through to 9am.-History:...
on 22 January 2008.
On 12 January 2009, The Baby Animals announced another Australian tour, playing 14 shows across Adelaide, Melbourne, Wollongong, Sydney, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast during April 2009. Prior to embarking on this tour, it had become evident that the band could not sustain a creative partnership, owing to internal conflicts. With Celenza's resignation and two day later self-reinstatement, and Parise's resentments bubbling beneath the surface, Demarchi and Leslie decided to continue with a couple of hand-picked Sydney musicians, Matt Cornell (bass/ vocals) and Mick Skelton (drums).
The tour was a success with fans attending all shows and culminated in a sell-out show at the Metro Theatre in Sydney. There the band was joined onstage for a song by Richard Clapton and for the encore by Bettencourt for a version of Extreme's "Get The Funk Out".
Former members
- Ben (Moose) Johnston - Lead Guitar
- Eddie Parise - Bass guitar
- Frank Celenza - Drums and percussion
Albums
- Baby AnimalsBaby Animals (album)Baby Animals is the self-titled debut album by Australian band Baby Animals, released in 1991. The album debuted at number six on the ARIA Album Charts and spent six weeks at number one, eventually going eight times platinum and becoming the highest-selling debut Australian rock album of all time...
(1991) - Australia #1, Australia (End Of Year Charts 1992) #2; UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#70 - Shaved and DangerousShaved and DangerousShaved and Dangerous is the second studio album by Australian band the Baby Animals, released in 1993- Track listing :All tracks written by Suze DeMarchi, Dave Leslie and Eddie Parise unless otherwise noted.# "Backbone" - 5:18...
(1993) - Il Grande Silenzio (2008)
Singles
- "Early Warning" (1991) - #21 Australia
- "Rush You" (1991) - #30 Australia
- "Painless" (1991) - #49 Australia, #23 US-Rock
- "One Word" (1992) - #15 Australia
- "Impossible To Fly (1992) - #48 Australia
- "Ain't Gonna Get" (1992)
- "Don't Tell Me What To Do" (1993) - #24 Australia
- "At The End Of The Day" / "Backbone" (1993) - #60 Australia
- "Lights Out At Eleven" (1994) - #54 Australia