Harman Patil (Editor)

Babe Ruth (band)

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Labels
  
Harvest Records

Record label
  
Harvest Records

Babe Ruth (band) wwwprogarchivescomprogressiverockdiscography

Origin
  
Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England

Years active
  
1970–1976, 2005–present

Past members
  
Jeff AllenDick PowellEd SpevockChris HolmesSteve GurlBernie MarsdenEllie HopeRay KnottSimon Lambeth

Members
  
Alan Shacklock, Bernie Marsden, Janita Haan, Dave Punshon, Dave Hewitt, Dick Powell

Genres
  
Blues rock, Progressive rock

Albums
  
First Base, Amar Caballero, Babe Ruth / Stealin' Home, First Base / Amar Caballero, Stealin' Home

Babe Ruth are a rock band from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. They were initally active in the 1970s and reformed in 2005.

Contents

Babe Ruth (band) The Official Babe Ruth Band Website

Career

Babe Ruth (band) Displaying items by tag Babe Ruth

A predecessor of the group, called Shacklock after guitarist Alan Shacklock, was formed in 1970. Members included Janita Haan and Dave Hewitt, with Dave Punshon and Dick Powell later joining. The first release was their single "Wells Fargo"; their first album, First Base, went gold in Canada. In 1973, Ed Spevock replaced Powell and Chris Holmes replaced Punshon on the second album. In 1975, Steve Gurl, keyboardist from Glenn Cornick's Wild Turkey replaced Holmes for the third album. The same year, Shacklock left the band to become a record producer and Bernie Marsden (Wild Turkey) joined the team for the fourth album. After this, Haan and Hewitt left.

Babe Ruth (band) Babe Ruth Band Official website home page

Though no original member remained, the group incorporated Ellie Hope and Ray Knott for the fifth album in 1976. Shortly before Babe Ruth disbanded, they were joined by the young 17-year-old Birmingham born Simon Lambeth who made a few appearances on their last tour. Marsden moved on to join Whitesnake (after the short lived Paice Ashton Lord broke up) and Lambeth left the band.

Their 1975 single 'Elusive' (Capitol CL 15869) became a popular on the Northern Soul scene.

Babe Ruth (band) Babe Ruth Tribute Page by PantaRei 1972 First Base

A disco cover of Babe Ruth's "The Mexican" appeared in the late 1970s, performed by the Bombers. This version inspired an electro/freestyle cover produced by Jellybean Benitez in 1984, for which he managed to recruit Haan on vocals - the cover subsequently becoming noted for its popularity as an underground dance hit.

Babe Ruth (band) BobbyShred39s Babe Ruth Band Tribute Page

Between late 2005 and early 2006, Haan (now Janita Haan Morris), Hewitt, Shacklock, and Punshon reunited to record new material together in Nashville, with Spevock recording his drums in London. The album, titled Que Pasa, was completed September 2006, and after being made available in digital form via the band's official web site, was released on Revolver Records in 2009.

Babe Ruth (band) Babe

The band embarked on a successful reunion tour of Canada in July 2010, playing three concerts at Ottawa Bluesfest, Metropolis Montreal, and Festival International du Blues de Tremblant.

On 28 June 2014 Babe Ruth played their only show in the world for 2014 at Milwaukee's Summerfest; over 7000 attended.

Members

Current members
  • Jenny Haan (born Janita Haan, 9 May 1953, Edgware, Middlesex, now Janita Haan Morris) - vocals (1970–1975, 2005–present)
  • Dave Hewitt (born David John Hewitt, 4 May 1950, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire) - bass and vocals (1970–1975, 2005–present)
  • Alan Shacklock (born Alan Albert Shacklock, 20 June 1950, London) - guitars, vocals, organ, percussions, and string arrangements (1970–1975, 2005–present)
  • Dave Punshon - electric piano and piano (1971–1973, 2005–present)
  • Ed Spevock (born Edmund Anthony Spevock, 14 December 1946, London) - drums (1973–present)
    • Past members
  • Jeff Allen (born Jeffrey Allen, 23 April 1946, Matlock, Derbyshire) - drums (1970–1971)
  • Dick Powell - drums and percussion (1971–1973)
  • Chris Holmes (born Christopher Noel Holmes, 12 September 1945, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire) - keyboards (1973–1975)
  • Steve Gurl - keyboards (1975–1976)
  • Bernie Marsden (born Bernard John Marsden, 7 May 1951, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire) - guitars (1975–1976)
  • Ellie Hope - vocals (1975–1976)
  • Ray Knott - bass (1975–1976)
  • Simon Lambeth - guitars and backing vocals (1976)

    • Albums

  • First Base, 1972, Harvest SW-11151. U.S. No. 178
  • Amar Caballero, 1973, Harvest SHVL 812.
  • Babe Ruth, 1975 LP Harvest 11367, 1993 CD One Way 56845. U.S. No. 75
  • Stealin' Home, U.S. 1975 No. 169
  • Kid's Stuff, 1976
  • Qué Pasa, 2007

    • Singles

  • "Wells Fargo" / "Theme from "A Few Dollars More"", 1972, Harvest HAR 5061
  • "Ain't That Livin'" / "We Are Holding On", 1973, Harvest HAR 5072
  • "If Heaven's On Beauty's Side" / "Doctor Love", 1974, Harvest HAR 5082
  • "Wells Fargo" / "The Mexican", 1974, Harvest HAR 5087
  • "Private Number" / "Somebody's Nobody", 1975, Harvest HAR 5090
  • "Elusive" / "Say No More" (Spevock / Gurl), 1976, Capitol CL-15869
  • "The Duchess of New Orleans" / "The Jack O'Lantern" / "Turquoise", 1976, Harvest SPSR 377

    • Compilation albums

  • Greatest Hits, 1977
  • Grand Slam: The Best of Babe Ruth, 1994
  • First Base / Amar Caballero, 1998, BGO CD 382. Two albums remastered with a comprehensive article about the band and photos.
  • Babe Ruth / Stealin' Home, 2000, BGO CD 452. Two albums, remastered with a comprehensive article about the band and photos.

    • Video

  • Babe Ruth in Concert, DVD of 1975 Montreal concert.

    • Bootleg

  • A CD of a live recording from the BBC, 1975 program called "The Archive Session" introduced by Alan "Fluff" Freeman. Track listing:
    1. "Intro"
    2. "Joker"
    3. "Black Dog"
    4. "King Kong"
    5. "Amar Cabellero Pt. 2"
    6. "Isn't That So"
    7. "Gimme Som Leg"
    8. "Baby Pride"
    9. "Outro"

    Songs

    The MexicanFirst Base · 1972
    We People Darker Than BlueBabe Ruth · 1975
    We Are Holding OnAmar Caballero · 1973

    References

    Babe Ruth (band) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA