The Outfield

The Outfield were obviously huge fans of American baseball, since their initial name was the Baseball Boys. Growing up in London's East End, their love for an American sport put them at odds with many of their rugby loving contemporaries. So the band changed their name to the Outfield (another baseball reference, perhaps also alluding to the isolation they felt in the UK) and pursued a music career among American fans.

But to make it in America, they first had to get noticed in their native England. By 1984, they did just that, making a name for themselves in the active London club scene. By 1985, they had been signed to CBS Records, the Columbia Records division in the UK Their debut LP, Play Deep, got them noticed on both sides of the pond, going triple platinum, really taking off when the song, "Your Love" was embraced by FM radio programmers and MTV in the US Next came a three-year steady diet of touring, including opening arena shows for both Journey and Foreigner.

The band was never fully embraced by critics because many felt bassist/vocalist Tony Lewis was a knock-off of the Police's Sting. Still, the band had a solid US following until 1988, when Alan Jackman departed. He was replaced by drummer Paul Reed for the tour, and Lewis and guitarist John Spinks carried on as a duo until the early '90s. The band reunited in 2006, but has thus far failed to match the commercial success it had in the mid 1980s.