Babybird

Babybird最早只是一個化名，他的主人叫做Stephen Jones，一個英國高產(chǎn)的詞曲創(chuàng)作者和歌手。80年代后期，在畢業(yè)于諾丁漢Trent大學(xué)后，其演出生涯開始于一個叫做Dogs in Honey的反戲劇劇團(tuán)。在買了一個四軌的機(jī)器后，他便開始在家中自己錄制Lo-fi唱片。幾年后，他大概一共創(chuàng)作了400首流行歌曲，其主題涉獵范圍極廣，從超現(xiàn)實主義、搞笑的敘述到熱情的個人冥想。在朋友的力勸下，他開始把帶子寄給唱片公司，卻遭到了斬釘截鐵的拒絕。終于在94年，Jones獲得Chrysalis Music的一紙合約，但其中卻不包含唱片合同。于是他只好在95年自費以Babybird的名字發(fā)行了一張限量5000張的專輯《I Was Born a Man》，并在接下來的一年中接連推出了三張專輯《Bad Shave》、《Fatherhood》和《The Happiest Man Alive》，并據(jù)此最終為自己贏得了Echo唱片的合約。在加盟了大唱片后Babybird也從一個人的單打獨斗衍生為一只樂隊，加入的分別是吉他手Luke Scott，貝司手John Pedder，鍵盤手Hugh Chadbourne和鼓手Rob Gregory。為了區(qū)別，名字也改為Baby Bird。96年Baby Bird發(fā)行了作為一只樂隊的首張專輯，《Ugly Beatiful》，歌迷投票從Jones之前四張專輯中所選出的歌曲的重唱，其中至少有兩首單曲（《Candy Girl》和《Cornershop》）成為了熱門歌曲。97年推出了一張帶著強(qiáng)烈非商業(yè)色彩的Demo專輯，《Dying Happy》，限量1000張。98年發(fā)行《Something Going On》，依靠其中的單曲《Bad Old Man》的走紅獲得了一定程度的成功，另外兩只單曲《If You'll Be Mine》和《Back Together》也一度有所表現(xiàn)。2000年推出頗受好評的《Bugged》，有兩只單曲《The F-Word》和《Out of Sight》登上排行榜，但銷售量卻并不樂觀，以至于被唱片公司解約。雖然后來同Animal Noise唱片簽約，但在不久后樂隊便解散了。
 
by Jason Ankeny
 
Baby Bird began as the alias of Stephen Jones, a prolific British singer/songwriter who initiated his performing career as a member of the Dogs in Honey &anti-theater& troupe. After buying a four-track machine, he began making his first lo-fi home recordings; over the next several years, he wrote some 400 eclectic pop songs, ranging in content from surreal, comic narratives to intensely personal meditations.
 
At the urging of friends, Jones sent out Baby Bird tapes to record companies, but his music was roundly rejected; however, Chrysalis Music did offer a publishing deal which Jones accepted, applying his earnings towards financing a series of independently-released, limited-edition collections. The first disc of material culled from the vast Baby Bird archives, I Was Born a Man, appeared in 1995; within the course of a year, three other acclaimed albums -- Bad Shave, Fatherhood, and The Happiest Man Alive -- followed, and won Jones a contract with Echo Records.
 
Upon making the leap to a major label, Baby Bird mutated from a one-man project into a full band, as Jones assembled a backing group comprised of guitarist Luke Scott, bassist John Pedder, keyboardist Hugh Chadbourne, and drummer Rob Gregory. In its new incarnation, Baby Bird debuted in late 1996 with Ugly Beautiful, a lush, sparkling collection of re-recordings of favorite songs from Jones' back catalogue, all selected by fans by means of postcard ballots included in the first four albums.
 
In 1997, Dying Happy was assembled; issued in a limited pressing of 1000 copies, the disc compiled a number of previously unreleased songs that Jones had kicking around. There's Something Going On followed in 1998, and two years passed until the release of Bugged, Baby Bird's ninth full-length.