The Outfield formed in East London and began recording during the mid-1980s.
In 1986, their single Your Love went into heavy rotation on MTV, sending it into the American Top 10. It became a staple of US rock radio and 80s compilation albums, and received a further boost when it was featured on the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in 2002.
Their debut album, Play Deep (1985), spent 66 weeks on the US charts, selling two million copies and reaching #6. Unfortunately, they were not so successful back home in Britain where none of their albums made the top 75.
The band continued to record and tour through the 1980s and into the early 1990s, and while subsequent albums Bangin’ (1987) and Voices of Babylon (1989) never again produced another hit as big as Your Love, they were a staple of rock radio throughout the 80s, with songs like Since You’ve Been Gone, Voices of Babylon and For You.
The Outfield went on hiatus in the 1990s but reunited to record Replay – their final studio album – in 2011.
John Spinks died in July 2014, aged 60, having suffered with liver cancer for several years, after which Lewis took an extended break from music while suffering from depression. Lewis passed away suddenly in October 2020, aged 62.
Tony Lewis
Vocals, bass
John Spinks
Guitar
Alan Jackman
Drums