BABY ANIMALS

The Baby Animals were formed in Sydney in 1989 by singer Suze DeMarchi, drummer Frank Celenza, guitarist Dave Leslie, and bassist Eddie Parise. DeMarchi had previously recorded threes singles with EMI in the United Kingdom, and before that had played with Perth bands Photoplay, The Kind, and DD and the Rockmen. The band's first performance was in November 1989 at the Kardomah Café in Sydney, where they performed under the name Woody's Heroes, it was 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 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 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 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 indefinable magic that separates one artist from the crowd and makes them a star."

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, "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' was released in September 1991. The album debuted at #6 on the ARIA Charts and spent six weeks at #1, eventually going eight times platinum and becoming the highest-selling debut Australian rock album until the release of Jet's album twelve years later. After listening to the band's album, Bryan Adams 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", with the latter charting in the top 20 of the ARIA Charts. The 'Let Go Of My Ears' tour saw the band playing to sellout 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 Late Night with David Letterman show, performing the single "Painless". The band picked up a number of honours at the 1992 ARIA Music Awards, 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's "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour" across America from 28 January to 31 May, again playing to arena-size audiences. Eddie Van Halen requested their presence after his wife Valerie heard their album and suggested them. Australian Rolling Stone 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 reached 8 times platinum in Australia and topped 800,000 worldwide. The band having played over 500 shows when they stopped touring in August.

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 spent two months recording at Compass Point Studios (AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley) which resulted in a more mature sound under producer Ed Stasium. Next, the band moved on to Los Angeles, where Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) 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' album.

'Shaved and Dangerous' was released in August 1993 and Baby Animals supported Robert Plant's US tour, before returning home around Christmas time to prepare for a 27-date Australian tour. 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 Extreme 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 folded after losing its distributor, BMG. In early 1996 the band officially disbanded.

In 2007, the rumours of a reformed Baby Animals with all original members were confirmed. They released an acoustic album of their hits titled 'Il Grande Silenzio' on 19 January 2008, as part of the Liberation Blue Acoustic Series. The following month, Liberation Records 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 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". In April 2013, the Baby Animals released their first new single - called "Email" - in nearly 20 years. It was followed by the release of a new album entitled 'This Is Not The End' in late May.

In May 2016 the Baby Animals re-released 'Baby Animals' as 'Baby Animals 25th Anniversary' (or BA25), to celebrate 25 years since the original release of their debut. This expanded version includes live songs, unreleased tracks, B-sides and pre-studio demos. Also in that month they provided two gigs with the original line-up performing the debut album in full and the new line-up playing tracks from 'This Is not the End'. In March 2017, it was announced the Baby Animals will perform a national headline tour with The Screaming Jets in June and July 2017. In February 2018, Baby Animals released "Tonight" which lead singer Suze DeMarchi wrote after her father passed away suddenly.

In January 2019, the band announced their first greatest hits would be released in February 2019. The album will include three new recordings including a cover of Linda Ronstadt's "How Do I Make You". From November 2019, The Baby Animals co-headlined the "They Who Rock 2019" tour with The Angels. To promote the tour, The Angels released a cover of The Baby Animals' "One Word" and the Baby Animals covered The Angels' "Marseilles", both released on 1 October 2019. In 2020 the Baby Animals were part of the Red Hot Summer Tour series of outdoor shows around Australia, alongside Boom Crash Opera, Killing Heidi, The Angels, The Living End, James Reyne and headliner, Hunters and Collectors.

 

Members

Suze DeMarchi (vocals), Dave Leslie (guitars), Mick Skelton (drums), Dario Bortolin (bass)
Eddie Parise (bass), Frank Celenza (drums), Matt Cornell (bass)

SINGLES

Early Warning

5 MAY '91

#21

Rush You

18 AUG '91

#30

Painless

3 NOV '91

#49

One Word

18 JAN '92

#15

Ain't Gonna Get

19 APR '92

#65

Impossible to Fly

1 NOV '92

#48

Don't Tell Me What to Do

11 JUL '93

#24

At the End of the Day

31 OCT '93

#60

Lights Out at Eleven

23 JAN '94

#54

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Animals

http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/