Bad English was an American/British hard rock supergroup formed in 1987. It reunited Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain with singer John Waite and bassist Ricky Phillips, his former bandmates in the Babys, along with Journey guitarist Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo. The band is known for their hit single "When I See You Smile", which peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1989.[4]
Bad English | |
|---|---|
 Bad English, clockwise L-to-R: Neal Schon, Deen Castronovo, Ricky Phillips, Jonathan Cain, and John Waite | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1987–1991 |
| Labels | Epic |
| Spinoff of | |
| Past members | John Waite Neal Schon Jonathan Cain Ricky Phillips Deen Castronovo |
History
editThe members decided on a name for the band while playing pool. John Waite missed a shot and Jonathan Cain made a comment on how bad his "english" was (referring to the spin a player puts on the cue ball), and the band decided to use the phrase.[5]
Jonathan Cain and guitarist Neal Schon, members of the successful rock band Journey, formed Bad English with Waite after Journey disbanded.[6] They were joined by Ricky Phillips, who had played bass for the Babys on two albums with Waite and Cain, and drummer Deen Castronovo.
The band's first album, Bad English, was a big seller. It contained three top-40 hit singles: the number one hit "When I See You Smile", the top 10 hit "Price of Love", and "Possession".
The album's first single, however, was "Forget Me Not". It stalled outside the top 40 at number 45, but the single peaked at number 2 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The second single, "When I See You Smile", was their biggest hit, peaking at number 1 on the Hot 100. The song is also notable for being one of only two songs (the other being "Don't Walk Away") to be entirely written by an outside writer without help from at least one member of the band.[7] "Best of What I Got" was released as a promotional single to Rock Radio, where the tune cracked the top 10.[8]
From March to June 1990, the band toured across the US with Whitesnake in support of the album.[9]
The band's second album, Backlash, came and went without any fanfare. The only single, "Straight to Your Heart", missed the top 40, peaking at number 42. Ricky Phillips writes on his website that the group had parted company before the second album had been mixed. Both Phillips and guitarist Neal Schon expressed frustration with the "pop" side of the band's music and wanted a harder edge. In the end, it proved to be the band's undoing as everyone left to pursue other projects.
Breakup
editIn later interviews, Waite revealed that although he loved playing to stadium-sized audiences, he was uncomfortable with the corporate rock image that he felt the band had presented. He returned to working as a solo artist. Schon and Castronovo joined the fledgling rock band Hardline in 1991; however, both would leave the group not long after the release of its debut album, with Schon pursuing other projects and Castronovo joining Ozzy Osbourne's band. In the mid-1990s, Schon rejoined Cain, who had released two solo albums in the interim, in a reformed Journey. Castronovo also joined Journey in 1998, eventually leaving in 2015. He later became a member of the Dead Daisies and Revolution Saints before returning to Journey in 2021. Meanwhile, Phillips returned to session work, recording with artists such as Coverdale/Page, Bobby Kimball and Eddie Money before joining Styx in the early 2000s.
In popular culture
edit"Best of What I Got", from the band's first album, is featured during the credits to the 1989 movie Tango & Cash starring Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell.[10]
Band members
edit- John Waite – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Neal Schon – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Jonathan Cain – keyboards, piano, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Ricky Phillips – bass, backing vocals
- Deen Castronovo – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [11] |
AUS [12][13] |
CAN [14] |
SWE [15] |
SWI [16] |
UK [17] | ||||
| 1989 | Bad English
|
21 | 12 | 34 | 39 | — | 74 | ||
| 1991 | Backlash
|
72 | 159 | 34 | 21 | 30 | 64 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Compilation albums
edit| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Greatest Hits
|
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
US AC [20] |
US Main [8] |
AUS [21][22][13] |
UK [17] |
NL [23] | ||||
| 1989 | "Forget Me Not" | 45 | — | 2 | — | — | — | Bad English | |
| "When I See You Smile" | 1 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 61 | — | |||
| "Price of Love" | 5 | 38 | 30 | 44 | 80 | — | |||
| "Best of What I Got" | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | |||
| 1990 | "Heaven Is a 4 Letter Word" | 66 | — | 12 | 124 | — | — | ||
| "Possession" | 21 | 42 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Don't Walk Away" | — | — | — | — | 110 | — | |||
| 1991 | "Straight to Your Heart" | 42 | — | 9 | 116 | — | 41 | Backlash | |
| "Time Stood Still" | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or not released to that country | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Bad English | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
- ^ Everley, Dave (July 17, 2017). "Bad English - Bad English album review". Louder. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (August 15, 2014). The big book of hair metal: the illustrated oral history of heavy metal's debauched decade. Minneapolis, MN. pp. 171, 209. ISBN 978-0-7603-4546-7. OCLC 858901054. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b "Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ "Rock Band Name Origins at WHAT'S IN A NAME". thinkquest.org. Archived from the original on August 31, 2006.
- ^ "A Rousing Reception for Bad English". Daily News of Los Angeles. January 29, 1990 – via newsbank.com.
- ^ Giles, Jeff (June 26, 2015). "How Journey and The Babys Alumni Rose and Fell in Bad English". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ a b "Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ "Life Story of John Waite – Bad English". johnwaite.com. July 4, 2008. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ Tango & Cash (1989) – IMDb, retrieved March 16, 2021
- ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ "australian-charts.com – Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing October 14, 1991". Bubbling Down Under. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada: Top Albums/CDs". RPM. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com – Swedish charts portal". swedishcharts.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ "hitparade.ch – Swiss charts portal". hitparde.ch. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "Bad English – Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
- ^ a b "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ "Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum". Music Canada. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
- ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
- ^ "australian-charts.com – Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- ^ "Week commencing 11 June 1990". bubblingdownunder. June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl – Dutch charts portal". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
- ^ "1990 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
