John Waite
| John Waite | |
|---|---|
John Waite at Sound Check before the Surf and Song Festival
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Charles Waite |
| Born |
4 July 1952 Lancaster, Lancashire, England |
| Genres | Pop rock, hard rock, power pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels |
Chrysalis Records EMI Epic Records Gold Circle Records Rounder Records No Brakes Records Imago Records Frontiers Records |
| Associated acts |
The Babys Bad English Alison Krauss Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band Journey |
| Website | www |
John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, 1984's "Missing You", was a No. 1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart.
Waite was born in Lancaster, and was educated at Lancaster Art College. (The Storey Institute).
Waite first came to attention as the lead singer and bassist of The Babys, a British rock band which had moderate chart success, including two pop hits that both coincidentally peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Isn't It Time" (1977) and "Everytime I Think of You" (1979), and a solid following for their concert tours. Over the course of five years, the band produced five albums ending with the final album On the Edge in October 1980, after which the group disbanded.
Waite subsequently launched his solo career with his 1982 debut album Ignition, which produced the hit single "Change". The Chrysalis 45 failed to chart on Billboard's Hot 100 during its initial release (June 1982) but was a top track on AOR radio stations, as well as a very popular music video on MTV as the 'new' cable channel celebrated its first full year of operation. The song was originally recorded in 1981 by another band, and in 1985 was included on the platinum selling Vision Quest soundtrack. When the single was reissued, it reached the Top 50 on the Hot 100. "Going to the Top" was released as the original follow-up single to "Change".
His next album, No Brakes, resulted in international attention. It was a Top 10 Billboard album in the US due to the smash hit "Missing You" which went to No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It knocked Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It?" out of No. 1. For that very reason, Turner later recorded and released Waite's smash song herself. (Turner's single peaked at No. 84 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1996.) "Missing You" also hit No. 1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks as well as the Top 10 of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. No Brakes sold over a million and a half US copies yet has never been certified above the RIAA Gold standard (a record company must apply to the RIAA for such certification). Two more singles from No Brakes followed, including "Tears" which was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.
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