CoronaVinyl Day 135 (Sports-Related Name): Play Deep by The Outfield

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is sports-related name.  Over the years, there have been various sports-related band, artist, or album names, like Tennis, The Lettermen, John Fogerty's 1985 album Centerfield, jazz musician Bob James's 1978 album Touchdown, and even Pearl Jam's iconic 1991 debut album Ten (which is a reference to the jersey number of NBA player Mookie Blaylock).

I'm choosing British trio The Outfield's 1985 debut album Play Deep.  Both the band name and the album name are sports related!  And their sports theme goes even deeper (sports pun intended, motherfuckers!).  Originally, the band was called The Baseball Boys, named after the baseball-themed gang The Baseball Furies in the fantastic 1979 New York gang film The Warriors -- which you should all go see now if you haven't already.

They eventually changed their name to The Outfield and then, in 1985, released Play Deep, which was the band's biggest album, reaching #9 on the Billboard album charts and going triple platinum in the U.S.  I see them as kind of the natural extension of Men at Work.  Good, catchy pop rock, written predominantly by the band's guitarist and backing vocalist John Spinks.  There was also bassist and lead vocalist Tony Lewis and drummer Alan Jackman.  

Of course, Play Deep was a hit largely because of their hit "Your Love," which went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Though you may think The Outfield was a one-hit wonder, they actually had several hits other than "Your Love."  "All The Love" from Play Deep reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Everytime You Cry" was a minor hit, coming in at #66.  All in all, it's a pretty good album.  It's catchy, and the harmonizing between Lewis and Spinks was a signature of the band's sound, and it's ever-present on Play Deep.  There are songs like "Say It Isn't So," "61 Seconds," and "Talk to Me" that could have easily been big hits had they been released as singles.

The band had several more Top 40 hits from their next few albums -- "Since You've Been Gone" (#31 in 1987), "Voices of Babylon" (#25 in 1989), and "For You" (#21 in 1990).  Though they had some success after Play Deep, I think it's safe to say they peaked commercially with their debut album.  Jackman left the band in 1989, and Lewis and Spinks continued the band for a few more years.  They sporadically released albums over the next decade or so.  The original lineup reunited in 2009 and put out an album.  Sadly, Spinks died in 2014 from liver cancer.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Your Love"

This is one of the most instantly recognizable and universally loved '80s songs.  As soon as Lewis belts out "Josie's on a vacation far away," you're already singing along.  It has been covered more than 1,000 times.  Spinks wrote the song in 20 minutes.  The song is actually about cheating on one's girlfriend with an older woman while the former is away on holiday.  Of course, Jackman has a couple delicious fills.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Talk To Me"
This could have easily been another hit for the group.  It's a solid '80s power pop song -- one of those songs that you could see being the backdrop for a poignant montage scene in an '80s movie where the guy and the just-out-of-reach girl are hanging out and having fun, as she begins to realize that maybe Chad, the captain of the swimming team and the most popular guy in school, isn't the be-all-end-all after all.