Tony Lewis

Tony Lewis (born 21 December 1957) is a British singer-songwriter/musician. He was a member of the band the Outfield, known for their hit single "Your Love". After a long career with the Outfield, Lewis began work as a solo artist. He released his first solo album, Out of the Darkness, in the spring of 2018 on Madison Records.

Early life

Lewis was born in the East End of London. He grew up in a tough, working-class neighbourhood. Music served as a bright spot in his life, and his love for music started early. The radio was always on in Lewis’ home, and his first influences were classics of the 1960s. At age 9 Lewis first heard the Beatles, and he was immediately hooked by the British rock band. Later he became a big fan of T. Rex, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and other glam rock bands from the 1970s.

In secondary school Lewis took his love of music a step further, forming his first band with Alan Jackman. Lewis played bass guitar and Alan played drums. With only a three-foot guitar lead to the amplifier, Lewis was not able to sing when they performed because he could not reach the microphone.

A few years later the two joined up with guitar player John Spinks and formed a progressive rock band they called Sirius B.

In the early 1980s the punk rock scene exploded in London, and the progressive music of Sirius B was not in demand. The band disbanded and Lewis went out on his own. He played in various local bands and clubs around London, often stepping up to the microphone to take on vocals.  

The Outfield

Lewis was playing in gigs around London when John Spinks ran into him again. He heard Lewis singing, and was inspired to get the band back together again. They joined up again with Alan, this time forming a band they called the Baseball Boys. The band toured around the UK, honing the power pop sound that had been their signature. After touring for a while and tightening up their sound, the band got a reputation for playing "American-sounding" music. After making demos at a local recording studio, Scarf Studios, the band got a break when they signed with an American management company. The new manager suggested a name change, to "The Outfield" and helped them sign a record deal. The Outfield released their first album in 1985, Play Deep.

Play Deep became a multi-platinum selling album and reached the Top 10 in the U.S. album charts. The single "Your Love" made it to number 6 on the Billboard charts.[4] "Your Love" is still a worldwide phenomenon today with hundreds of millions of streams and video views. You can still hear it being played in baseball stadiums and football stadiums all over the United States. The Outfield toured extensively and the band released their second album, Bangin, in 1987, and a third album, Voices of Babylon, in 1989. Throughout the late 1980s the band continued to tour successfully throughout the United States.

After Voices of Babylon was released drummer Alan Jackman parted ways with the band, but Lewis continued to work with John Spinks and various drummers to carry on recording music. The Outfield produced albums on a fairly regular basis:

• 1989: Voices of Babylon
• 1990: Diamond Days
• 1992: Rockeye
• 2004: Anytime Now
• 2011: Replay

2014–present

In 2014, John Spinks died of liver cancer at the age of 60. His friendship and musical partnership meant a lot to Lewis, and the loss of his friend was devastating. After the death of his longtime collaborator, Lewis decided to take a break from music. For the first year, Lewis did not even want to listen to music or play the guitar. His wife Carol encouraged him to start recording and get back to what he really loved doing. Music had always been a part of Lewis’ life, and it was where he went for comfort. Lewis returned to his solo roots, revisiting his early lyric ideas and playing around with a body of backing tracks. Eventually he teamed up with his wife Carol, who he found had a talent for writing lyrics.

Lewis and Carol collaborated on a new body of work, which takes on the spirit of the Outfield while letting Lewis’ own style shine through. In October 2017, with the help and support of Randy Sadd of Protocol Entertainment (who was a radio promoter for the Outfield 2004–2011), Lewis was introduced to Tanner Hendon and was signed to Hendon's record label Madison Records. A new album was soon released, Out of the Darkness, and featured the debut single "Into the Light". The single made an entry on the Billboard charts. On the new album, Lewis plays all the instruments, as well as producing and recording everything on his own.