THE OUTFIELD, “YOUR LOVE”

Welcome to The Minute of Spin, a bite-sized music segment in which we explore a single song that came to define an entire band. Unfortunately, we can't afford the rights to the songs we spotlight, so you won't actually hear the song. But you're welcome to listen to it here.

Was there a “quintessential” 80s sound?  If so, which band or artist embodied it?  Was it Journey?  Huey Lewis?  Wham?  What about an 80s look?  Was it the hyper-theatricality of Flock of Seagulls, the raucous hairography of Van Halen, or the button-down introspection of Spandau Ballet?  If there was one band that managed to achieve both the 80s look and sound, it was London’s The Outfield, a band that put out a handful of albums but only had one major hit before beginning a slow, protracted demise. 

They originally called themselves The Baseball Boys, but after signing with Columbia, they changed their name to The Outfield.A power pop trio consisting of bassist and singer Tony Lewis, guitarist John Spinks, and drummer Alan Jackman, the band benefited enormously from Lewis’s soaring tenor, which is often compared to, and confused with, Sting’s.The Outfield’s 1985 debut album Play Deep featured two singles, including “Your Love,” a rocking ode to infidelity that, for its first minute at least, is Hook Central.

It’s also rife with contradictions.First Lewis says “I just wanna use your love tonight,” then admits, “I don’t want to lose your love tonight.”Well, which is it?Josie’s out of town, but what’s the deal with the other woman? Is Tony using her, is he in love with her, what? Does it matter?“Your Love” made it to #6 on the Hot 100, and Play Deep was certified triple platinum.The Outfield’s next album, the unfortunately-named Bangin’, didn’t do quite as well, and its last album of the 80s, Voices of Babylon, fared even worse.

Look, I don’t miss the 80s.I was in high school and college.Top 40 was exciting for a few years, and then I kind of stopped caring, focusing on the bands that meant something to me.The Outfield, clearly not one of them.But listening to songs like “Your Love,” I’m reminded of what was thrilling about that decade, and how really decent pop music could take you somewhere, no matter how common the sound, or how big the hair.