Bad English was an American/British

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...

supergroup formed in 1987. It reunited

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

keyboardist

Jonathan Cain Jonathan Leonard Friga (born February 26, 1950), known professionally as Jonathan Cain, is an American musician and songwriter best known as the keyboardist for Journey. He has also worked with the Babys and Bad English. Cain was inducted into ...

with singer John Waite and bassist

Ricky Phillips Ricky Lynn Phillips (born October 7, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and a member of the rock band Styx since 2003, splitting duties with longtime bassist Chuck Panozzo. He has also played in Nasty Habit, as a member of The Babys and Bad En ...

, his former bandmates in the Babys, along with Journey guitarist Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo. The band is mainly known for their hit single " When I See You Smile", which peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1989.

History

The members decided on a name for the band while playing

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky po ...

. John Waite missed a shot and Jonathan Cain made a comment on how bad his "" was (referring to the spin a player puts on the

cue ball A billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various particular ball pro ...

), and the band decided to use the phrase. Jonathan Cain and guitarist Neal Schon, members of the successful rock band

, formed Bad English with Waite after Journey disbanded. They were joined by Ricky Phillips, who had played bass for the Babys on two albums with Waite and Cain, and drummer Deen Castronovo.

First album

The band's first album, Bad English, was a big seller. It contained three top-40 hit singles: the

number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

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 #45, but the single peaked at #2 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The second single, "When I See You Smile", was their biggest hit, peaking at #1 on the Hot 100. The song is also notable for being the only song entirely written by an outside writer without help from at least one member in the band, besides "Don't Walk Away". "Best of What I Got" was released as a promotional single to

Rock Radio Rock Radio was a brand of radio stations in the United Kingdom owned by GMG Radio. 96.3 Rock Radio was the first station in the network. It operated in West Central Scotland. The station was launched on the frequency which was formerly used b ...

, where the tune cracked the top 10. From March to June 1990, the band toured across the US with

band

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...

in support of the album.

Second album

The band's second album,

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character * ''Backla ...

, came and went without any fanfare. The only single, "Straight to Your Heart," missed the Top 40, peaking at No. 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 songs and wanted a harder edge. In the end, it proved to be the band's undoing as everyone left to pursue other projects.

Breakup

In 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 politics, hardline (or hard-line) is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...

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 John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

'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 The Dead Daisies are an Australian-American rock supergroup and collective formed in 2012 in Sydney, Australia by David Lowy. Musicians that have joined Lowy for the project have included Richard Fortus (Guns N' Roses), Jon Stevens (INXS, No ...

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 Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including " Baby Hold On", " Two Tickets to Pa ...

, before joining Styx in the early 2000s.

In popular culture

"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.

Band members

* John Waite - lead vocals * Neal Schon - lead guitar, backing vocals *

- keyboards, piano, rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

- bass, backing vocals * Deen Castronovo - drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

{{Authority control 1987 establishments in California 1991 disestablishments in California Epic Records artists Glam metal musical groups from California Hard rock musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Heavy metal supergroups Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Rock music supergroups