Babybird is a British indie band, formed in 1995. The band is fronted by St… Read Full Bio ↴Babybird is a British indie band, formed in 1995. The band is fronted by Stephen Jones, who has also released records as a solo artist, using his own name and the name Baby Bird.

Jones had begun writing songs and recording home demos as part of an experimental theatre group in Sheffield. A collection of these demos (I Was Born a Man) was released in the summer of 1995, under the name Baby Bird. Following a warm critical reception for this record, he recruited a band made up of Huw Chadbourne (keyboards), Robert Gregory (drums), John Pedder (bass) and Luke Scott (guitar), in order to tour and promote his work.

During 1995, two further albums of demo recordings were released under the name Baby Bird (Bad Shave and Fatherhood) and two in 1996 (The Happiest Man Alive and Dying Happy).

By the end of the year, a decent public following had been built up, as well as quite considerable excitment within the press and music industry. Babybird were signed to Echo Records (a division of the Chrysalis Group), and the first "proper" single, a full-band recording of "Goodnight", which had appeared in demo form on Fatherhood, was eventually released in the summer of 1996, becoming a minor chart hit in the UK.

"You're Gorgeous"

The second single, You're Gorgeous, reached number 3 in the UK in October 1996, and was also one of the biggest selling singles of the year, going on to chart around the world. This remains the song for which Stephen Jones and Babybird are best known.

However, it presented a much more commercial face to the public in comparison to Jones' previous work. The early demo albums won Jones great credibility with those who heard them, but had not reached a wide audience (each one being a one-off pressing). Arguably, the commercial sound and success of "You're Gorgeous", which received massive exposure by comparison, made it hard for many to take Jones seriously as an indie artist. Essentially, what he was best at was no longer what he was best known for.

After "You're Gorgeous"
The album Ugly Beautiful was released to a warm reception, but was not the unmitigated critical triumph that some had anticipated from Babybird's first studio-recorded album. The album produced two more hit singles, Candy Girl and Cornershop.

Babybird returned, minus keyboardist Huw Chadbourne, in 1998 with There's Something Going On, preceded by a single, Bad Old Man. The album was a modest success and was followed by further minor hits, If You'll Be Mine and Back Together.

In 2000, a line-up of Babybird comprising Stephen Jones, Luke Scott and Matt Hay created a third album. Bugged, which was well-received critically (it might be suggested that it is an album of the right quality, but four years later than expected). However, sales were poor and the two singles from it, The F-Word (later the theme tune to a UK TV cookery show of the same name) and Out of Sight barely dented the charts. Babybird were dropped by their record label soon after. A third single from the album Fireflies was released on Animal Noise records, but sold few copies. The band subsequently split.

Stephen Jones went on to write fiction, release solo work and score a film, Blessed, in 2004.

In October 2005, a posting on the official Babybird website announced that the band had reformed as a three-piece featuring Stephen, Luke Scott and Robert Gregory, and would be releasing new material in 2006.

The last CD, called "Between My Ears There's Nothing But Music", was released in autumn 2006 and didn't seem to have encountered a big success.

Stephen Jones has also released Solo material, not to be confused with the american artist of the same name.

In September 2009, Stephen Jones launched an online Babybird community, on which he regularly posts.

A brief tour of the UK was undertaken in November 2009 with the lineup of Stephen Jones, Luke Scott and Robert Gregory. This tour was to promote the new album, Ex-Maniac, due for release in February 2010. Johnny Depp, a long time fan, appears on the album Ex-Maniac, as guitarist in the first single off the album, Unloveable.

45 & Fat
Babybird Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'll sing about love
Till I'm 45 and fat
I'll take almost anything
But I won't take that

You can tie me up in knots
But I'll keep on coming
You can take away my voice

But I'll keep on humming

C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-L-A

C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-L-A

I'll sing about love
Till I'm 45 and fat
I'll take almost anything
But I won't take that

Till I turn blue
Sing-singing about love
I'll take any old tat
But I won't take that

C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-L-A

C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-L-A

I'll sing about love
Till I'm 45 and fat
I'll take almost anything
But I won't take that

We'll teach the world to sing
You all know the words
So singalong, singalong, singalong
For a better world

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-L-A

C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-C-A
C-O-L-A
C-O-L-A

I'll sing about love...

Overall Meaning

The first verse of "45 & Fat" by Babybird speaks to the dedication of the singer to the concept of love. He says that he will continue to sing about love until he reaches the age of 45 and becomes overweight. He is committed to this idea of love, but there is a limit. He will take almost anything but won't take "that." The song does not reveal what "that" refers to, but it could be interpreted as something that overwhelms his love, a potential to hurt him, or the antithesis of love.

In the second verse of the song, the singer shows that he cannot be stopped from singing. Even if he is tied up and his voice is taken from him, he will still hum. The repetition of the line "C-O-C-A, C-O-L-A" may seem random, but it is a reference to a famous commercial by Coca Cola, which aims to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.

The chorus restates the intention to sing about love until getting older and a bit overweight. The repetition of C-O-C-A, C-O-L-A is present again, and the last lines of the chorus reveal a desire for a better world in which everyone knows the words to the song and can sing along.

Overall, the lyrics to "45 & Fat" reflect the idea that the singer will continue to embrace the concept of love until he ages and gets older. There are limits to his love, but he will not stop singing about it. The repetition of the commercial line is a nod to the desire for harmony and unity in the world.

Line by Line Meaning

I'll sing about love
I will continue to create music about love

Till I'm 45 and fat
For the rest of my life or until I reach a certain age/physical appearance

I'll take almost anything
I am open to many things

But I won't take that
Except for the thing I refuse

You can tie me up in knots
You can make things difficult for me

But I'll keep on coming
But I will continue to persevere

You can take away my voice
You can silence me

But I'll keep on humming
But I will still find a way to express myself

C-O-C-A
The letters of a popular brand name

C-O-L-A
The letters of a popular brand name

Till I turn blue
Until I am exhausted or out of breath