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.
King Bing
Babybird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh you, oh you, oh you.
You ugly beautiful thing i'm in between your head and your sting
Unfolding out your wings one by one 'til you sing like king bing, you.
Oh you beautiful thing i'm in-between the ball beat ball of the king,
Holding out no cheques, drinking castrol not becks
Plugging in tv flex into my kecks
I dare you to change the fucking channel now. puts!
Whirling out your wings one by one 'til you sing like king king bing
Ugly beautiful thing how i sing with your plastic wing on the tips of my broken wing.
Oh i'm so shy when you ride up so high and i cry because i can see the possibility that you might one day die.
Oh baby cool you know that thing, that thing you do that i love,
You keep doing it, doing it, doing it, and i can't get over that thing.
That thing that you keep, keep doing, doing it, doing it, doing it drives me mad,
I love it, do it, do it, do it, do it, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!
Calm down, son. sing the fucker like a baby.
Yeah mom, i'm bad.
You ain't a bad son, son, you're a fucking king.
You're the son of god, you're mine, i'm mary, i made you,
I forgive you baby. come to mummy!
Butt-a-bing butt-a-bang butt-a-bing butt-a-boom boom boom.
Butt-a-bing butt-a-bang butt-a-bing butt-a-boom boom boom.
Butt-a-bing butt-a-bang butt-a-bing butt-a-boom boom boom.
Butt-a-bing butt-a-bang butt-a-bing butt-a-boom boom bang.
King, the word king.
Son, i call you a king, you ain't poor paul king (?), you're the king.
Ugly beautiful thing i'm between your head and your sting whirling out your wings one by one
Until you sing like a king bing.
Ugly beautiful thing butt-a-bing, butt-a-boom.
You ain't butter, you ain't harry, you ain't even the artist formerly known as prince,
Ah, ah, ah, you're a king, you're a king, you're a king, you're a king.
Ugly beautiful thing. ugly beautiful thing.
See what all that means is that blue is really yellow, you grow old, you mellow, orange turns you on.
It's rust, it's things rotting.
It's mike and the mechanics doing celine dion doing sting.
Fony give away a hundred thousand cds to virgin, our price and all hmvs.
Wish i'd thought of it, it's so cool,
It's music for thick people, lowest common denomination,
All hidden under the steeple, roof tiles and a hatch with weeds,
Big tits and tight behinds,
A guy on the hatch improvise and men who stack singles for £1.99.
Get the fucker in the chart, charge £3.99.
Take a cut off the supplier, off the artist, off the public, off the quick to buy and slow to think.
Hey that's why. you know i know.
When will people realise that if you put shit on the dance set and spin it at 45 rpm, 120 bpm you'll still hear it stink?
I'm out of here, whatever, amen.
Ba da da, ba da da, ba da da,
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah.
You ugly beautiful thing. you ugly beautiful thing. you ugly beautiful thing.
You ugly beautiful thing. you ugly beautiful thing. you ugly beautiful thing.
You ugly beautiful thing. you ugly beautiful, beautiful, ugly, ugly, beautiful, ugly, ugly, beautiful, beautiful, ugly, beautiful, ugly, ugly, beautiful, ugly, beautiful, ugly, beautiful thing.
Oh. i'm getting into jamiraquoi territory now man.
Fucking stop it dead now.
Shut the drummer up. shove it up the arse!.
Saxophone - fuck off!
Yeah be bop be lula be bop boo, yeah,
Wiggy wiggy whack whack,
Wiggy wiggy whack whack,
Wiggy wiggy wiggy wiggy wiggy wiggy whack.
Whack whack wiggy wiggy,
Whack whack wiggy wiggy,
Wig wig wig wig wig wig whack.
Bad jazz for white folks' assholes.
The lyrics to Babybird's "King Bing" are enigmatic and full of surrealist images and phrases that might not make sense at first glance. The song is built around a repeated phrase "you ugly beautiful thing", which might refer to a person who is both unappealing and captivating at the same time. The singer seems to be addressing this "ugly beautiful thing" directly, placing themselves "in between your head and your sting". This could refer to a relationship where the singer is caught between the good and the bad of the other person, unable to let go.
The image of "Unfolding out your wings one by one 'til you sing like king bing" is perplexing but might suggest the idea of the other person gradually opening up and revealing their true potential. The singer seems to be in awe of this process, admiring the other person's ability to transform themselves. There are also references to music and fame, with lines like "Holding out no cheques, drinking Castrol not Becks" suggesting a reluctance to conform to commercial standards.
Despite its surrealist and somewhat nonsensical lyrics, "King Bing" is a catchy and memorable song that showcases Babybird's unique blend of indie rock and pop sensibility.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh you ugly beautiful thing
Addressing something that's both ugly and beautiful at the same time.
You ugly beautiful thing i'm in between your head and your sting
Being in the middle of something contradictory.
Unfolding out your wings one by one 'til you sing like king bing, you.
Encouraging something to develop until it reaches its potential.
Ugly beautiful thing i'm between your head and your sting
Repeating the contradictory nature of something.
Holding out no cheques, drinking castrol not becks
Not having much money and resorting to drinking cheap oil.
Plugging in tv flex into my kecks
Making do with what you have, even if it seems odd.
I dare you to change the fucking channel now. puts!
Asserting dominance and control over a situation.
Whirling out your wings one by one 'til you sing like king king bing
Continuing the encouragement of the development of something until it reaches its peak.
Ugly beautiful thing how i sing with your plastic wing on the tips of my broken wing.
Feeling a connection with something that's both broken and beautiful at the same time.
Oh i'm so shy when you ride up so high and i cry because i can see the possibility that you might one day die.
Expressing a mix of admiration and fear towards something.
Oh baby cool you know that thing, that thing you do that i love,
Expressing attraction to a specific quality or trait of someone or something.
That thing that you keep, keep doing, doing it, doing it, doing it drives me mad,
Expressing a feeling of being obsessed or overwhelmed with something.
You're the son of god, you're mine, i'm mary, i made you,
Drawing a comparison between a person and biblical figures, implying greatness or distinction.
Butt-a-bing butt-a-bang butt-a-bing butt-a-boom boom boom.
Using nonsensical sounds to emphasize a point or create a rhythm.
King, the word king.
Repeating a powerful word for emphasis.
Ugly beautiful thing butt-a-bing, butt-a-boom.
Combining nonsensical sounds with an inconsistent adjective.
See what all that means is that blue is really yellow, you grow old, you mellow, orange turns you on.
Using nonsense to avoid a question or create a situation that lacks meaning.
Big tits and tight behinds,
Describing a physical and sexual preference.
Get the fucker in the chart, charge £3.99.
Using aggressive language to achieve a personal or financial goal.
You ugly beautiful thing. you ugly beautiful thing. you ugly beautiful thing.
Repeating an inconsistent adjective to create emphasis and attention.
Contributed by Alex D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.