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.
Out of Sight
Babybird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you’re home late
And no-one comes down
Don’t make a sound
Keep your mouth shut
And sleep on the couchDon’t let her out of your sight
Look at your kids
Look at your wife
Your life was her life
Don’t let her out of your sight.
Sometimes
When she comes back
She’s as cold as ice-cream
Like a hot knife
Your tattooed fingers
Can’t touch her any more
Don’t let her out of your sight
Look at your kids
Look at your wife
This was your life
Your life was her life
Now you’ve gone
And let her out of your sight
Sometime
When you’re lonely
And no-one comes around
It’s too late
Make it right now
You were wrong to leave
Chorus
The lyrics of the song "Out of Sight" by Babybird are quite haunting and can be interpreted in different ways. The first verse seems to be a warning or a plea from a man to himself to keep an eye on his family, especially his wife. The emphasis on the phrase "Don't let her out of your sight" indicates that there might be trust issues, and he does not want to give his wife the chance to do anything suspicious. The second verse adds to the complexity of the situation, as the woman returns but is not receptive to the man's advances, leading to a sense of frustration and helplessness on his part. It seems like he had been neglectful in the past and now realizes the gravity of his mistake, as he pleads with himself to make amends.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometime
At some unspecified time
When you’re home late
When you arrive home after a late night
And no-one comes down
When nobody else is there with you
Don’t make a sound
Don't create any noise or commotion
Keep your mouth shut
Don't speak, don't say a word
And sleep on the couch
Sleep on the couch instead of disturbing your partner
Don’t let her out of your sight
Keep a close eye on your partner and don't lose track of them
Look at your kids
Pay attention to your children
Look at your wife
Pay attention to your partner/wife
This was your life
This is what your life had become
Your life was her life
You were in a codependent relationship
Sometimes
At certain times
When she comes back
When your partner returns home
She’s as cold as ice-cream
Your partner is distant and cold
Like a hot knife
Your attempts to connect with your partner don't penetrate her coldness
Your tattooed fingers
Your attempts to touch your partner don't have the same impact anymore
Can’t touch her any more
You've lost the emotional connection with your partner
Now you’ve gone
You've left the relationship
And let her out of your sight
And you're no longer able to keep a watchful eye on your partner
Sometime
At some point
When you’re lonely
When you're feeling alone
And no-one comes around
When nobody is there to comfort or support you
It’s too late
It's become too late to fix things and make amends
Make it right now
Try to make things right and improve the situation immediately
You were wrong to leave
You made the wrong choice by leaving the relationship
Chorus
Repeats the main message of the song about not letting your partner out of your sight
Contributed by Nora H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@davekennedy6315
Babybird is the greatest musical artist of his generation! There should be a collaberation between Babybird and Ren (of Hi Ren fame) it would be heavenly to hear my two favourite artists together!
@MrEthanlevy100
Beautiful video .