The Babys Official Archives and Chronological History

Had The Babys been allowed to further their creative bonds, there is little room to doubt that the release of "Head First," would have catapulted off of the success of "Broken Heart." The lone surviving original album cover-shot boldly depicts a newly-defined, harder-edged image captured in true Rock And Roll splendor, reduced then to a merely depressing memory, stowed safely in an enthusiastic A&R man’s tattered portfolio…

“I always enjoyed the band's harder stuff, and really didn't care for the ballads, but radio seemed to like them at the time. I have always enjoyed bands where the fans knew everybody's name, and there was some personality behind the music; in the case of the Baby's - according to the critics - behind the personalities; I do remember seeing in some issue of who's who, a quote to some effect that said: ‘If the band had been as good as their publicity campaign, they'd really be something’

- I was very proud of the work I did for them”

~ Rick Ambrose (former director, national publicity & media relations) ~

~ Salvaged Head First ‘Keyhole’ Concept Album Cover-Shot Courtesy of Rick Ambrose ~

…and anyone’s guess as to this group’s ability to gain a magnitude called "SUCCESS"!

“Although it’s debatable whether The Babys could have ever become successful as a group like The Faces. I believe had the record company played fairly, and if the band had been allowed to develop properly and hadn’t behaved like idiots, the blueprint image was strong enough to have made a more positive musical statement had it been successfully carried through”

~ Adrian Millar ~

With frustrating auditions underway, the public relation ‘spin doctors’ worked equally fast to cover the mess…

“I kept a large volume of press cuttings of The Babys that demonstrate the success we were having together, as well as the gross inaccuracies of my dismissal”

~ Michael Corby ~

“Sit back, cause a lot has been happening lately! Everyone’s neighborhood grapevines have been rattling non-stop since the wedding between Steve Tyler and Cyrinda Fox, and the desertion of the Babys by Mike Corby…”

“Breaking Up Is Hard To Do…Eruptions in the Rock World this month; Mike Corby officially left the Babys, Ansley Dunbar split from Journey; and Phil Seymour departed company from the Dwight Twilley band…”

“More problems on the music scene. I am sorry to have to tell all Baby’s fans of the world; but, yes Michael Corby has left the Babys…The Babys have not broken up, but will be putting together the pieces and will continue to give you more of the great sound that we’ve come to know and love. There’s no news on what Mike Corby will be doing, but we’ll let you know and keep you posted…”

“Finally, Mike Corby, glitter star of the Babys, has left the band in a dispute over whether the group should play teen-beat material (Corby’s wish) or raunchier stuff. An album slated for September has been pulled back, and the group’s remaining members plan to keep what tracks they can while cutting fresh material with one or two replacements for guitarist/keyboardist Corby. Corby, meanwhile, is threatening to sue the band’s label, Chrysalis, for ‘instigating’ the split…”

“Magical Michael Corby…Yes, it’s true! Mike has left for brighter lights…going solo?”

“That oh-so-cute band, The Babys, have lost their keyboard/guitar player Michael Corby to a baby of his own. Though his newborn made Papa very proud, it is only one of the reasons he has decided to quit the group. Although there hasn’t been any confirmation, we’re sure that Michael will soon be moving on to bigger and better things, perhaps even in a group of his own. In the meantime, word has it that it may take two men to fill the slot left vacant by Corby. Keep your eyes open for new developments!”

“Baby Sings The Blues! Seems that the rock world is providing more disheartening news than ever before. First the news about Les McKeown, and now the word that The Babys have lost Mike Corby! The story is that Mike and the other Babys had differences of opinion as to the direction they wanted their music to take so Mike left. The sudden change means that The Babys new LP won’t be out till January, and certainly, there will be no touring until one, or possibly two new members are auditioned to take Mike’s place!

“Mike Corby, glitter star of the Babys, has left the band. The group had recorded an album, ‘Head First,’ which was due for release in September, but feuded over the final selection of songs. A source close to the band said Corby wanted songs aimed for the bubblegum market, while the rest of the group wanted rock & roll tunes. A tour of Europe, Japan and the United States, timed to begin with the album’s release has been canceled. The remaining members of the band will pull what the feel are the best tracks from the ‘Head First’ sessions and replacing keyboardist Corby with on or two other players, will go back into the studio to make an album slated for January release…”

“It’s been a slow month in New York, The Babys were off appearing in Japan, Mike Corby was fired and ironically they say he was the one who wanted to stick to singing for teenagers instead of changing their style to harder Rock! Too bad, nice guy!

“Everyone is stunned, but Mike Corby has definitely left The Babys. The whole thing has been quite hush-hush...”

“Then Mike Corby of The Babys was let go and no one is saying much about the reason. Too bad…we liked him a lot when we met the charming foursome...”

“I admit ‘Head First’ lacks some of the overall excitement which infused the first two platters, but this is due no doubt to the departure of stage stealing keyboardsman Mike Corby. He left the band because of a disagreement on direction. ‘I ain’t no Archies, he muttered.’ The Babys operate in a now obsolete medium of British raunch…”

…while Michael struggled to have his voice heard, in the printed press!

BRACE YOURSELF:

“I won’t delve into the reasons why Mike Corby left the band [back then], but in retrospect I think it was the best thing for the band and especially ‘Fashion-wise’ as all I’ll say about Mike’s dress sense is that ‘his clothes were different, or should that be his clothes were delinquent,’ (as does satanical rocker’s, Venom’s thrash classic ‘Too loud for the crowd’ spring to mind!). Never mind, John and the Boys got on with the job in hand and could not have picked better replacements…”