In Conversation With Tony Lewis (The Outfield)

In Conversation
Tony Lewis
The Outfield
Solo
June 2018
New album out June 29 Out Of The Darkness

Tony Lewis was the singer and bassist for The Outfield, a group that made a big splash in 1985. Their debut album Play Deep climbed all the way to #9 on the album charts while going triple platinum on the strength of their top-10 hit “Your Love”. The follow up Bangin’ went gold. The band accumulated four charted albums and 5 top-40 songs during their career.

Although it didn’t chart their memorable single “Winning It All” from the Mighty Ducks movies is still quite popular. Following the passing of guitarist and songwriter John Spinks in 2014, the Outfield called it a day making the 2011 release Replay, their final album.

Lewis returns to the music world after some much-needed time off. He is back this Friday (June 29) with his first ever solo album Out Of The Darkness. Lewis recorded, produced and played all the instruments on the album. This first outing will be on the Atlanta based label Madison Records.

We spoke to Tony recently to discuss the making of the album and why it was the right time to make a comeback. “Well a four-year hiatus with the loss of John (Spinks), I didn’t even pick up a guitar for a year or two, I wasn’t interested in music. My wife said why don’t you start recording again and do what you do best. After a few weeks I had six or seven backing tracks but I struggled with the lyrics.” It was then his wife Carol began helping him and he realized she had a knack for telling a story with his music as a backdrop. Lewis added “Things just started to fall into place.”

After listening to Out Of The Darkness it is quite evident with songs like “Only You”, “Here and Now” and “I’ll Still Be Here” that he has build a strong foundation and the Outfield fans will welcome it with open arms. The album contains the spirit of The Outfield but also has a style all his own. Lewis said “I wanted to show people that I got other sides to me than just a singer and bass guy of The Outfield. The first single “Into The Light” ties right into the title.

Lewis is partial to “Loving You.” “It’s got quite a significance to the song as it is about our granddaughter our very first grandchild. It’s About the emotion of it all and it’s quite a powerful feeling. I find the song quite uplifting and it takes you to a nice place. The first three songs sound like how the Outfield would have picked up. I wanted to show people I got more than one string to my bow, you know.”

Lewis will also be taking to the road as a member of the Retro Futura tour. The tour will also feature Belinda Carlisle, ABC, Modern English, Kajagoogoo’s Limahl and Bow Wow Wow’s Annabella. This will be his first tour in over 13 years. While he’s looking forward to the tour he knows it will be different after having Spinks by his side all these years. “It’s going to be quite a strange experience getting onstage and not having John on stage with me after all those years. It’s going to be quite surreal. At the same token I’m looking forward to it, I’m very excited looking forward to seeing all the old fans and hopefully pick up some new fans.”

As for as any unreleased stuff from his old band The Outfield, Lewis said whatever has been released up to this point is all we will see. Lewis added ”John had a very high standard, I don’t want to put out stuff that was half recorded or half written. That’s not the way to do things.”

As for his new album he sticks to the Outfield formula at first but by the end he paints an interesting picture which really shows some diversity and that he is willing to go to places he has never visited before.

For more on his tour visit www.retrofuturatour.com

Track Listing for OUT OF THE DARKNESS:
1. Into the Light
2. Here And Now
3. Only You
4. The Dance of Love
5. All Alone
6. I’ll Still Be Here
7. Loving You
8. Melt The Ice
9. Dream and Wishes
10. You Think That You Know Me
11. Thank You (For Breaking My Heart)
12. I Know