John Waite Biography

John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored several international hits, including 1984's "Missing You", a #1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart.

Biography

Waite was born in Lancaster, England and was educated at Lancaster's Storey Art College He first came to attention as the lead singer and bassist of The Babys, a British group which had moderate chart success, including two pop hits that both coincidentally peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Isn't It Time" (1977) and "Everytime I Think Of You" (1979), and a solid following for their concert tours. Over the course of five years, the band produced five albums ending with the final album On the Edge in October 1980, after which the group broke up.

Waite subsequently launched his solo career with his 1982 debut album Ignition, which produced the hit single "Change". The Chrysalis 45 failed to chart on Billboard's Hot 100 during its initial release but was a top track on AOR radio stations as well as a very popular music video on MTV as the 'new' cable channel celebrated its first full year of operation. The pulsating track was written by Holly Knight (The song was originally recorded in 1981 by Knight's band Spider) and in 1985 was included on the Platinum selling Vision Quest soundtrack. (The single was reissued and this time it reached the Top 50 on the Hot 100.) "Going To The Top" was released as the original follow-up single to "Change".

His next album, No Brakes, resulted in international attention - and was a Top 10 Billboard album in the US - due to the smash hit "Missing You" which went to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It knocked Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It?" out of #1. For that very reason, Turner later recorded and released Waite's smash song herself. (Turner's single peaked at a disappointing #84 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1996.) "Missing You" also hit #1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks as well as the Top 10 of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. No Brakes sold over a million and a half US copies yet has never been certified above the RIAA Gold standard (a record company must apply to the RIAA for such certification). Two more singles from No Brakes followed, including "Tears" which was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.

The next album Mask of Smiles followed in 1985 featuring the hit single "Every Step of the Way". Another single, "If Anybody Had a Heart", was released from the soundtrack of the 1986 film About Last Night..., starring Demi Moore. In 1987, Rover's Return was released with the single "These Times Are Hard For Lovers". Waite would have another soundtrack appearance in 1990 from Days of Thunder with "Deal for Life", written by Martin Page and Bernie Taupin.

In 1988, Waite joined former Babys bandmates Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips along with Neal Schon from Journey and drummer Deen Castronovo, to form the supergroup Bad English. In 1989, the Bad English ballad "When I See You Smile" (penned by Diane Warren) went to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 and earned a Gold-certified single. Its parent album reached Billboard's Top Five and sold nearly two million copies in the United States alone. Bad English released two albums before tensions amongst the members led to the band's dissolution by 1992.

Waite returned to solo work and since 1995 has produced five solo albums including his latest album Rough And Tumble. He still tours, including in 2003 with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, and as an opening act for Journey in 2005.

In 2006, "Missing You" was released as a duet with Alison Krauss and reached the Top 40 on the Country Charts in the United States. Waite appeared with Krauss on The Tonight Show on 5 February 2007 to perform "Missing You."

In 2008 he recorded as a guest vocal the track "In God's Shadow" from the Keith Reid Project's The Common Thread.

Waite appears as himself and performs two songs in the 2010 feature film, New Day, from L'Oiseau Blanc Films. In 2011 the title track from his tenth solo album " Rough and Tumble " went number one on Classic Rock radio.

2013 saw " Missing You " featured heavily in the U.S. # 1 movie " Warm Bodies ".

John Waite wrote a 2013's single Love and Theft "If You Ever Get Lonely"

Personal life

A longtime resident of New York City, Waite now lives in Santa Monica, California.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions			Certifications (sales threshold)
		UK	SWE	US
1982	Ignition First studio album Release date: 21 May 1982 Label: Chrysalis Records	"?	"?	68
1984	No Brakes Second studio album Release date: 15 June 1984 Label: EMI	64	"?	10	US: Gold CAN: Platinum
1985	Mask of Smiles Third studio album Release date: 26 July 1985 Label: EMI	"?	"?	36
1987	Rover's Return Fourth studio album Release date: 19 June 1987 Label: EMI	"?	30	77
1995	Temple Bar Fifth studio album Release date: 14 February 1995 Label: Imago Records	"?	"?	"?
1997	When You Were Mine Sixth studio album Release date: 23 September 1997 Label: Mercury Records	"?	"?	"?
2001	Figure in a Landscape Seventh studio album Release date: 21 August 2001 Label: One Way Records	"?	"?	"?
2004	The Hard Way Eighth studio album Release date: 21 September 2004 Label: No Brakes	"?	"?	"?
2006	Downtown: Journey of a Heart Ninth studio album Release date: 9 January 2007 Label: Rounder Records	"?	"?	"?
2011	Rough & Tumble Tenth studio album Release date: 2011 Label: Frontiers Records	"?	"?	"?
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

Live albums

Year	Album	Label
2001	Live & Rare Tracks	One Way
2010	In Real Time	Frontiers Records

Compilation albums

Year	Album	Label
1992	The Essential John Waite	Chrysalis
1996	Complete	Capitol

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions									Album
		UK	CAN	NZ	SWI	US	US Main	US AC	US Dance	US Country
1982	"Change"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	16	"?	"?	"?	Ignition
	"Going to the Top"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1984	"Missing You"	9	1	18	12	1	1	7	27	"?	No Brakes
	"Tears"	"?	45	"?	"?	37	8	"?	"?	"?
	"Dark Side of the Sun"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
1985	"Restless Heart"	"?	"?	"?	"?	59	28	"?	"?	"?
	"Change" (re-release)	"?	"?	"?	"?	54	"?	"?	"?	"?	Vision Quest (soundtrack)
	"Every Step of the Way"	"?	39	"?	"?	25	4	"?	"?	"?	Mask of Smiles
	"Welcome to Paradise"	"?	"?	"?	"?	85	"?	"?	"?	"?
1986	"If Anybody Had a Heart"	"?	"?	"?	"?	76	24	"?	"?	"?	About Last Night... (soundtrack)
1987	"These Times Are Hard for Lovers"	77	"?	"?	"?	53	6	"?	"?	"?	Rover's Return
	"Don't Lose Any Sleep"	"?	"?	"?	"?	81	"?	"?	"?	"?
1990	"Deal for Life"	80	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	Days of Thunder (soundtrack)
1993	"In Dreams"	"?	"?	"?	"?	103	"?	"?	"?	"?	True Romance (soundtrack)
	"Missing You" (re-entry)	56	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	The Essential John Waite
1995	"How Did I Get By Without You?"	"?	"?	"?	"?	89	20	"?	"?	"?	Temple Bar
2001	"Fly"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	27	"?	"?	Figure in a Landscape
2005	"New York City Girl"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	23	"?	"?	The Hard Way
2006	"Missing You" (with Alison Krauss)	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	34	Downtown: Journey of a Heart
2011	"Shadows of Love"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	Rough & Tumble
	"If You Ever Get Lonely"	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

See also

• The Babys
• Bad English