The Outfield, fronted by bassist/singer Lewis, guitarist/keyboardist John Spinks and drummer Alan Jackman, first formed in the late 1970s as Sirius B and The Baseball Boys, before landing on another baseball-inspired name, a conceit the British trio continued on the title of their hit 1985 debut album, Play Deep; the multiplatinum debut reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200, spending 66 weeks on the chart.
That release featured the breakthrough hit the bouncy pop rock smash "Your Love," which reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as radio single "Say It Isn't So" and All The Love." They followed up with "Since You've Been Gone" from 1987 album Bangin', which also spawned the hit MTV video for "No Surrender." The band soldiered on through the late 1980s and early 1990s with the albums Diamond Days (1990), Rockeye (1992), It Ain't Over (1998) and Extra Innings, releasing their final studio album together, Replay, in 2011. Songwriter/guitarist Spinks died of liver cancer in July 2014.
More recently, Tony embarked on a solo career, having released Out of the Darkness in 2018 and Unplugged -- The Acoustic Sessions earlier this year. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Carol, as well as his two daughters Gemma and Rosie and three grandchildren.
Rest in peace, Tony.
Watch some classic Outfield videos below...
