Your Love

The Zoo Crew is spinning the infectious "Your Love" by The Outfield, a track that has Zoo Freaks everywhere vibing to its '80s power pop energy. This song, released in 1986, was penned by guitarist John Spinks in a mere twenty minutes during a writing session with vocalist Tony Lewis on the porch of Spinks’ East London flat. Lewis, perched on an amplifier, watched as Spinks crafted the iconic opening lines, creating a fictional tale about a character named Josie who’s “on a vacation far away.” The lyrics, despite their catchy seduction narrative, have no basis in reality—Josie was purely a figment of Spinks’ imagination. The song’s raw, melodic charm helped it soar to number six on the Billboard Hot 100, cementing its status as a timeless anthem.

Beyond its chart success, "Your Love" has woven itself into pop culture. It served as the walk-up song for retired MLB players Charlie Blackmon and Gordon Beckham, adding a nostalgic swagger to their at-bats. The track also popped up in the 2014 film Tammy, setting the mood in the opening scene, and even got a humorous nod in a 2015 Family Guy episode where Joe Swanson’s voicemail parodies its chorus. In 2021, the song sparked an internet meme when fans on social media compared Tony Lewis’ vocals to Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy, giving it a quirky resurgence. The music video, shot in a single day in Astoria, New York, features actress JoAnn Willette painting the Play Deep album cover, with a flirtatious vibe between her and Lewis. Willette later shared in a 2013 Noblemania interview that the shoot wrapped at dawn, capturing the band’s authentic performance energy, as their manager Kip Krones emphasized they weren’t actors but musicians.

The Outfield began as a trio in London, originally under the name The Baseball Boys, a nod to the gang “The Baseball Furies” from the cult film The Warriors. Formed in 1984, the band consisted of John Spinks (guitar), Tony Lewis (vocals and bass), and Alan Jackman (drums). Before this, they played together in the late 1970s as Sirius B, a power pop outfit, but disbanded when their hard rock style clashed with the UK’s punk wave. Reuniting years later, they honed their sound in London pubs, catching the ear of Columbia Records with a demo that led to their 1985 debut album, Play Deep. Their manager, an American in England, suggested the name The Outfield, embracing a baseball-inspired identity despite the band’s admitted lack of knowledge about the sport. Spinks, a Beatles enthusiast influenced by melodic acts like Journey and Mr. Mister, aimedFate dealt them a challenge when they were signed by Columbia Records after a brief stint as The Baseball Boys. Their American-sounding