Babe Ruth are an English rock band from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. They were active in the 1970s and then reformed in 2002.
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History
In 1971 after graduating from Royal Academy of Music, Alan Shacklock formed "Shacklock" with David Hewitt on bass, Dave Punshon on piano, Dick Powell on drums, and Jenny Haan as vocalist. Roger Dean later introduced Shacklock to Nick Mobbs, vice president of A&R to the EMI Harvest Records, who got them a show at Marquee Club before signing the band on to the EMI Harvest label.
In 1972, Shacklock was renamed after Babe Ruth, the baseball player. In 1972, Rupert Perry signed Babe Ruth for the United States, and their first album, First Base, was released.
In 1973 Ed Spevock joined Babe Ruth, replacing Powell on drums. Babe Ruth appeared twice on BBC Two's The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973 on 2 January and 2 August. Shacklock, Haan, Punshon, Hewitt and Spevock survived a near fatal car crash on the M1 motorway coming home from a 1973 performance at Liverpool University. Chris Holmes then joined Babe Ruth on keyboards. Amar Caballero, Babe Ruth's second album, was released in 1973. During a 1973 performance Shacklock was electrocuted but was not badly injured. Bernie Marsden then replaced Alan Shacklock as guitarist.