Newton Theatre welcoming back John Waite

NEWTON — The Newton Theatre welcomes back rocker John Waite on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017 at 8 p.m.
Tickets for John Waite range from $29 to $44 and may be purchased by visiting www.thenewtontheatre.com or contacting the Box Office at 973-383-3700.
John Waite has been successfully writing, recording and performing some of the most listenable, enduring and appreciated popular music for more than 35 years. One cannot help but both recognize and marvel at the shimmering legacy of this British born rock star.
The ride began when Waite was tapped as bassist and lead vocalist for the Babys who rocketed to Top 20 chart positions with a pair of infectious hits, Isn’t it Time from the band’s sophomore LP, Broken Heart in 1977 and the monster ballad, Every Time I Think of You off 1978’s Head First. But it was the album’s rhythmically aggressive and seductive title track where fans got their first glimpse of the authentic John Waite, a no-holds-barred rock n’ roll performer devoted heart and soul to live performance and making sure every fan in the audience left the concert hall just as elated and exhausted as the band they’d paid to see.
The Baby’s disbanded at the end of 1980. From the ashes, however, rose an abundant and prodigious solo career, ignited by the well-received release, Ignition, that featured the single, Change, which rode the AOR charts for weeks in 1982, the year a new cable channel that would alter the course of popular media culture called MTV launched. At the forefront of its early play list was the video for the Holly Knight-penned track that in 1985, was included on the platinum-selling Vision Quest soundtrack.
John’s next solo effort, 1984’s No Brakes, did exactly what the title inferred, barreling to international acclaim and U.S. platinum success thanks to the smash hit, Missing You, which reached Number 1 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles, Album Rock Tracks and Adult Contemporary charts.
“I don’t have a plan and most of the songwriting is a knee jerk reaction of being alive. I try to speak from an honest place where the listener can both hear and feel where I’m coming from; the job is mine, to help them understand me. There’s a real need as an artist to express who you are and where you’re coming from.”
In 1988, a reunion with former Baby’s band mates, Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips –along with uber-guitarist Neal Schon from Journey and drummer Deen Castronovo –resulted in the John Waite fronted supergroup, Bad English. And in 1989, the group’s ballad, When I See You Smile, — penned by Grammy-winning songwriter, Diane Warren — went to Number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and was certified Gold. The album reached Top Five and sold more than two million units in the U.S. alone. Bad English released two albums before breaking up in 1992.
Since returning to the recording studio and concert trek as a solo artist in 1995, John has produced a string of solid, existentially eccentric, and blisteringly electric rock n’ roll records.
The story is far from over for the rock star/balladeer/storyteller who was inspired onto his musical path by childhood blues-based heroes like Free, the Small Faces and Humble Pie, along with a deep connection to the Celtic folk music of his homeland. The legacy of John Waite is a beautiful combination of sound and vision, the chronicle of an authentic artist, a superstar, who walks and rocks among us.