Babylon Zoo Biography
Formed in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, Babylon Zoo is the creation of singer, writer and producer, Jas Mann (Jaswinder Mann, 24 April 1971, Dudley, West Midlands, England). A precocious young man, he decided to concentrate on music after being expelled from art school and failing trials for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. His first band, the Sandkings, enjoyed minor success in UK indie circles in the early 90s and supported the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays on tour, but the other members did not share his "vision". His new creation, Babylon Zoo, was signed to Phonogram Records after Clive Black heard their first three-track demo tape in May 1993. When Black moved to Warner Brothers Records in 1993, he took Mann's contract with him. An album had been prepared and sleeves for a single, "Fire Guided Light", were printed, but Babylon Zoo's debut was put on hold again when Black moved once more to EMI Records in 1995. However, promotional copies of "Spaceman" had already been distributed, and it was chosen to tie in with a new Levi's jean advertisement. The advertisement concentrated on the speeded-up vocal section at the beginning and end of the song (actually the product of the Arthur Baker remix). When released as a single on 15 January 1996, after the band had been signed to a seven-album contract with EMI, it entered the UK chart at number 1 - becoming the fastest-selling debut record in UK chart history. Appearances on UK television's Top Of The Pops featured several backing musicians, but these were seen as a mere sideshow compared to their leader. The original musicians who worked with him had been sacked for "their aggressiveness towards females". The Boy With The X-Ray Eyes was produced at Mann's New Atlantis Productions music/artwork/video centre and included new age tracts such as the self-explanatory "Is Your Soul For Sale?" and "I'm Cracking Up I Need A Pill". Towards the end of 1996, "Spaceman" was approaching UK sales of 1 million and was the biggest-selling single of the year.
The comparative failure of the album and follow-up singles did, however, pose questions about Babylon Zoo's future survival. Mann's full-on adoption of glam rock on the follow-up King Kong Groover, appeared too late to cash in on the attendant furore surrounding Todd Haynes' genre tribute, Velvet Goldmine. Irony or no irony, "All The Money's Gone" stalled at UK number 46 in February 1999. Mann still writes music from his home in Los Angeles where he also runs his own label, Hub Records.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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