Throwback Thursday: The Outfield – My Paradise

“Ya know I like my girls a little bit older”

That’s one of those iconic lines from one of the 80’s most iconic songs, “You’re Love” by The Outfield. It’s one of those songs from that era that everyone knows, everyone loves, and most people know it’s by The Outfield (the similarities between the vocals and Sting‘s have lead some to mistake it for The Police).

It’s a song I have personally loved for ages, and have been listening to a lot lately as I’ve deep-dived into 80’s music over the last month. Then I learned on Tuesday that lead singer Tony Lewis passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. 2020 has already taken so many amazing artists that I loved, and so knowing we had lost this great singer of one of my favorite 80’s tracks was just another kick while I’m down. The only cure was listening to more of their music, which I came to realize I had never delved into.

What I discovered was a treasure trove of fantastic power pop, with immaculate hooks and perfect choruses. One track that really stood out to me was “My Paradise”, from the group’s 1989 album Voices of Babylon.

Sky rocketing out the gate with an elegiac guitar riff, Lewis’ vocals come in sounding sweet as sugar, with the big chorus brimming with positive joy.

“You can call it what you like. I know, this is my paradise“

As the song ends, you can feel the drums slamming and the infectious groove holds and doesn’t let go. Wherever Lewis is now, hopefully he’s in his own paradise. His music certainly helped make this world closer to one.

Take a listen to this lesser known classic from the band here: