Babylon Zoo


Babylon Zoo were an English rock band formed in 1992 in Wolverhampton. Their song "Spaceman" gained considerable exposure through its use in a Levi's jeans television advert in the United Kingdom in late 1995. Released as the band's debut single on 21 January 1996, it entered the UK Singles Chart at number one. Spaceman led to the band being considered a one hit wonder; they had little success with any subsequent releases.

Career

Frontman Jas Mann had formerly been in an indie music band, called The Sandkings. In 1993, a three-track demo earned him a contract from Phonogram Records for his next project, Babylon Zoo.
The band's first single was the song "Spaceman" which had appeared on a Levi's jeans TV advert. Levi's used Spaceman for a UK TV ad after hearing the song on a Manchester radio station. It became the fastest-selling debut single in British history and the best-selling single since The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love". The single sold 383,000 copies in the first week of release, spending 5 weeks at number 1.
Tim Moore wrote that "only failure and embarrassment" followed for Babylon Zoo. An album entitled The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes was produced at Mann's New Atlantis Productions music and video centre. It peaked at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart on 17 February, but quickly dropped out of the Top 40, lasting only a further two weeks on the chart. Subsequent singles charted progressively lower, failing to match the success of "Spaceman". The band's reputation was further damaged by a series of scathing live reviews.
In 1999, a follow-up album was released, King Kong Groover. The album received negative reviews and sold less than 10,000 units, failing to chart in the UK. The singles from the album were "All The Money's Gone", which was released in the UK and Europe and peaked at number 46 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, a cover of Mott the Hoople's "Honaloochie Boogie", was only released as a promotional single in France. The group disbanded shortly after and Mann moved to India where he spent time working for an aid agency.
Critic Steven Wells wrote that the "Spaceman" single angered many consumers. He reported that Mann drew further ire through self-aggrandising interviews, and noted his ridicule in the media, including from the NME and in a 1997 episode of comedy TV series Brass Eye.
In 2005, Jas Mann announced he would be issuing a new Babylon Zoo album, called Cold Clockwork Doll, though no official release date was ever announced and no further updates followed.

Discography

Albums

Singles