John Babcock (musician) - A Fresh Start in Florida

A Fresh Start in Florida

By the late 80's John was leaning toward scrapping the JB moniker. He felt a need to start anew, having ended a long-term relationship and dealing with the depression surrounding that and the terminal illness that would eventually rob him of his Dad, and mentor, Jack, John elected to go with a "character", very much in the style of a David Bowie-like muse. He and Bob originally settled on the name "Justin Case", however, after a long, introspective consideration he decided to scrap that in favor of the first name, simply: Justin. It was under this name that he released his long-awaited follow up for "Bleu". Again, a strong album with solid hooks and great melodies all over the place, the compilation gave us one of John's best tunes yet: "This Thing Called Love".

There were more trips to England; songs were placed on European television. A tune he had written, purely as a labor of love for his favorite historic figure, John Kennedy, upon the 25th Anniversary of his assassination, was turned into a heartfelt video homage which premiered on the nationally syndicated Joe Franklin television program. In short, John Babcock was never without a project to bury himself in.

When John relocated to Orlando, Florida in 1990, he immersed himself in the local music scene, performing as a solo acoustic act that garnered him a nomination for Best Solo Performer by Central Florida's #1 music showcase, "The Jammy's". John's accomplishments continued to pile up. Among many of the musicians he had either collaborated with or had play on his recordings were Rainbow guitar-god Joe Lynn Turner, Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto and even an impromptu stage jam with actor John Goodman.

John finally began billing himself under his birth name and returned to Abbey Road Studios in 1991 to begin sessions for his fourth album, Mathew Street. He composed, performed and produced the disc and enlisted the vocal, lead guitar and engineering talents of friend David Mikeal. The single "Mathew Street" was released in Germany on Deep Cut Records in 1996 and received heavy airplay and excellent reviews. Furthermore, with its success, a music video was created to promote the album. It features scenes of Europe and famous Beatles landmarks (as well as a brief scene with original Beatles manager, Allan Williams.) Besides the irresistible title cut, there were other breathtaking moments such as "Deep In The Heart", "Watching The World" and the moody, emotional "Wet Road". Steadfastly remaining centered in Central Florida, though, the album lacked the NYC-backed push that would have made it a college airplay staple. Still, hailed by friends, family and fans alike, it remains one of his best works.

In 1997, John joined The British Invasion, a Beatles/'60s tribute show at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center U.K. Pavilion. He also toured with the cast of Beatlemania, performing 18 concerts in 14 U.S. cities.