Guy Babylon

Guy Babylon (December 20, 1956 – September 2, 2009) was a keyboardist/composer, most noted for his work with Elton John.

Babylon was born in New Windsor, Maryland. Growing up listening to the likes of Led Zeppelin, Yes and Gentle Giant, he attended Francis Scott Key High School and then moved on to the University of South Florida, earning a BFA in music composition. Upon graduation, he moved to Los Angeles, California. In 1988, he joined Elton John's studio and touring band, appearing on the album Sleeping with the Past. In 1990, he performed with the group Warpipes, a side project of fellow Elton John member Davey Johnstone. Guy performed and recorded with several artists such as Mike Pinera, Iron Butterfly, Blues Image, Luis Cardenas and Renegade.

Guy Babylon also arranged many Elton John introductions, including those used in "Bennie and the Jets" and "Pinball Wizard". 2001 was a good year for Babylon, as he won a Grammy Award for his contributions on the Elton John / Tim Rice musical Aida. Babylon also worked extensively on the Elton John / Bernie Taupin musical Lestat, (based on the Anne Rice novels). Until his death, he lived in Los Angeles with his wife and children, and was a member of Elton John's six-member touring and recording band. He died of a heart attack on September 2, 2009, after swimming in a pool.

Babylon

Babylon (𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 Akkadian: Bābili or Babilim; Arabic: بابل‎, Bābil) was a significant city in ancient Mesopotamia, in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city was built upon the Euphrates and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Babylon was originally a small Semitic Akkadian city dating from the period of the Akkadian Empire c. 2300 BC.

The town attained independence as part of a small city state with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in 1894 BC. Claiming to be the successor of the more ancient Sumero-Akkadian city of Eridu, Babylon eclipsed Nippur as the "holy city" of Mesopotamia around the time Amorite king Hammurabi created the first short lived Babylonian Empire in the 18th century BC. Babylon grew and South Mesopotamia came to be known as Babylonia.

The empire quickly dissolved after Hammurabi's death and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian, Kassite and Elamite domination. After being destroyed and then rebuilt by the Assyrians, Babylon became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 609 to 539 BC. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the city came under the rules of the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid empires.

Backyard Babies

Backyard Babies are a rock band from Nässjö, Sweden. The band was formed in 1987 and over the years they have released six studio albums and won a Swedish Grammy. The band is now located in Stockholm, Sweden.

They are largely attributed with popularizing sleaze rock in Scandinavia and Sweden. Their single "Minus Celsius" appears as a playable bonus track in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and "Degenerated" is available as a downloadable song for Guitar Hero World Tour.

History

Formed in 1987, Backyard Babies originally consisted of singer/bassist Tobbe (Tobias Fischer), guitarist Dregen, guitarist Johan Blomqvist, and drummer Peder Carlsson. They were then called Tyrant and played several live shows in their local area and recorded a rough demo. Tobbe was soon replaced by frontman Nicke Borg on vocals and guitar, and Blomqvist switched to bass. Fischer went on to be a professional photographer and web designer in Stockholm, continuing to work occasionally with his old band mates .

Babylon (W.A.S.P. album)

Babylon is the fourteenth studio album by American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released on November 9, 2009. The album was inspired by biblical visions of "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". The album contains covers of Deep Purple's Burn (originally recorded for W.A.S.P's previous album Dominator, but not used for unknown reasons) and Chuck Berry's Promised Land. Promised Land was also covered in 1973 by Elvis Presley, and it was Elvis' version that the band had in mind as demonstrated by the ending comment "How about one of them peanut butter & banana sandwiches."

Track listing

Personnel

Chart performance

Note: The UK chart position was recorded on the UK Independent releases chart, not the mainstream albums chart.

References