Ricky Phillips (The Babys, Bad English, Styx)

Courtesy Ricky Phillips Com

He was in the right place at the right time and had the right skills and the right stuff!

Born into a musical family, Ricky Phillips paid his dues on the club circuit noting “I played every zip code starting with EiEiO before ever getting a major gig!” As so many aspiring musicians do, he migrated Los Angeles to seek rock and roll fame (and perhaps fortune).

Whist toiling in a Hollywood guitar shop, he received a tip that The Babys were auditioning bass players – a move to afford their singing bass player John Waite the platform to concentrate on his vocals and front-man bravura. Phillips grabbed a bass off the wall with a dangling price-tag, nailed the gig, and the rest as they say is history…

Phillips waxed three slabs with The Babys and anchored several tours which raised his profile considerably. When The Babys folded, Phillips commenced to working sessions, and having his own compositions placed in films – including The Terminator.

Phillips, Waite, Neil Schon, Deen Castronovo, and Jonathan Cain formed Bad English (essentially a melding of Journey and The Babys) which struck platinum on their self-titled 1989 release in the waning daze of big hair and big hooks.

Upon the demise of Bad English – bad timing as the grunge movement wiped out their momentum, Ricky hooked up with another superstar collaborative David Coverdale / Jimmy Page – waxing a few tracks on their sole studio slab.

Following Coverdale / Page, Phillips turned his attention to production, building a studio in North Hollywood – among his notable projects included ex-Toto singer Fergie Frederickson’s Equilibrium release in 1999. In 2005 Phillips joined Styx as a bassist / guitarist, trading off bass duties part-timer Chuck Panozzo.

Ricky’s current weapons of choice include Fender, Dana (pictured) and Spector basses.

Ricky Phillips Sound & Vision…

The Babys:

“Midnight Rendezvous” https://youtu.be/BSf7YLX1Py8

“Back on My Feet Again” https://youtu.be/LZUv2K4R3vg

“Turn and Walk Away” https://youtu.be/qrLZjAIzbow

Bad English:

“When I See You Smile” https://youtu.be/cu6pclWsxzs

“Forget Me Not” https://youtu.be/-Qol7z-ku8A

“Price of Love” https://youtu.be/AuJqJ7j7HVY

Coverdale / Page:

“Easy Does It” https://youtu.be/_uOwj96HTyg