John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1955) is an English rock singer and musician. He was lead vocalist for the bands The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored a #1 hit in the US Billboard Hot 100 with Missing You in 1984.


Waite was born in Lancaster, England. He first came to attention as the lead singer and bassist of The Babys, a British group which had moderate chart success and a solid following for their concert tours. Over the course of five years, the Babys produced five albums ending with the final album On the Edge in October 1980, after which the group broke up.

Waite subsequently launched his solo career with his 1982 debut album Ignition, which produced the hit single Change . The Chrysalis 45 failed to chart on Billboard s Hot 100 during its initial release but was a top track on AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) radio stations as well as a very popular music video on MTV as the new cable channel celebrated its first full year of operation. The pulsating track was written by Holly Knight and in 1985 was included on the Platinum selling Vision Quest soundtrack. (The single was reissued and this time it reached the Top 50 on the Hot 100.) Going To The Top was released as the original follow-up single to Change .

His next album, No Brakes, resulted in international attention - and was a Top 10 Billboard album in the US - due to the smash hit Missing You which went to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It knocked Tina Turner s What s Love Got To Do With It? out of #1. For that very reason, Turner later recorded and released Waite s smash song herself. (Turner s single peaked at a disappointing #84 on Billboard s Hot 100 in 1996.) Missing You also hit #1 on Billboard s Album Rock Tracks as well as the Top 10 of Billboard s Adult Contemporary chart. No Brakes sold over a million and a half US copies yet has never been certified above the RIAA Gold standard (a record company must apply to the RIAA for such certification). Two more singles from No Brakes followed, including Tears which was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.

The next album Mask of Smiles followed in 1985, and another single If Anybody Had a Heart was released from the soundtrack of the 1986 film About Last Night..., starring Demi Moore. In 1987, Rover s Return was released with the single These Times Are Hard For Lovers . Waite would have another soundtrack appearance in 1990 from Days of Thunder with Deal for Life , written by Martin Page and Bernie Taupin.(Wikipedia)

Original Release:
- No Brakes : 1984
- Mask of Smiles : 1985

Track list:

No Brakes :
1. (00:02:48) John Waite - Saturday Night
2. (00:04:30) John Waite - Missing You
3. (00:04:00) John Waite - Dark Side Of The Sun
4. (00:04:31) John Waite - Restless Heart
5. (00:03:59) John Waite - Tears
6. (00:05:09) John Waite - Euroshima
7. (00:05:11) John Waite - Dreamtime, Shake It Up
8. (00:03:41) John Waite - For Your Love
9. (00:03:54) John Waite - Love Collision

Mask of Smiles :
10. (00:04:12) John Waite - Every Step Of The Way
11. (00:03:34) John Waite - Laydown
12. (00:03:59) John Waite - Welcome To Paradise
13. (00:03:05) John Waite - Lust For Life
14. (00:03:11) John Waite - Ain t That Peculiar
15. (00:04:30) John Waite - Just Like Lovers
16. (00:04:26) John Waite - The Choice
17. (00:03:19) John Waite - You re The One
18. (00:03:16) John Waite - No Brakes