Editing Bad English (section)

== History ==
The members decided on a name for the band while playing [[Pocket billiards|pool]]. John Waite missed a shot and Jonathan Cain made a comment on how bad his "{{Cuegloss|English|english}}" was (referring to the spin a player puts on the [[cue ball]]), and the band decided to use the phrase.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://library.thinkquest.org/4626/rock.htm |title= Rock Band Name Origins at WHAT'S IN A NAME| website= thinkquest.org| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060831050940/http://library.thinkquest.org/4626/rock.htm |archivedate=August 31, 2006 |publisher= | first= | last= | date= | access-date= }}</ref>

Jonathan Cain and guitarist Neal Schon, members of the successful rock band [[Journey (band)|Journey]], formed Bad English with Waite after Journey disbanded.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LA&p_theme=la&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EF5B9CC38A9C208&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title= A Rousing Reception for Bad English| work=[[Daily News of Los Angeles]]| date= January 29, 1990| via= newsbank.com| access-date= }}</ref> They were joined by Ricky Phillips, who had played bass for [[the Babys]] on two albums with Waite and Cain, and drummer Deen Castronovo.

=== [[Bad English (album)|First album]] ===
The band's first album, ''[[Bad English (album)|Bad English]]'', was a big seller. It contained three top-40 hit singles: the number one hit "[[When I See You Smile]]", the top 10 hit "[[Price of Love (Bad English song)|Price of Love]]", and "Possession".

The album's first single, however, was "Forget Me Not". It stalled outside the top 40 at number 45, but the single peaked at number 2 on the [[Mainstream Rock]] chart. The second single, "When I See You Smile", was their biggest hit, peaking at number 1 on the Hot 100. The song is also notable for being one of only two songs (the other being "Don't Walk Away") to be entirely written by an outside writer without help from at least one member of the band.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giles |first=Jeff |date=June 26, 2015 |title=How Journey and The Babys Alumni Rose and Fell in Bad English |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bad-english/ |access-date=March 16, 2021 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |publisher= |language=en}}</ref> "Best of What I Got" was released as a promotional single to [[Mainstream rock|Rock Radio]], where the tune cracked the top 10.<ref name="MR" />

From March to June 1990, the band toured across the US with [[Whitesnake]] in support of the album.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 4, 2008 |title=Life Story of John Waite – Bad English| url= http://www.johnwaite.com/lifestory/badenglish.htm |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080704075015/http://www.johnwaite.com/lifestory/badenglish.htm|archivedate= July 4, 2008 |access-date=March 16, 2021 |website= johnwaite.com| publisher= }}</ref>

=== [[Backlash (Bad English album)|Second album]] ===
The band's second album, ''[[Backlash (Bad English album)|Backlash]]'', came and went without any fanfare. The only single, "Straight to Your Heart", missed the top 40, peaking at number 42. Ricky Phillips writes on his website that the group had parted company before the second album had been mixed. Both Phillips and guitarist Neal Schon expressed frustration with the "[[Pop music|pop]]" side of the band's music and wanted a harder edge. In the end, it proved to be the band's undoing as everyone left to pursue other projects.

=== Breakup ===
In later interviews, Waite revealed that although he loved playing to stadium-sized audiences, he was uncomfortable with the [[corporate rock]] image that he felt the band had presented. He returned to working as a solo artist. Schon and Castronovo joined the fledgling rock band [[Hardline (band)|Hardline]] in 1991; however, both would leave the group not long after the release of its debut album, with Schon pursuing other projects and Castronovo joining [[Ozzy Osbourne]]'s band. In the mid-1990s, Schon rejoined Cain, who had released two solo albums in the interim, in a reformed Journey.  Castronovo also joined Journey in 1998, eventually leaving in 2015.  He later became a member of [[the Dead Daisies]] and [[Revolution Saints]] before returning to Journey in 2021.  Meanwhile, Phillips returned to session work, recording with artists such as [[Coverdale/Page]], [[Bobby Kimball]] and [[Eddie Money]] before joining [[Styx (band)|Styx]] in the early 2000s.