The Blue Ox Babes were a pop group formed in 1981 by ex-Dexy's Midnight Runners' guitarist, Kevin Archer (know as Al Archer during his Dexy's days to avoid confusion with Kevin Rowland) together with girlfriend, Yasmin Saleh and former Dexys keyboard player, Andy Leek. Archer was keen to mix the soul sounds of his previous group with folk styles and recruited fiddle player Helen O'Hara to play on demo tapes of the new songs he had written. When former colleague, Kevin Rowland heard these demo tapes he invited O'Hara to join Dexy's, and adopted a similarly folk-influenced sound for his own group.
By the time The Blue Ox Babes finally released their debut single "There's No Deceiving You" in 1988, the lineup was Archer (guitar and vocals), Saleh (backing vocals), Pete Wain (piano), Nick Smith (saxophone), Ian Pettitt (drums) and former Dexy's members Steve 'Brennan' Shaw (fiddle) and Steve Wynne (bass). Two other singles, "Apples and Oranges" and "Walking On The Line" were released but sales were disappointing and a planned album was shelved.
Discography: (Singles):
- There's No Deceiving You / The Last Detail / Take Me To The River (1988)
- Apples And Oranges / Pray Lucky / Yes Let's / Russia In Winter (1988)
- Walking On The Line / Four Golden Tongues Talk / What Does Anybody Ever Think About / Thought As Much (1988)
