Instead of printing loads of lyrics for our songs that
are probably in the CD booklet anyway we thought we'd do things a bit
differently. Below you'll find an explanation of the ideas behind some
of the songs we've recorded over the years - there's also a bit of other
trivia that some sad and lonely people might find interesting. If there's
a song we've missed out and you particularly want an explanation on the
song then drop
us an email and we'll post up the answer.
So here goes! ................
Prohibition
That's When The Razor Cuts
Steve wrote the lyrics to this one and we first played a version of this
song in the Jump Squad line up - it's about the ups, but mainly downs,
of teenage love affairs. As a consequence of the girls Steve has loved
and left, he has had a knife thrown into his back and had honey spread
on his record collection. . Mickie Fairbairn of The Business played drums
on this track.
Radio Shakedown
One day street music will have it's own radio station and it'll survive
completely outside the mainstream. We need a pirate radio station - then
see the dials turn around
Nothing To Shout About
Some people are professional protestors and just won't be happy unless
they're "Rocking Against" this, that or the other and to be
seen as a protestor is more important than the meaning of the protest
- this strikes us as a bit tiresome. Of more interest is the number of
harmonies on the chorus!
Endless Saturday Night
Don't know how this came about. It's so slow we were surprised Mark(Brennan)
let it go on the album, although he did chop off great chunks from the
intro. I guess someone needed to save us from ourselves. It's just a song
speculating on the joys of Saturday night lasting forever - a hideous
thought nowadays. Some bloke once told us that he and girlfriend bonked
endlessly to this track. And no, the guitar solo doesn't sound like a
Faces song.
It Must Be Physical
Whatever anyone says - the basis of any successful relationship is physical.
The sound engineer thought the vocals should sound as though it was a
telephone conversation - that's why the vocals sound weird honest!
It's So Sad
Inspired by the fallout (not literally of course) of many an unwanted
pregnancy. Three chords played in as many different ways as possible -
how many more chords do you need?
Long Division
This is about the Berlin Wall! Shortly after this was written they took
the bloody thing down! Such is the power of rock'n'roll!
Money With Menaces
Dream That Dream
Just a horny dream that ended too soon. We were so tight for recording
time that the vocals were recorded while another band was loading in their
gear for the next session. The next day we found the tape machine had
been running at an uneven speed so it all had to be done again. For once
Pete couldn't think of any harmonies for the chorus!
The Yellow House
In Sweden in the early 1990's all the HIV sufferers were put into one
large house (a yellow one) and effectively kept prisoner til they developed
AIDS and dropped dead. Presumably they have a very large Yellow House
now. If this had been recorded at the right tempo it would have been half
as long and taken half the time to record.
All The World's A Television
Life imitates and aspires to be the art that is suppose to imitate life.
This should have been written in Los Angeles but was written in a loft
in Winchmore Hill which is like the UK version Knotts Landing.
Readers Wives
Pre internet porn magazine feature for wives of, yes …porn mag readers.
Phil just happened to have the number for a phone sex line so we recorded
a bit from the telephone and after putting it through some gizmo we flew
it onto the track. I wonder if the woman concerned knows how famous she
is!
I'm Not Too Scared To Dance
When we were in Jump Squad we had a song called "Too Scared To Dance"
about fights at gigs between punks, skins, rude boys and psychobillys
etc. Ten years later it was no problem 'cos there was no one at the gigs!
Pray All Day
This is our token poke at religion. It causes nothing but trouble and
makes the pubs close early on Sundays. Keysboards can be heard on this
track! That makes keyboards on two songs out of roughly four hundred and
fifty!
Power Chords For England
When Guitars Ruled The Earth
There seemed to be a time when every song on the radio had upfront guitars.
Then came the dark days of synths and sequencers and everybody sounded
like robots and worse still, there no live bands playing. All that wailing
at the beginning of the track is Pete trying to make his guitar sound
like a dinosaur.
Innocent Eyes
How many punk bands can you think of that have dealt with issues of child
abuse? Not many we'd guess. Anyway, this is the only GG's song where you
can hear a wah wah pedal on the guitar (it's called a "Cry Baby"
for the anoraks amongst you).
Strange Kind Of Love
This one's about domestic violence. We were obviously delving deep into
topical social issues of the time, either that or watching too much telly,
EastEnders probably. In case you wondered, the backing vocals in the verse
are singing "diddip dip diddip dip".
Playing Games Again
This is a cross between Phil Spector and Tales Of The Unexpected. Boy
gets girl, boy loses girl, boy keeps seeing girl in his imagination… or
is it? As a result of the wonders of multi tracking in the studio, the
tailout of this song has 32 vocals going at once! Not bad going for a
three piece.
A Boy Like Me
A tale of a boy's low self esteem and the unexpected attention of a nob
out bird.
Radio Authority
his is, or at least was, the quango responsible for dishing out radio
broadcast licences and claim(ed) to represent the wishes of the listening
public. Political and commercial self interest was closer to the truth
which is why we have the radio stations that we have.
Skweeler!
I Can Handle It
Given an informed choice and the average British adult can make up his/her
own mind on their own moral values and they can indeed "handle it".
However, we will rarely be given the choice and will be "protected"
from our depraved, evil selves by those that supposedly know better.
Halfway To Bielefeld
A song about touring! Inspired by our first trip to Europe as guests of
999 in which we seemed to cross Germany just about every day and being
"Halfway To Bielefeld" was a daily occurrence. Everyone was
ill and we spent so much time in the bus watching videos we nearly started
eating each other. And how come Arthur always wins at Trivial Pursuit?
Extremes
Exciting stuff always happens to other people and life in the reality
zone rarely matches up with the expectations after reading the instructions
on the packet. That said, there's some fairly nifty drumming on this track
by Gianfranco. This album was recorded in five days with three days of
mixing. In the studio next door a band had finished one remix of a dance
track in the same time - but then they're famous!
Mother's Little Helper
This was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard in the sixties of course.
It seems to be about busy mothers taking downers to cope with housework
- well they need to get a grip!! Anyway, apparently today, there's a new
generation of women off there heads on Prozac and the pharmaceutical companies
just love it cos they're making a fortune!
May Day By The Sea
We're too young to know of course, but in the sixties the mods, rockers
and beatniks liked nothing better than to go to the seaside on bank holidays
and knock the shit out of each other. This is just a bit of dewy eyed
reminiscing - although we weren't actually there of course, M'lud.
Gimme My Ball Back
This isn't actually a true story although there are a few details lifted
from Pete's sad schooling that found their way into the song. The truth
is Pete's ball got nicked in the playground and Pete then tripped the
bloke from behind and he scraped the front of his face off on the tarmac.
The ball thief got up and was not happy one bit and beat the daylights
out of our have a go hero until the PE teacher arrived and saved Pete
from certain death. The bit about pushing the attacker under a train has
not yet been fulfilled.
Worst Bar In The World
This was recorded for the British Punk Invasion comp CD on High Society
in Germany. The bar referred to is The World's End in Camden Town. Too
big, aspiring to be fashionable, overpriced, overcrowded (with tourists),
antipodean staff who are rude and condescending and has an underground
station nearby that gets closed whenever it's busy!!!
Skweeler
We don't know how this happened but it did, and we're really quite proud
of it. Apart from "Batman" by The Jam there aren't any other
punk instrumentals that we can think of. The voice is that of Ms Munroe
cunningly recorded by putting a microphone by the telly while watching
"The Seven Year Itch". The bit you probably half recognise is
a chord progression similar to one used in "All The Young Dudes".
Road To Reality
Crash And Burn
Not the crash and burn of being crushed by a woman at your first approach
- more the crash and burn of ambitions being shot down. Not the first
or last time this subject has come up. All this album was recorded digitally
but then I suppose you could hear that couldn't you!
Schedule Ten
This is the name given to the list of drugs that your GP has chosen not
to prescribe on account of their cost. Included on this list is a drug
proven to help MS sufferers but you can't have it cos it costs too much!
Outrage Corporation
Okay, being obnoxious has often been used as a means of selling (particularly
bands) but now "outrage" is big business and often officially
sponsored which kind of defeats the whole point doesn't it? Now the rebel
religion has been out of the bag for thirty odd years, the mohican haircut
approach to rock'n'roll can only really be used for ironic effect.
Hamster Box
Another touring song. "Hamster box" is used as a reference to
small venues, crap PA speakers, cupboards used for band rooms and occasionally
for boxes used to keep hamsters.
Bye Bye Beach
An alternative view of the banal two week beach holiday
favoured by most of us in the UK.
Stranger In My Own Street
Originally written and recorded for a song competition
organised by Pulped! Unfortunately there were only two entries but we
were assured that this would have won if the prizes had been awarded.
It's a bit like a Song For Punk Europe. It's also about how you fit in,
or rather you don't, with the normality of safe suburbia. This was the
last song recorded by Gianfranco on drums before his departure to safe
suburbia and the return of Unsafe Steve.
Safety Pin Through My Heart
Not on "Road To Reality", in fact not on any
album yet. Recorded in Los Angeles in the sound engineers very nice house
- a million miles from the subject but a great sound anyway. If nobody
gets to hear anything of the songs we've written and recorded then that's
beyond our control - but this is how we play and it's our vision of what
punk was at least partly about. It's not about the fashion or the haircut
but the attitude. It's what sets us apart and it is also our undoing but
it's always from the heart. This song has four chords D, B, A, & G,
no guitar solo and you could probably play it in ten minutes.