Tom, Kieran, 'Fish', Ben, Jon and Didz released 3 studio albums and a number of EPs and singles during their 9 year existence, of which 'Blind Pilots' was the most successful charting. with members going on to join Dirty Pretty Things, Rhysmix, and other projects.
The band first got together in 1998. Using a farmhouse turned into a studio on the outskirts of Wokingham, United Kingdom, it took the Cooper Temple Clause almost two years to record their debut album ‘See This Through And Leave’. An intense rock record, unafraid of challenging listeners and genres, it ignored scenes and fashion.
By the release of second album ‘Kick Up The Fire, Let The Flames Break Loose’ in 2003 - named after a Philip Larkin poem, again recorded reclusively in Reading, and with the minimum of record company interference - Team Cooper had become an army capable of breaking into the Top Twenty without the need for crossover radio support or heavy rotation videos. Gigs were riotous devotionals, particularly those on the UK tour with The Libertines. They played one triumphant US headline tour and a second set of arena dates in support of The Cure.
Then 2004 saw a shake-up at RCA leaving TCTC without an A&R man and with a new, unfamiliar set of faces and ears in charge who hadn’t grown up with, and therefore didn’t quite ‘get’, their isolationist methods and slash and burn musical direction. So, as the ‘Kick Up The Fire…’ campaign wound to a close there began a period of uncertainty and miscommunication between band and label. The Coopers once more holed up in their Reading pig farm to record demos for third album ‘Make This Your Own’ with long-term producer Dan Austin. After 12 uncertain months, eventually RCA re-signed the band and sent TCTC into the studio with ex-Adam & The Ants man Chris Hughes at the desk. He encouraged the band to return to their roots, when all six would swap instruments for each song and also share singing duties.
The final result 'Make This Your Own' was intended as both a commercial hit and a chance to bring ideas touched on in early B-sides and demos to fruition. Opening in familiar dancefloor rock territory with the anti-music industry rant ‘Damage’, it soon swerves into unmapped musical sectors often utterly unrecognisable as a Cooper Temple Clause record.
Gone was the majority of the electronic bells and whistles in the background, relegated to B-sides. There’s radio-friendly emo pop (mostly Fisher-sung songs ‘What Have You Gone And Done’ and ‘Waiting Game’), soulful Dears-gone-Erasure tunes (mostly Tom-sung tracks ‘Connect’ and ‘Isn’t It Strange’), Lilac Time cool folk (‘Take Comfort’), laptop blip-rock (‘Once More With Feeling’) and dark 80s krautonica (‘Head’) on here. Inevitably, many fans and indeed RCA were not quite sure what to make of the Nu Coopers realm. At the same time TCTC were still reeling from the unexpected departure of bassist, new dad and mental crowd-surfing nutjob Didz Hammond to join Carl Barât’s new band Dirty Pretty Things, whose contributions to 'Damage', 'Homo Sapiens', and 'Once More With Feeling' were still used 2 years after his departure.
After two years with no new material, the fanbase were enthusiastic for an internet-only release of ‘Damage’ in summer 2005. Some months later the band were signed to Sanctuary Records; 'Make This Your Own' finally appeared 2 years late in early 2007, preceded by Homo Sapiens and nearly a year after it had leaked to fans. The album and its singles flopped in comparison to the chart storming and arguably more challengingly creative KUTFALTFBL.
The band announced they would be going their separate ways on 24th April 2007, with Tom continuing his DJing side projects Rhysmix and Losers.
Tom Bellamy - Guitar, Bass, Synthesizer, Keyboard, Trumpet, Programming, Samples, Melodica, Harmonica, Percussion, Toy Piano, Bow, Decks, FX/Beats, Vocals & Lyrics.
Daniel Fisher - Guitar, Bass, Vocals & Lyrics.
Ben Gautrey - Guitar, Bass, Keyboards & Vocals.
Jon Harper - Drums, Gretsch Drums, DW Snares, Sabian Cymbals, Percussion & Backing vocals.
Kieran Mahon - Keyboard, Piano, Synthesizer, Organ, Hammond Organ, Farfisa, Guitar, Bass & Backing vocals.
Didz Hammond - Bass, Synthesizer, Samples, Vocoder, Guitar & Vocals. (Left 2005)
Blind Pilots
The Cooper Temple Clause Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hope you never go
I hope you always keep
Our little secrets though
But how'd we get here
At this height
And what's this talk of
Dead weight
I know we always drink
But we don't always fight
The landing lights are on
But we're just out of sight
'cause this thing's mobile
There's still wheels
And I'm not done yet
So hang on
You came along to change the grade
To raise the bar I'd made of late
You came along to raise the stakes
To tend to me and my mistakes
I can't pretend that I could be
The man you said you saw in me
But hang around and I'll try and land this thing
no one came
no one saw
Someone pass the manual
And soon I'll go away
I'll see you at the door
So go put David on
Read about the war
We're just blind pilots
In strange planes
Back seat drivers
In dead cars
You came along to change the grade
To raise the bar I'd made of late
You came along to raise the stakes
To tend to me and my mistakes
I can't pretend that I could be
The man you said you saw in me
But hang around and I'll try and land this thing
Yeah I made a list of all the things
That I could change how I could win
I can't and I refuse to say
The wheels have slowly come away
I pray to God my soul to keep
'cause I could never stand the heat
But hang around and I'll try and land this thing
no one came
no one saw
Someone pass the manual
The Cooper Temple Clause's song Blind Pilots is a track that explores themes of insecurity and fear of failure. The opening lines of the song - "I hope you never change, I hope you never go, I hope you always keep our little secrets though" - set the tone for what is to come. It's a song about relying on someone else to keep your secrets, and to keep you grounded when you are not sure where you are going.
The song's title "Blind Pilots" is a metaphor for not knowing where you are going or how to get there. The lyrics "We're just blind pilots in strange planes, back seat drivers in dead cars" suggest that the singers are lost in their own lives, unsure of where they are headed. The song details the need for reassurance and encouragement from others, as the singer is struggling with the weight of his own mistakes.
The song is filled with vivid imagery, such as "landing lights" and "wheels" that suggest that the singer is in an airplane trying to land. But the lyrics also reflect a journey through life, as the singer tries to navigate the bumps along the way. The tone of the song is somewhat dark and introspective, but there is a sense of hope and determination as the singer resolves to "try and land this thing" despite his fear of failure.
Line by Line Meaning
I hope you never change
I wish you remain the same as you are now.
I hope you never go
I hope you'll always be around.
I hope you always keep/Our little secrets though
I trust you to keep our secrets safe.
But how'd we get here/At this height
How did we end up in this situation?
And what's this talk of/Dead weight
What's being said about carrying extra baggage?
I know we always drink/But we don't always fight
We may drink, but that doesn't automatically lead to fighting.
The landing lights are on/But we're just out of sight
Our journey might seem to be heading towards a smooth landing, but we're not there yet.
'cause this thing's mobile/There's still wheels
The situation is still in motion and can change directions if necessary.
And I'm not done yet/So hang on
I'm still in the process of figuring things out, so please be patient.
You came along to change the grade/To raise the bar I'd made of late
You have high expectations and are encouraging me to improve.
You came along to raise the stakes/To tend to me and my mistakes
You're holding me accountable for my actions and errors, but it's to help me succeed.
I can't pretend that I could be/The man you said you saw in me
I can't guarantee that I'll automatically become the person you envision me to be.
But hang around and I'll try and land this thing
Stick with me and I'll do my best to succeed and make things right.
no one came/no one saw/Someone pass the manual
No one showed up to help or offer guidance, so we need some advice or instructions.
And soon I'll go away/I'll see you at the door
I'll be leaving soon and saying goodbye to you at the door.
So go put David on/Read about the war
Do something else to distract yourself and pass the time.
We're just blind pilots/In strange planes
We're both uncertain of our current situation.
Back seat drivers/In dead cars
We're both attempting to control the situation, even if we're not doing it effectively.
Yeah I made a list of all the things/That I could change how I could win
I created a list of what I could do to better my chances of success.
I can't and I refuse to say/The wheels have slowly come away
I don't want to admit that things are falling apart or going wrong.
I pray to God my soul to keep/'cause I could never stand the heat
I hope that I'll be able to handle the pressure and challenges to come.
But hang around and I'll try and land this thing
I'm not giving up yet; I'm still trying to make things right.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BENEDICT MARTXEL GAUTRY, DANIEL FRANK FISHER, DAVID JONATHAN HAMMOND, JONATHAN DANIEL HARPER, KIERNAN JAMES MAHON, THOMAS RHYS BELLAMY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind