Alabama 3 are a band originating from Brixton, England, their music incorpo… Read Full Bio ↴Alabama 3 are a band originating from Brixton, England, their music incorporates elements of country, acid house, blues and gospel.

Named for the Alabama 2, a legal case in the American deep South during the 1930s, in which two black men were hanged for allegedly raping a white woman. The name is also a nod to other victims of injustice like the Birmingham 6 and Guildford 4. In the United States, they are known as A3, after they were sued by the legendary country outfit Alabama.

They are perhaps best known in the United States for the remix of their song Woke Up This Morning, which appears as the theme song for the HBO hit series The Sopranos.

They have released six albums so far, with numerous bootlegs more than doubling their catalog. Alabama 3 rarely tour outside of their home country.

Recently, female singer Devlin Love has joined the group.

Additional material:
Alabama 3 are an English band mixing rock, dance, blues, country, gospel, and spoken word styles, founded in Brixton, London in 1995. In the United States, the band are known as A3, allegedly to avoid any possible legal conflict with the country music band Alabama.[1] The group achieved international fame when the producers of hit TV series The Sopranos chose the track "Woke Up This Morning" for the show's opening credits.[1]
The band are particularly notable for their fusion of styles, lyrics full of ironic intent, their deliberately humorous personas and their outrageous live performances. Every member of the group has an alias by which he is known, the band's founding members adopting the personas Larry Love (Rob Spragg) and The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love (Jake Black).
The band formed when Jake Black met Rob Spragg at an acid house party in Peckham and they decided that a fusion of country music with acid house was a musical possibility.[2] Other members of the band were accumulated over a lengthy period, but it is known that Rob Spragg was at university with Piers Marsh, the harmonica player and synth programmer for the band whilst Orlando Harrison, the group's current keyboardist, used to live with Jake Black.[2] Prior to the formation of the Alabama 3, Jake had gone through his "wilderness years" period of which there is little or no recorded output. This creative gulch lasted years following the demise of The Jangletties.
Starting their act under the alias the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine (UK), the group eventually switched names to Alabama 3 and, after having been dismissed by the mainstream media as a novelty act, the group finally signed with One Little Indian Records in 1997 for the release of debut album, Exile on Coldharbour Lane.[3]
In August 2007, the group toured under the name of Alabama 3: Acoustic and Unplugged, with Harpo Strangelove and Devlin Love, to promote their new album M.O.R. (released 10 September 2007). Bassist John "Segs" Jennings apparently left the band, saying he was "busy elsewhere and [he doesn't] have the time."[4] The band's sixth studio album album M.O.R included a cover of Jerry Reed's 1970s hit "Amos Moses" and features The Proclaimers on the track "Sweet Joy" plus piano parts on the country stomp version of the Gil Scott Heron song "The Klan", written by Heron and Brian Jackson. In September and October 2007, the band toured the UK in support of M.O.R. with Irish band Republic Of Loose supporting.
On Friday 29 February 2008, Larry Love, Devlin Love and Mark Sams did an encore with Carbon/Silicon at the seventh and final Carbon Casino gig at the Inn on the Green, under the Westway. Mick Jones joined the group on-stage to add guitar and backing vocals to a version of "Woke Up This Morning."
Having recorded and toured with the band in the early days, Aurora Dawn rejoined the band in 2009, and sometime between late 2010 and early 2011, programmer, harmonicist, and founding member Piers "Mountain of Love" Marsh left the band. Although no reason has yet been publicly given, his departure appears to be amicable, as he is still an active contributor to the band's Facebook page. He and other Alabama 3 founder member, Sir Eddie Real, are now performing new material under the name of "Mountain of Love" with vocals from various guest vocalists.
The members of the band are:
Rob Spragg AKA Larry Love: vocals
Jake Black AKA The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love: vocals
Orlando Harrison AKA The Spirit: keyboards, keyboard bass, vocals
Mark Sams AKA Rock Freebase: guitar, bass guitar
Aurora Dawn: vocals
Steve Finnerty AKA LOVEPIPE: production, guitar and vocals
Nick Reynolds AKA Harpo Strangelove: harmonica, percussion, vocals (son of Bruce Reynolds, architect of the Great Train Robbery of 1963.[5] Bruce appears on the band's 2005 album, Outlaw).
John Jennings AKA Segs: backing vocals, guitar
Past Members:
Zoe Devlin AKA Devlin Love: vocals
Jonny Delafons AKA L. B. Dope: drums, percussion
Simon (The Dude) Edwards AKA Sir Eddie Real: percussion, vocals
Piers Marsh AKA The Mountain of Love: Synths
Film:
"Peace in the Valley" is featured in the film A Life Less Ordinary (1997).
"Too Sick to Pray" plays on the radio in the film Gone in 60 Seconds (2000).
A snippet of "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" features in the film Some Voices (2000).
"Mansion on the Hill" featured on the Kurt Russell/Kevin Costner film 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001).
A part of "M.I.A" by the band is played in the film The Football Factory (2004) as the Chelsea firm travel up to Liverpool for an away match.
The song "Sister Rosetta" from Exile on Coldharbour Lane can be heard in the film Barnyard (2006).
A snippet of "Bulletproof" appears in A Very British Gangster (2007), Donal MacIntyre's documentary film about Manchester crime boss Dominic Noonan.
The song "Ain't Goin' to Goa" is featured in the motion picture Definitely, Maybe (2008).
The band is featured in the documentary We Dreamed America (2008). The film, which explores the influence of American country music on British artists, features three songs by the band.
"Mansion on the Hill" is used on the opening credits of mockumentory Good Arrows (2009), written by Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh.

Television:
Episode four of the BBC Three series Being Human features "Too Sick to Pray" at its opening and "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife" at its end. The songs were omitted from the DVD release of the episode due to copyright issues.[citation needed]
"Mansion on the Hill" features in the sixth episode of the ABC television series Carpoolers.
The closing scene to first season Criminal Minds episode titled "Won't Get Fooled Again" (10/05/05) plays "The Night We Nearly Got Busted".
A shortened alternate version of "Woke Up This Morning" can be heard for nearly 50 seconds in The Simpsons episode "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge", while Fat Tony and his gang are on the ride to the Simpsons' house. The sequence is a parody of the opening sequence of The Sopranos.
"Woke Up This Morning" is also in the later Simpsons episode "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer", which guest-starred Sopranos regulars Michael Imperioli and Joe Pantoliano.
A remixed version of "Woke Up This Morning" plays during the opening credits of the HBO television series The Sopranos.
On the Region 4 DVD release of season one of The Sopranos, the music video to "Woke Up This Morning" is included as a special feature; it is incorrectly credited as being performed by "Alabama 5".
A snippet of "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife" can be heard at the beginning of The Sopranos: "Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood" (episode 3.1) as Tony Soprano walks down the driveway to get his morning newspaper.
"Woke Up This Morning" was also used in an episode of BBC series Top Gear, in which the team were driving through Alabama.
"Mao Tse Tung Said" features in the first episode of the second season of Torchwood Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang.
Rob Spragg (as Rob Love) wrote and recorded the theme to Welsh TV series Y Pris. He and John Hardy won the Best Original Music Soundtrack award at BAFTA Cymru 2008

Power in the Blood
Alabama 3 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

No time for spindoctor's medicine
Cooked up by the government, selling me some cover-up
Sponsored information, crack pipes in the shopping malls
Nothing but another drug, a license they can buy and sell

I don't mind dying
I don't mind dying
I don't mind dying

When that call it comes, I will be ready for war

No time for backhanded compliments
From bourgeois apologists desperate for an incident
Real-estate assassins, assessing my predicament
My dollar bills dependant upon it being in their interest

I don't mind dying
I don't mind dying
I don't mind dying
When that call it comes, I will be ready for war

There is power in the blood, justice in the sword
When that call it comes, I will be ready for war
Power in the blood, justice in the sword
When that call it comes, I will be ready

I will raise my sword up right
To the bright and shining light,
Stained crimson red with the blood of the unredeemed
And as I cut them limb from limb, and I dash all their kith and kin,
You know, their bodies I will bury in the deep

Because there's power in the blood.
There's power in the blood.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Alabama 3's song "Power in the Blood" are a critique of the current political and societal climate, where the government and corporations are selling a false narrative through sponsored information and cover-ups, and the wealthy are simply assessing the predicament of the working class to determine their own profits. The opening lines suggest that there is no time to be fed propaganda and lies from those in power, and that corrupt politics and policies are like a drug - a license that can be bought and sold, but ultimately destructive. There is a sense of defiance and readiness for action in the chorus, where the lyrics state "I don't mind dying... When that call it comes, I will be ready for war." This could be interpreted as a call for rebellion or revolution against perceived injustices and oppression.

The subsequent verses continue the theme of resistance against the powers that be, with a rejection of "backhanded compliments" and apologies from the "bourgeois apologists" who seek to maintain the status quo. The lyrics also imply that their own financial success is dependent on the oppression of the working class, and thus they will not be swayed by any form of manipulation to maintain their own power. The final repetition of "There is power in the blood" suggests that there is a collective strength and potential for change that can be harnessed by the oppressed, using the use of force if necessary.

Line by Line Meaning

No time for spindoctor's medicine
I don't have time for false and misleading information fed by the government and the media.

Cooked up by the government, selling me some cover-up
The government is fabricating lies and selling it to me to hide their wrongdoings.

Sponsored information, crack pipes in the shopping malls
The media outlets are funded by corporations and are selling various harmful products including drugs.

Nothing but another drug, a licence they can buy and sell
The harmful products being sold are nothing but a business opportunity for corrupt corporations.

I don't mind dying
I am willing to fight for what is right, even if that means sacrificing my life.

When that call it comes, I will be ready for war
I am prepared to fight for justice and defend my rights when the time comes.

No time for backhanded compliments
I have no tolerance for insincere compliments or flattery.

From bourgeois apologists desperate for an incident
People who belong to the privileged class and apologize for their inaction are just looking for an opportunity to act without bringing any actual change.

Real-estate assassins, assessing my predicament
The people in power who sell properties are scrutinizing my circumstances for their financial benefit.

My dollar bills dependant upon it being in their interest
The amount of money I have is directly linked to the interests of those who control my financial situation.

There is power in the blood, justice in the sword
There is strength and meaning in our fight against oppression.

I will raise my sword up right, to the bright and shining light, Stained crimson red with the blood of the unredeemed
I will fight under the light of righteousness, willing to give my blood for the cause.

And as I cut them limb from limb, and I dash all their kith and kin, You know, their bodies I will bury in the deep
I will do whatever it takes to defeat the oppressors and will bury their bodies with no remorse.

Because there's power in the blood
My blood is symbolic of the struggle for justice, and it holds immense power.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS

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