Julianne Regan, a former journalist, played bass for the popular rock group Gene Loves Jezebel for a little while. The initial core of All About Eve was Regan, guitarist Tim Bricheno, and bassist Andy Cousin from Aemotti Crii. As a three-piece (plus a drum machine), they released a series of independent singles starting from 1984 including "D For Desire", "In The Clouds" and "Flowers In Our Hair". After Julianne sang backing vocals for The Mission's God's Own Medicine album, the band received greater attention and were signed to Phonogram. Drummer Mark Price was added around this time.
Their self-titled debut album was released in 1988 and produced the UK hit single Martha's Harbour. Drawing much of its lyrical material from hippie ideals, white magic and dreamlike fairy tales, the album's gentle folk rock-inspired pop sound won the band many fans (nicknamed "angels"). Although often falsely lumped by the media under the label of goth rock, little (if any) such inspiration actually played a part in the band's music after around 1986, any "goth" connection being drawn not from the music, but from the previous and future engagements of the band members in the musical scene of the time.
In a well known incident, the band later performed a dubbed version of Martha's Harbour on the BBC1 television show Top Of The Pops, but, owing to a studio technical error, the taped vocals were broadcast without the band being able to hear them, resulting in the TV audience hearing the recorded version of the song, while the band members sat motionless on screen waiting for their cue to begin. By way of compensation the band were invited back on to the show the following week, and this time their performance passed off smoothly.
The following year, their second album Scarlet And Other Stories was released, and the band toured around the UK. Widely prevalent on this album were Regan's somber, highly melancholic moods. Painful chance encounters with love also appeared on the lyrical front, and it is this motif (and period of time) which was to greatly paint the picture for the future of the band as well.
In 1990, Bricheno left the group (later to join The Sisters Of Mercy for their Vision Thing era, and subsequent bands XC-NN and Tin Star) to be swiftly replaced by The Church's Marty Willson-Piper. They went on to record Touched By Jesus in 1991 (which featured David Gilmour of Pink Floyd on guitar on two tracks), before changing record companies and taking a dramatic stylistic change by releasing Ultraviolet the year after.
Going an altogether different way to their previous release, Ultraviolet mellowed the band's sound greatly, revisiting Scarlet's general sorrowful feel with a heavy inspiration from the shoegazing movement and psychedelia to turn the Eve signature sound ever colder, with much downplayed vocals. The album, released by MCA Records was not well supported by the record company, considering the change to be for the worse, and the band subsequently went their separate ways. MCA, shedding no tears, promptly deleted the album from their catalogue. Although the band continued for a couple more months without Regan's input, they disbanded in early 1993, with the album they had been working on at the time eventually seeing the light of day under the group name Seeing Stars.
Regan went on to form Mice and to work with Bernard Butler, but an album with the latter never came to fruition due to personality clashes. Though often quoted that Julianne thought Butler to be "Satan", this quote is in fact not true. Later on, she also teamed up with her old Gene Loves Jezebel acquaintance Jean-Marc Lederman in the highly atmospheric Jules et Jim project (a collaboration which continues to this day).
In 1999, old friends The Mission reformed after a short break and started touring. They invited Regan to open for them, and their offer was accepted, starting the second era of the band. Soon after the tour the newly-reformed (Regan, Willson-Piper & Cousin) All About Eve toured for two years, releasing Fairy Light Nights, an acoustic live collection in 2000, with Volume 2 following in 2001, and later followed by two more live albums Live And Electric At The Union Chapel and Cinemasonic (the latter of which was also released as a DVD). A collection of early recordings was also released, entitled Return To Eden, Volume 1 (no second volume has yet appeared).
In 2002, Willson-Piper left the band to pursue other projects, to be replaced by new guitarist Toni Haimi, previously of the band Malluka and now in the Sohodolls. Also in 2002, Julianne and Andy released their first studio recordings in a decade, with the EP Iceland – a collection of "winter songs", including reworkings of previous fan-favourite December and cover versions of Wham!'s "Last Christmas", Queen's "A Winter's Tale", and a minimalist electronic take on the popular song from the animated short The Snowman, "Walking In The Air".
In mid-2004, just after the release of their first single in a decade, "Let Me Go Home", the band split once again. Regan is currently working on projects including an album with Jean-Marc Lederman (in a long-awaited follow-up to the first Jules et Jim album), as well as collaborating with Norwegian songwriters GKraft, and a possible solo album. The nearly-completed Eve studio album that was being worked on remains unreleased, although Regan and Cousin may possibly be dusting off the recordings to finish them in the near future. A double CD collection entitled Keepsakes, consisting of the singles, key album tracks and previously unreleased rarities, as well as some newly recorded songs, was released early March 2006 and will initially be available with a DVD of promo videos and TV appearances.
Paradise
All About Eve Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm wondering if paradise was won by the gun
You gather fruit from danger trees
See more than you want to see
Too late, too late
We didn't know what it was
And all we know is we've lost it
And all we know is we've dreamt it
Will it ever come again
When you call ?
So catch if angels should
Fall in your arms
For every night a reaching hand
A thousand snake mouths open wide
Too late, too late
We didn't know what it was
And all we know is we've lost it
We threw away paradise
And all we know is we've dreamt it
Don't know where to go
Don't think you'll find it
I kneel down somewhere
So maybe they'll find me
You may have your dreams
But heaven you steal
Live by the sword
Live by the gun
Never to rest
'Til your heaven is won
We didn't know what it was
And all we know is we've lost it
We threw away paradise
And all we know is we've dreamt it
Gonna get it back
Gonna get it back
Will it ever come again?
The song "Paradise" by All About Eve is a reflection on human nature and a meditation on the loss of innocence that comes with the pursuit of power and control. The lyrics suggest a sense of restlessness and unease, as the singer describes themselves as "living on the wing and on the run," constantly searching for a sense of purpose and meaning in a world that seems to have lost touch with its own moral compass. The repeated refrain, "We didn't know what it was and all we know is we've lost it," reinforces the idea that there was once a state of grace and harmony that has been sacrificed for the sake of ambition and desire.
The reference to "danger trees" and the idea of "seeing more than you want to see" suggest a kind of knowledge that comes at a great cost, as though the knowledge of good and evil has led to a sense of disconnection from the world and a feeling of being lost in the wilderness. The imagery of angels falling and snake mouths opening wide suggests a world that is both beautiful and dangerous, and that human beings must constantly navigate between these two extremes in order to find their way to a sense of peace and contentment. In the end, the singer seems to suggest that there is hope for redemption and renewal, but it will require a willingness to let go of the past and embrace a new way of being in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Like a bird I'm living on the wing and on the run
I am living freely and without any burdens, like a bird flying through the sky and always on the move.
I'm wondering if paradise was won by the gun
I am questioning if true paradise can be obtained through acts of violence and war.
You gather fruit from danger trees
See more than you want to see
Too late, too late
You take risks by going after the things you desire, only to realize too late that it came at a high cost and with unintended consequences.
We didn't know what it was
And all we know is we've lost it
We threw away paradise
And all we know is we've dreamt it
We once had a paradise, but didn't appreciate it until it was gone, now all we can do is dream about it and wish we could have it back.
Will it ever come again
When you call?
We wonder if we will ever be able to regain and experience paradise again, or if it is gone forever.
So catch if angels should
Fall in your arms
For every night a reaching hand
A thousand snake mouths open wide
Take hold of every opportunity that comes your way, even if it's unexpected or difficult, because there are always more obstacles and challenges waiting for you.
Don't know where to go
Don't think you'll find it
I kneel down somewhere
So maybe they'll find me
When you feel lost and don't know what to do next, sometimes it's best to stop and wait for the answer to come on its own, even if it means waiting a long time.
You may have your dreams
But heaven you steal
Live by the sword
Live by the gun
Never to rest
'Til your heaven is won
You may have your goals and aspirations, but if you go about achieving them through violent or unethical means, you will never find the true paradise you seek. You will only find rest when you have won it through peaceful and honest means.
Gonna get it back
Gonna get it back
We are determined to get our paradise back, and we will do whatever it takes to make it happen.
We didn't know what it was
And all we know is we've lost it
We threw away paradise
And all we know is we've dreamt it
Once again, we didn't realize how valuable paradise was until it was gone, and all we can do now is wish to have it back.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY COUSIN, JULIANNE REGAN, TIM BRICHENO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind