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.
Ravens
All About Eve Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the middle of an awful storm
I took fright at the terrible sight
Of a raven flying into my room
My blood ran cold, my heart stood still
As I pulled the covers over my head
A minute dragged by as I opened my eyes up
To find her at the end of my bed
About herself being one of a score
And I felt sick at the very idea
Of dealing with nineteen more
She said, "look out your window"
I see a skyfull, I pull a rifle on them all
Pink sunrise in the wintry skies
All warm on the wings of a dove
She sinks and lands on the back of my hand
And sings with the voice of love...
"Thoughts made flesh can be beautiful things
As I am one of the same
Fed so well on the best of your dreams
And the beauty found within
But those black beasts that you see in the east
Are scratching on the orchard floor
At split, sweet fruits and the writhing worms
That you keep behind the straining door
Go to the cellar!
I see the beasts and they're eating
Feasting on it
Fill my head with small white flowers
Help the sweetness heal the sour
Draw on high religious power
Free the ravens from the tower
The lyrics of the song "Ravens" by All About Eve explore the idea of the supernatural and the horror that it invokes. The song describes a scene where the singer is visited by a raven in the middle of the night during a terrible storm. The singer is terrified by the sight of the bird, and as it speaks to her, she realizes that she is dealing with something much more sinister. The bird tells her of her existence as one of twenty, and the singer starts to feel sick at the thought of dealing with nineteen more of these creatures.
The second verse of the song expands on the theme of the supernatural, with the raven speaking of thoughts made flesh and the beauty found within. However, there is a darker side to this world, with the raven also speaking of black beasts that scratch on the orchard floor, feasting on the split, sweet fruits and the writhing worms that the singer keeps behind a straining door. The raven urges the singer to go to the cellar, where she sees the beasts eating and calls for help from high religious power to free the ravens from the tower.
One interpretation of the song is that it symbolizes the different sides of human nature, with the ravens representing the darker aspects that people try to keep hidden, while the beauty found within represents the lighter side. The song is a reminder of the importance of acknowledging and embracing both sides of one's nature.
Line by Line Meaning
Late last night, about a quarter to twelve
At a very late hour of the night, around 11:45 pm
In the middle of an awful storm
During the course of a terrible and frightening weather condition
I took fright at the terrible sight
I experienced a feeling of intense fear after observing a dreadful event
Of a raven flying into my room
After a bird, known as the raven, came into my personal space
My blood ran cold, my heart stood still
I was filled with a sense of terror and anxiety
As I pulled the covers over my head
I instinctively went into a defensive mode, trying to protect myself
A minute dragged by as I opened my eyes up
It felt like an agonizingly long period of time before I managed to gather the courage to even look
To find her at the end of my bed
Only to discover that the raven was situated right towards the foot of my sleeping area
Then she spoke in a devilish croak
Following which, the raven started speaking in a sinister and eerie tone
About herself being one of a score
The raven went on to talk about how there were 20 of them in existence
And I felt sick at the very idea
I was overwhelmed with an intense feeling of disgust and fear
Of dealing with nineteen more
The prospect of having to confront 19 other ravens caused me to be extremely anxious
She said, "look out your window"
The raven then instructed me to gaze outside
I see a skyfull, I pull a rifle on them all
I peered through my window and watched as the sky was filled with ravens, after which I instantly readied my firearm with the intent of attacking them
Pink sunrise in the wintry skies
As I continued to view the scene, the sky began to take on a pink hue, despite the fact that it was still cold outside
All warm on the wings of a dove
Then, a dove appeared in my field of vision, which made me as if I was finally experiencing a sense of warmth and peace after being exposed to so much dread
She sinks and lands on the back of my hand
However, the touching moment was fleeting as the dove descended to land on my hand
And sings with the voice of love...
It then started cooing and apparently singing a tune, in a manner that sounded affectionate
"Thoughts made flesh can be beautiful things
The bird proceeded to express its ideology, saying that physical manifestations of certain ideas can be enchanting
As I am one of the same
It explained that it was essentially no different from any other being in that regard
Fed so well on the best of your dreams
The dove spoke of consuming the best of my dreams to help it survive
And the beauty found within
It also stated that it was capable of finding beauty in various things
But those black beasts that you see in the east
The bird then shifted the conversation to a group of animals it was aware I was observing
Are scratching on the orchard floor
It mentioned that they were displaying certain behaviour while exploring the orchard
At split, sweet fruits and the writhing worms
More specifically, the animals appeared to be looking at fruits that had been halved, and the worms within them
That you keep behind the straining door
The dove then commented on the means I had employed to secure the orchard from unwanted visitors
Go to the cellar!
It then called for me to head to the cellar
I see the beasts and they're eating
Upon my arrival, the raven revealed that it was already observing the animals, who were in the process of eating
Feasting on it
It went on to describe their conduct as an act of gluttony and indulgence
Fill my head with small white flowers
It then requested that my mind be filled with small and delicate flowers
Help the sweetness heal the sour
The dove suggested that the presence of these flowers would help counteract the negative effects of the animals' behaviour
Draw on high religious power
It went on to suggest that some kind of divine or higher power was necessary to keep the ravens from harm, and to encourage them to behave in a more positive manner
Free the ravens from the tower
Ultimately, the raven concluded that the best course of action was to release the other birds from captivity, thus freeing them from confinement and oppression
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY COUSIN, JULIANNE REGAN, MARK PRICE, MARTY WILSON-PIPER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind