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.
The Dreamer
All About Eve Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She stole a look in the guarded book
His prose was a line of crows
On a washing line in the summer time
And the wind blew the crows around
Some made the sky, some hit the ground
She never heard a fuller sound
It comes as no surprise;
She's in love with the dreamer,
So in love with his world.
He had songs you could sing along to
In any time, in any key.
They were jewels in Elysian pools
In eternity for all to see
And the water helped the jewels to shine,
Some like the stars and some like wine
In the eyes of earthbound angels
It comes as no surprise
He makes her close her eyes,
He helps her paint the skies blue.
And the seventh dream was, so surreal
When the dreamer broke the seventh seal
And butterflies all lost their wheels
It comes as no surprise
The Dreamer by All About Eve is a song about a woman who is in love with a man who is a dreamer. She is enraptured with his imagination and creativity, and as a result, she sees the world differently when she is with him. The first stanza of the song talks about how she peeks into his book and sees the way he writes. She likens his prose to a line of crows on a washing line and how the wind makes them dance. She is captivated by his words, and it's the "fuller sound" she has never heard before that draws her in.
The second stanza is a continuation of how the dreamer's creativity manifests. This time, it's in the form of songs that he creates. The woman describes them as jewels in Elysian pools, which should have been meant for eternity. The dreamer's lyrics are such that they are timeless, something you can sink into any time or key. The song goes on to state how his songs can create an alternate reality, which is magnificent and divine, and the woman is in love not just with the man but his world.
In conclusion, The Dreamer by All About Eve is a song about the woman's admiration for the man she loves, who is a creative dreamer. He writes books and composes songs that transport the listener to a divine parallel universe of imagination, wonder, and possibility. His talent bewitches her, and she sees the world like never before in his company.
The song is not based on a real person or event, but it's a creative expression of how the power of imagination from someone you love can change your perception of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
She saw that he closed the door
Upon seeing him shut the door, she took a subtle glance into the book he held dear.
She stole a look in the guarded book
Cautiously, she took a glimpse into the closely held writing.
His prose was a line of crows
His words stood like a row of crows, all alike in nature.
On a washing line in the summer time
Elongated like clothes hung on a line in summertime, his literature is exposed to the elements.
And the wind blew the crows around
As breezes stir them up, black birds sway back and forth.
Some made the sky, some hit the ground
They either wriggle up towards the sky like smoke or tumble down on the earth.
She never heard a fuller sound
No other sound implies the profound thought and intelligence of his every word.
It comes as no surprise;
The natural conclusion is that she would be captivated by his writing.
She's in love with the dreamer,
She is enthralled with the writer's imaginative vision.
So in love with his world.
She is entirely seduced by the worlds he creates in his writing.
He had songs you could sing along to
He created melodies that could be sung along with.
In any time, in any key.
Regardless of era or musical style, they could be harmoniously woven together.
They were jewels in Elysian pools
Like precious stones shining brightly in the afterlife, his songs could be observed as perfection.
In eternity for all to see
For all of time to come, these works will be positioned for all to see.
And the water helped the jewels to shine,
Water played a part in beautifying and adding brilliance to the songs.
Some like the stars and some like wine
Some shine brightly like the stars while others seem to make the heart swirl like wine.
In the eyes of earthbound angels
People who are bound to the earth consider the creator as their divine author.
It comes as no surprise
It is a predictable conclusion, that they will be fit to praise the utmost ideal professional of the art.
He makes her close her eyes,
Looking into his art, she is so entranced she must shut her eyes, lost in a free world of imagination.
He helps her paint the skies blue.
He bends reality in ways that permit her to view beyond the visible horizon.
And the seventh dream was, so surreal
In the seventh of a series of imaginative fantasies, the most unbelievable one was gifted to her.
When the dreamer broke the seventh seal
The writer confronted all the boundaries and unlocked the seventh level of his imagination.
And butterflies all lost their wheels
Characteristics of beauty fluttering about in free will lost their earthly restraints.
It comes as no surprise
It is a predictable conclusion, that the nature of this dream was closely tied to the writer's celestial abilities.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY COUSIN, JULIANNE REGAN, MARK PRICE, MARTY WILSON-PIPER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Watson
What a dreamy song. Absolutely beautiful. Stunning Julianne at her best.
gel6988
So good. Ethereal, hypnotic and just freaking nice!
Jaime Tumbas
Incredible band. I thought this record was great but I was blown away by Ultraviolet. Every time I hear Ultraviolet its as fresh as the first time. There's just so much beauty, intensity and integrity in this music.
Nancy Bisset
This is a beautiful song and vid, such a wonderful group and the band, they both compliment each other so masterfully. So glad for the friend that introduced this group to me. May blessings befall them for their kindness. : -)
Rosinha
É uma das minhas bandas favoritas desde 80's. Adoro
Lawrence Mcilhoney
My favourite line in this is: "they were jewels in Elysian pools in eternity". It's about paradise I guess, but I think she's just taking words and bending them into beautiful shapes! I keep playing with them in my head; nice!
thecorpooration
I flew over the pond to the UK in Dec. 2000 for the weekend to see this band play at Union Chapel. Although the "rock" format was dated even by the time they released this album, for me it's done so well you can't tell at times. Best money that I've ever spent.
Karl Straughan
Always loved this Band, they had a Magic.
Amanda Prill
Love this song alot
Kevin Dinham
A great voice and such a beautiful lady