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.
Touched By Jesus
All About Eve Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About your behavior,
Or worried about the role you play,
Grey against the scenery ?
Black cloud calls by,
Black cloud, blue sky
Black birds, your words,
Too dark to fly.
I want to take a gun to you.
Rain another day...
While we move as angels,
Gather up your blues and clear the way.
I hate the games you play
While we're touched by jesus,
Gather up your blues
And get out of the way.
Sand invades your shoes like a desert
It's nothing to die about.
And our heels are high enough
To crush the lizard
Take 'em off and shake it out.
The sting in the tail
Is destined to fail
Our skin, takes in no poison.
"so the next time you're out stumbling across
My little piece of sky, and we know we're
In a state of grace and we know we're in
A state of mind; and we know we're part
Of the state of art and all we really want
To be, is free... you've got to receive, you've
Got to receive what the spirit says... you've
Got to believe what the spirit says...
And she says..."
Rain another day
While we move as angels
Gather up your views and clear the way
I hate the games you play.
While we're touched by jesus
Gather up your blues and get out of the way
The song "Touched By Jesus" by All About Eve is a reflection on self-examination and liberation from toxic people. The opening lines "Have you ever wondered much at all/ About your behavior" are immediately followed by the singer expressing annoyance towards someone who is blackening the landscape with their negativity. The references to "black cloud calls by" and "'too dark to fly" imply that those who bring negativity into our lives can hinder us in ways we may not realize. The chorus encourages the listener to remove themselves from such toxic people: "Gather up your blues and get out of the way."
In the second verse, the lyrics are more explicitly about letting go of what doesn't matter. The sand invasion and the lizard crushing metaphor suggest that small annoyances in life shouldn't be dwelled on. The third verse shifts gears and offers a bit of inspiration. The lyrics refer to a "state of grace," a "state of mind" and "a state of art" before concluding that the key to experiencing all of these is to be free of burdens.
Line by Line Meaning
Have you ever wondered much at all
Have you ever deeply questioned your own actions?
About your behavior,
About the way you act?
Or worried about the role you play,
Or been concerned about the part you are meant to play?
Grey against the scenery ?
An unnoticed and dull presence that does not add much to the setting?
Black cloud calls by,
A foreboding sense of impending trouble?
Black cloud, blue sky
Evil and goodness coexisting together in a contradictory universe?
Black birds, your words,
Words that are pessimistic and spur feelings of despair?
Too dark to fly.
Too weighted down by negativity to take flight?
When reason starts to fade and fall away
When sound thinking begins to diminish?
I want to take a gun to you.
I want to hurt you for causing me frustration and anger.
Rain another day...
Avoiding adversity for even a moment longer...
While we move as angels,
In the process acting pure and serene almost like angels.
Gather up your blues and clear the way.
Easing doubts and troubles that are preventing you from feeling content.
I hate the games you play
I disdain how you manipulate situations and people for your own benefit.
While we're touched by jesus,
While we are experiencing a divine awakening.
Gather up your blues
Discard the negative feelings and doubts holding you back.
And get out of the way.
Leave me to find my own way and succeed on my own.
Sand invades your shoes like a desert
The trivial annoyances add up almost suffocating you.
It's nothing to die about.
However, it is nothing worth dying about.
And our heels are high enough
Our self-assurance and status are strong.
To crush the lizard
The tiny problems and menaces will be removed from our path.
Take 'em off and shake it out.
Get rid of those irritating and hobbling issues.
The sting in the tail
The unpleasant surprise at the conclusion.
Is destined to fail
Ultimately it will fail as a strategy.
Our skin, takes in no poison.
Our exterior will not affect us.
"so the next time you're out stumbling across
"The next time you happen to stumble across
My little piece of sky, and we know we're
My domain that I treasure and cherish.
In a state of grace and we know we're in
In a positive mental state and we are mindful of this.
A state of mind;
A tranquil and composed state of thinking.
And we know we're part
And it is part of our identity
Of the state of art and all we really want
Of the art that surrounds us and what we truly desire.
To be, is free...
To achieve an unfettered liberated existence.
you've got to receive, you've
You must be accepting and open to new experiences and ideas.
Got to receive what the spirit says...
Make sure you listen to the insistent inner voice guiding you.
you've
You have
Got to believe what the spirit says...
Trusting in the voice that is communicating with you from deep inside.
And she says..."
And that internal voice speaks.
Rain another day
Avoiding adversity for even a moment longer.
While we move as angels
In the process acting pure and serene almost like angels.
Gather up your views and clear the way
Discard doubts and worries that are preventing you from finding self-acceptance.
I hate the games you play.
I disdain how you manipulate situations and people for your own benefit.
While we're touched by jesus
While we are experiencing a divine awakening.
Gather up your blues and get out of the way.
Resolve the negative feelings and doubts holding you back and remove yourself.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY COUSIN, JULIANNE REGAN, MARK PRICE, MARTY WILSON-PIPER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stacy Dale Barendse
Julianne's voice is timeless!
Off With The Fairies FOREVER
Love this song x
Grithron2
I believe this was a coded putdown of an A&R man with some crazy ideas about how to promote the band, or rather Julianne. The A&R man's name - amusingly for Brits of a certain age - was Russ Conway.
Phil White
The actual Russ Conway? Haha
Portcullis
''While we're touched by cheeses,
Gather up your Danish Blues and get out of the way''