All About Eve is an 80's British goth rock group with a unique, folk-rock-i… Read Full Bio ↴All About Eve is an 80's British goth rock group with a unique, folk-rock-influenced take on the style. The creative core consists of Julianne Regan (vocals) and Andy Cousin (bass guitar), with other members changing over the years.

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.

Wild Flowers
All About Eve Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The grey of winter falls on us -
How will our garden grow ?
Will all the seeds we've sown
Survive beneath the snow ?
We've been here before,
Wrapped in our regret.
All those winter words,
I want us to forget them

Seasons may change
And they hold wild flowers,
Raising their face to the sun.
All that are born from our soft rainshowers
Are wild flowers.

Morning breaks
And no-one wakes;
No bird is here to sing.
So, from the south I wish them back
To brace the spring.
They've flown south before,
It's just the way they live.
For when I try to fly away
Can you forgive me ?

Seasons may change and they hold wild flowers

Overall Meaning

The first two lines of the verse act as a metaphor for the changes and hardships faced by people in their lives. The winter represents difficult times and it is uncertain how the garden, which symbolizes life, will grow. The seeds being sown represent the efforts made by people to improve their lives, but it is uncertain whether these efforts will be successful or not. The lyrics also suggest a degree of regret for past actions that may have hindered growth and progress.

The chorus introduces the idea that despite the changing seasons and uncertainties that life brings, one can always find beauty in the form of wild flowers. These flowers represent small moments of joy and beauty that can be found in life's unpredictable journey. The lyrics suggest that even though life may be tough, it is important to focus on the positive moments.

The second verse touches on the theme of loss and the ebb and flow of life. The absence of birds and lack of sound represent the emptiness that comes with losing something valuable. However, instead of dwelling on the loss, the lyrics focus on the hope that comes with the return of spring and all the wonderful things it brings. The metaphorical flight of the birds suggests the inevitable changes and transitions that occur in life.

Line by Line Meaning

The grey of winter falls on us -
We are entering a time of sadness and darkness

How will our garden grow ?
What will become of our dreams and plans?

Will all the seeds we've sown
Will our hard work and efforts bear fruit?

Survive beneath the snow ?
Can our hopes and aspirations withstand the difficult times?

We've been here before,
We've gone through tough times in the past

Wrapped in our regret.
Feeling lost and stuck in the past

All those winter words,
The negative thoughts and emotions that haunt us

I want us to forget them
We need to let go of our regrets and move forward

Seasons may change
Life is unpredictable and ever-changing

And they hold wild flowers,
Despite the hardships, beauty can still emerge

Raising their face to the sun.
Thriving and growing towards the light