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.
Wildflowers
All About Eve Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
The song "Wildflowers" by All About Eve is a poetic representation of life and all its different seasons. The opening lines, "The grey of winter falls on us - How will our garden grow?" sets a somber and introspective tone. The lyrics of the song draw parallels between the ups and downs of life and the different seasons that come and go. The chorus of the song brings hope and positivity with the lines, "Seasons may change And they hold wild flowers, Raising their face to the sun. All that are born from our soft rain showers Are wild flowers." The wildflowers represent hope, resilience, and the beauty that can come out of difficult times.
The middle section of the song talks about the absence of birds and how they naturally migrate south during winter. The singer confesses that we too have to take breaks and fly away to cope with the hardships of life. The lyrics "They've flown south before, It's just the way they live. For when I try to fly away Can you forgive me?" captures the emotional struggle of taking time for self-care while longing for forgiveness and understanding from loved ones.
Overall, "Wildflowers" is a beautiful song with a meaningful message. The lyrics take the listener on an emotional journey, reminding them of the transience of life and the beauty that comes with every season.
Line by Line Meaning
The grey of winter falls on us
Winter has arrived and everything around us is turning grey and dull.
How will our garden grow ?
We wonder how our lives will shape up in the coming season.
Will all the seeds we've sown / Survive beneath the snow ?
We're uncertain if the efforts we've put in will bear fruit during this season or if they will go in vain.
We've been here before, / Wrapped in our regret.
We've faced similar situations in the past where we've been filled with regret and sadness.
All those winter words, / I want us to forget them
We want to leave behind the negative thoughts and words that surrounded us during the previous season and move on.
Seasons may change / And they hold wild flowers, / Raising their face to the sun.
Like the seasons, our lives also change and bring new opportunities, like the wild flowers that bloom during spring.
All that are born from our soft rainshowers / Are wild flowers.
Just like the rain that nurtures the flowers, our efforts will lead to something beautiful and wild.
Morning breaks / And no-one wakes; / No bird is here to sing.
The start of the day is silent and lonely without the presence of others to share it with.
So, from the south I wish them back / To brace the spring.
We wish for the arrival of spring and its warmth so that we can move forward together.
They've flown south before, / It's just the way they live.
The birds fly south during winter, and it's just their way of adapting to the changing seasons.
For when I try to fly away / Can you forgive me ?
If we try to leave behind the past and start fresh, will those around us forgive us and support us in our journey?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dolly Parton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind