Adamson left school and shifted into graphic design attending Stockport Art College[3] but quit shortly after, favouring to venture into the exploding punk rock scene of the late 1970s. He joined ex-Buzzcocks singer Howard Devoto's band Magazine, playing bass guitar, scoring one chart single, "Shot by Both Sides"; in late 1977, he also joined Buzzcocks, as a short-time replacement of Garth Smith. He played on all of Magazine's albums, and contributed to Devoto's solo album and his next band, Luxuria. He also contributed to the studio-based band Visage, playing on the ensemble's first two albums, Visage and The Anvil.
After Magazine broke up, Adamson worked with another ex-Buzzcock, Pete Shelley, before joining Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He appeared on five of that band's albums: From Her to Eternity; The Firstborn Is Dead; Kicking Against the Pricks; Your Funeral, My Trial; and Tender Prey. After his stint in the band, he went solo, releasing an EP, The Man with the Golden Arm in 1988, and his first solo album, Moss Side Story, the following year, the soundtrack to a non-existent film noir.[4] The album incorporated newscasts and sampled sound effects and featured guest musicians Marcia Schofield (of The Fall), Diamanda Galas, Roland S. Howard, and former colleagues from the Bad Seeds.[4] Adamson's second solo album was the soundtrack to a real film this time - Carl Colpaert's Delusion, and he would go on to provide sountracks for several other films.[4]
Adamson's third album, Soul Murder, was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 1992.[4][5]
His solo work is influenced by John Barry, Elmer Bernstein and Ennio Morricone. Later works have included jazz, electronica, soul, funk, and dub styles.
In 2002, Adamson left his long-term label, Mute Records, and started his own 'production home', Central Control International. In 2006, he released Stranger on the Sofa, first for his Central Control International imprint, to critical acclaim. Back To The Cat, his second album for the label, was released in March 2008.[1]
In 2007 it was announced that Magazine would reform for concerts in 2008. Adamson will be part of this and the same line up that recorded Secondhand Daylight will reform, with the exception of the late John McGeoch. McGeoch will be replaced by Luxuria/Apollo 440 member Noko.
The Beaten Side of Town
Barry Adamson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The Earth was a turning ball of fire.
Satan and the Pilgrims had wiped the scene,
And I became their twisted gun for hire.
Don't let 'em getcha, boy, now use your head,
the lights they're coming 'round again.
"Run like a demon, boy," is what they said,
and then began to count from one to ten.
So now I'm tryin' to get out of the city.
You know where I can be found:
The beaten side of town...
Won't never let you down.
I woke up this morning from a crazy dream:
The Earth was a burning ball of fire.
I crawled right inside the spaces in-between,
A miracle of science to admire
But everybody knows the way the story goes:
She'll love you once and leave you once again.
The wind sends a shiver from your head to toes,
Whispers that you've reached your living end
So now I'm tryin' to get out of the city.
You know where I can be found:
The beaten side of town...
Don't never let me down.
I woke up this morning from a crazier dream:
The Earth was a churning ball of fire.
The Dragunovs were sniping
as I swam upstream,
And then I saw a temple with a spire
There was a sign saying "Welcome all you deists, agnostics, and Buddhists, Muslims and Christians, Caucasians, junkies and wrecker-heads, blue-lights and deadbeats, homos and heteros and Negroes and down-lows,
Speed-freaks and tweakers, pimps without sneakers, the handy the pure and the atheist Nehru, and the peoples from countries in far-away places, stupid ideas that the public embraces."
We all were invited with mostly resignation
But that was only a dream...
The beaten side of town,
And now I'm goin' down.
Barry Adamson's song "The Beaten Side of Town" is a reflection of his imagination where the singer has had a series of bizarre and apocalyptic dreams. The song's first verse paints a picture of a chaotic world that once was, where Satan and the Pilgrims have destroyed everything. The singer is then tasked with being their evil instrument, pushing him to run and hide from the impending doom. As the chorus kicks in, the song throws us into the singer's reality, where he's trying to find his way out of the city, and the beaten side of town is his only sanctuary.
The second verse takes the listener into another one of the singer's dreams, where he crawls inside the space in-between, seeking shelter from the Earth, which is another ball of fire. The lyrics suggest an underlying message, where Barry Adamson may be encouraging listeners to find safe spaces in their minds for moments when the world seems to be ending. The singer is then reminded of love's fleeting nature, where she'll "love you once and leave you once again." The wind sends shivers down the character's spine, an announcement of the living end, so he seeks refuge once again in the beaten side of town.
The song's last verse is the most elaborate of the three, describing the singer's delirium, where he dreams of a place for all races, religions, and lifestyles. The temple which bridges this gap of differences is merely an intellectual aspiration, as the singer is "goin' down" and leaving his dream world. "The Beaten Side of Town" is an eloquent song that mixes together captivating lyrics and soothing music that captures the ear.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up this morning from a crazy dream:
The singer had a vivid dream
The Earth was a turning ball of fire.
The Earth was spinning on fire in that dream
Satan and the Pilgrims had wiped the scene,
Everything was destroyed by Satan, and the pilgrims agreed and helped him do it in the dream
And I became their twisted gun for hire.
The artist was coerced into doing their dirty work
Don't let 'em getcha, boy, now use your head,
Be careful and think logically, don't let them control you
the lights they're coming 'round again.
The spotlight of danger is approaching again
"Run like a demon, boy," is what they said,
They instructed him to run fast like a demon
and then began to count from one to ten.
They counted and gave him a head start
So now I'm tryin' to get out of the city.
The artist is leaving the city to escape danger
You know where I can be found:
The artist is known to have gone to the beaten side of town
The beaten side of town...
A rough, run-down part of town
Won't never let you down.
Despite the condition, it won't disappoint you
But everybody knows the way the story goes:
The singer is talking about a common way things always seem to end
She'll love you once and leave you once again.
A woman may love you but ultimately end up leaving
The wind sends a shiver from your head to toes,
The wind gives you an atmospheric warning
Whispers that you've reached your living end
The wind is telling you to prepare to die
Don't never let me down.
The artist is begging to not be disappointed
I woke up this morning from a crazier dream:
Another vivid dream occurred
The Earth was a churning ball of fire.
The Earth was now boiling in the dream
The Dragunovs were sniping as I swam upstream,
People were sniping at the artist as he tried to swim upstream in the dream
And then I saw a temple with a spire
The artist saw a temple with a tall pointed structure
There was a sign saying "Welcome all you deists, agnostics, and Buddhists, Muslims and Christians, Caucasians, junkies and wrecker-heads, blue-lights and deadbeats, homos and heteros and Negroes and down-lows,
The temple welcomed all types of people, regardless of religion, ethnicity, social status, and sexual orientation
Speed-freaks and tweakers, pimps without sneakers, the handy the pure and the atheist Nehru, and the peoples from countries in far-away places, stupid ideas that the public embraces."
The temple welcomes people with drug addictions, pimps, sex workers, the pure and clean, and people with unpopular ideas that are not socially accepted
We all were invited with mostly resignation
People went along with the invitation with a mostly indifferent attitude
But that was only a dream...
The previous events were only a dream
The beaten side of town,
The rough and run-down part of town
And now I'm goin' down.
The singer is hitting rock bottom
Contributed by Addison V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.