1991 - 2000
Brian, Paul, Dom and Damien Rice form Juniper, having met in school. They go to college, play some weddings, 21st's and Bar Mitzvahs... and for a while have a Sunday night residency in the Kildrought Lounge and Bar, Celbridge. They meet Dave, who weans them off the Neil Diamond and Roxette covers. Band move into house in country, release EP, Manna, and two singles in Ireland. Damien leaves band, the others read about Chuck Yeager and his Right Stuff. They call the new band Bell X1. Bell X1 support Elliott Smith and Bon Jovi in the same 1 week period, leading to severe identity crisis, making small music with big hair. They make their first album, Neither Am I, in the summer/autumn of 1999 with Nick Seymour of Crowded House and release it in Ireland a year later, after much touring and a couple of old singles.
2001
Band take some time to indulge musical differences. Paul records and tours as drummer with Tipperary siren Gemma Hayes, Brian's away with Offaly hearthrob Mundy, and Dave and Dom join Richie Mullen of Lino Richie Carpets, Finglas, in touring cabaret show. Bell X1 regroup in late summer and write songs for what would become Music in Mouth in a house by the sea in Wexford.
2002
Second album recording starts in Ridge Farm studios in Surrey, with producer Jamie Cullum. After 4 weeks they move to the Fallout Shelter, London. The studio has no teapot!! Some moaning. The band take turns to make dinner. Some of it is shit. The world Cup happens. Mixing finishes in July and everyone goes away for a while. Come back and mix it all again. Borrow a friend's house in Kilkenny, record some more songs, play hurling, are laughed at by locals. Music in Mouth finally finished in December, a few days after the birth of Jamie's daughter Ellie, who was both conceived and born during the making of the record.
2003, 2004
The album Music in Mouth is released on July 21st 2003, to tremendous applause, and the band play with all sorts to try to flog it. Tom McRae, Keane, Starsailor, Aqualung and Snow Patrol show them the highways and byways of the UK and continental Europe. Songs from the record appear in many TV series, from Teachers to The OC, and at home the album goes double platinum, with four top 40 singles. In July 2004, the band gather in yet another house in Wexford to write a new record.
2005
Flock is recorded in Dublin and mixed in London, with Roger Becherian producing and Phil Hayes knob twiddling. A shrine to Daniel O' Donnell (Irish singing deity, ref Cliff Richard without ever having had a brush with cool) is created in the green room, Dave creates Pistachio Nut Shell Installation and mustaches are grown. The band take a break from recording and sell out a mini tour in the USA, where they record a live session for Nic Harcourt’s essential show on KCRW in L.A.
Flock is released in Ireland and hits the heights of #1 in the album charts. The band leaves Island Records and sets up its own record label called BellyUp records. A live album called Tour De Flock is released - it is a 2-disc compilation featuring 16 tracks from their sold-out gig at The Point Theatre, Dublin on December 1, 2006.
In 2008, Flock is released in the USA and the band appears on the St. Patrick's Day edition of the Late Show with David Letterman.
On 2nd October, Brian Crosby quits saying "It's been an extraordinary privilege to be in a band with your mates for more than 15 years. I'm really grateful for everything I got to do with Bell X1, for all the adventures we had and for the great support of our fans. It's been particularly wonderful to have connected with so many people and to have got to meet people all over the world doing what I love. I look forward to continue making those connections. At the same time I'll be applauding the boys continued success."
As well as promoting Flock in the USA, the band gets busy recording a new album Blue Lights On The Runway. It finally sees the light of day in 2009, with lead single The Great Defector becoming their biggest hit to date (no. 3 in the Irish charts).
2011
The band will release its newest album Bloodless Coup in stores and online on April 1 in Ireland, April 4 in the UK, April 8 in Germany and Benelux, April 12 in the USA and Canada, and April 26 in France. The album's lead single is “Velcro,” which the band performed on The Rachael Ray Show on St. Patrick's Day.
Diorama
Bell X1 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the spare room
For your youngest one
Will come visit soon
To catch up on the life
That seems to stand still
She wakes to find her souvenirs
So dust your Diorama dear
In love with the memories
When that's all that's left
She built the boats,
Filled our sails
Now she's an island
The woman she was
Before they met
He longs to meet again
Wise is unknowing in the end
He wakes to find his souvenirs
In glass cabinets with fingerprints
So dust your Diorama dear
Oh he's an island
Don't let lovers cast you in
When they can write you out
They forget they
Owe you anything
Until one day
They wake to find their souvenirs
In glass cabinets with fingerprints
So blow off a layer, another year
They wake to find their souvenirs
So dust your Diorama Dear
Oh she's an island
The lyrics of Bell X1's song Diorama were written by Paul Noonan and are focused on reflecting on life and the memories that make it up. The song opens with a suggestion to prepare a guest room for a visit from a young family member. The upcoming visit prompts the singer to reflect on time passing and the memories that stand still, represented by souvenirs trapped in a Diorama, a glass cabinet that appears throughout the song.
The lyrics then turn to the theme of love and portraiture, with the suggestion that memories are all that's left in a love that has faded. The singer feels like he is on the outside looking in at who his loved one has become since he first met her. The relationship has changed, but the memories of their time together remain the same. The second verse then switches to the perspective of the loved one, with the suggestion that they have become an island, alone with their memories.
The chorus of the song reinforces the theme of memories trapped in a diorama, suggesting that we need to dust off our memories and keep them fresh.
Overall, the song is a reflection on the nature of memory and how it shapes our lives. The image of the Diorama suggests that memories are like preserved specimens or museum pieces, carefully arranged but still fragile, and in need of maintenance to keep them alive.
Line by Line Meaning
Turn down the bed sheets
Prepare the spare room for your youngest one's visit.
In the spare room
The room reserved for the youngest visitor.
For your youngest one
The one who is coming to visit soon.
Will come visit soon
To meet and catch up on life that you've missed.
To catch up on the life
To reminisce the past and share memories.
That seems to stand still
The present time that feels stagnant and unchanging.
She wakes to find her souvenirs
A woman who awakes to find her keepsakes.
In glass cabinets with fingerprints
Memorabilia are stored in display cases with smudges.
So dust your Diorama dear
To clean the glass cabinets that contain memories of her life.
In love with the memories
The woman cherishes the memories of the past.
When that's all that's left
When memories are the only things left to hold onto.
She built the boats, filled our sails
A memory of a woman who was once the buoyancy in their life.
Now she's an island
Now alone, isolated and lonely.
The woman she was, before they met
The woman's past self, before someone came into her life.
He longs to meet again
Longing to meet the past version of herself again.
Wise is unknowing in the end
No matter how wise we are, we still don't know what the future holds.
Oh he's an island
The person in question is also lonely and isolated.
Don't let lovers cast you in
Don't let lovers define who you are.
When they can write you out
When they can erase you from their life.
They forget they owe you anything
They forget the times when you helped them.
Until one day
Until they wake up and realize it one fine day.
So blow off a layer, another year
Let go of the past and move on with life.
Oh she's an island
The woman in question is still alone and isolated.
Contributed by Mackenzie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
deniseshan86
My fave song off Chop Chop. Just perfect. Love it x
Britt Gerhardt
I love this song so much! My new favourite other than the end is nigh.
Yara
such a beautiful song and so underrated
Bitten Mooncake
Such a powerful song and less than 3000 views, its just sad!
Fergal Sexton
Beautiful song
markkeogh18
Great song. Shades of Coldplay.