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.
Just Like Mr Benn
Bell X1 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A little closer to the keyboard
It's hard to read between your lines
We were the clock hands at midnight
Now you're four whole hours behind
Just put your fingers
A little closer to the keyboard
Though you bat your eyelids from across the ocean
And I fall over in their breeze
I don't bring you spices from the East
And I don't bring you the world's you crave
'cause everyday you need a new one
Just like Mr. Benn
Just like Mr. Benn
Just like Mr. Benn
Put your sweet fingers
A little closer to the keyboard
We pass light bits in the night
Though you send your flare to the horizon
I just stare and blink in your light
No, I don't speak in all your tongues
So I don't even know if I'll be welcome
What if I appeared as if by magic?
Just like in Mr. Benn
Just like Mr. Benn
Just like Mr. Benn
So go if you're going
You keep pouring when I say when
Come home when your work there is done
Just like, just like
Just like Mr. Benn
Just like Mr. Benn
Just like Mr. Benn
Just like Mr. Benn
Just put your fingers
A little closer to the keyboard
It's hard to read between your lines
We were the clock hands at midnight
Now you're four whole hours behind
The song "Just Like Mr Benn" by Bell X1 captures the emotions of a relationship that is drifting apart. The lyrics convey the message of missed opportunities and unfulfilled promises. The song starts with the singer asking his partner to come closer to the keyboard, indicating the need for more interaction and communication. The next verse describes the couple's past relationship as "clock hands at midnight," which means they were in perfect sync but now are four hours apart. The phrase "clock hands at midnight" is also symbolic, as midnight is the hour of new beginnings, and the hands of a clock moving together could represent a shared future.
The chorus of the song, "just like Mr Benn," repeated several times, refers to the British children's book and animated TV series "Mr Benn." The series follows the adventures of Mr Benn, a bowler-hatted man who goes on fantastical adventures by trying on different costumes in a magic costume shop. The phrase "just like Mr Benn" could be interpreted in a few different ways; one is that the singer feels like he's in a sort of magical world where he's unsure of what's going on, similar to the show's protagonist. Another interpretation could be that the singer wants to escape his banal everyday life, similar to how Mr Benn escapes his by going on adventures.
The song's lyrics also touch on the idea of cultural differences, with lines like "I don't bring you spices from the East, and I don't bring you the world's you crave." Here the singer is acknowledging his partner's need for adventure and excitement but feels like he cannot provide it. "Put your sweet fingers" line is repeated throughout the song and seems to symbolize the need for physical contact or perhaps even sexual intimacy. The line "You keep pouring, when I say when" could refer to the idea of too much of anything being bad, indicating the singer feels overwhelmed and needs space but is not getting it.
Line by Line Meaning
Put your sweet fingers
Asks the listener to type on their computer keyboard
A little closer to the keyboard
Asks the listener to move their fingers closer to the keyboard
It's hard to read between your lines
Suggests that the singer is having trouble understanding the listener's true thoughts or intentions
We were the clock hands at midnight
Implying that they were in sync before but things have changed since then
Now you're four whole hours behind
Referring to a time difference between the artist and the listener
Though you bat your eyelids from across the ocean
The person being addressed is likely far away from the singer
And I fall over in their breeze
The person being addressed has an effect on the singer
I don't bring you spices from the East
The artist cannot provide the things the listener wants
And I don't bring you the world's you crave
The artist cannot provide the listener with everything they desire
'cause everyday you need a new one
The listener appears to be constantly seeking something new
We pass light bits in the night
The singer and the listener exchange messages electronically
Though you send your flare to the horizon
The listener is sending something out into the world
I just stare and blink in your light
The singer is watching what the listener is doing
No, I don't speak in all your tongues
The singer is not fluent in all the languages used by the listener
So I don't even know if I'll be welcome
The singer is unsure if they will be accepted by the listener or not
What if I appeared as if by magic?
The artist offers a hypothetical suggestion for the listener
So go if you're going
The listener is free to leave if they want to
You keep pouring when I say when
The listener may be overbearing or overwhelming for the singer
Come home when your work there is done
The listener is being told to return home when they are finished with their work elsewhere
Just put your fingers
Asks the listener to type on their computer keyboard
It's hard to read between your lines
Suggests that the artist is having trouble understanding the listener's true thoughts or intentions
We were the clock hands at midnight
Implying that they were in sync before but things have changed since then
Now you're four whole hours behind
Referring to a time difference between the singer and the listener
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BRIAN PATRICK CROSBY, DAVE BRIAN GERAGHTY, DOMINIC MICHAEL PHILLIPS, PAUL ANTHONY NOONAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind