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.
My Firstborn For A Song
Bell X1 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tea and ashtrays
There is a song
I'm in the crow's nest with binoculars
Just waiting for one to come along
I've seen the flare so I know it's there
It has me tied up at a rate of knots
No navigation, global position
So take me to your king
I hear he's the man to see
And I will cross his palm
My first born for a song
Somewhere in this froth
And howling wind
There's something worth singing
Climb into the attic to write me a classic
But it's not happening
It's just Christmas up here
Between the phone calls
And text messages
The air must be thick with words
But not between us
Shoulder to grindstone
Switching to manual
Keep the head down
And I'll see you at the end
So take me to your king
I hear he's the man to see
And I will cross his palm
My first born for a song
The first verse of Bell X1's "My First Born For A Song" finds the singer seeking inspiration for a new song. We find him amidst a clutter of tea, ashtrays and Club Milk wrappers, scanning the horizon for his next hit. He sees the vague outline of something promising in the distance, like a flare in the night sky, but still he waits for it to take shape. The image of being "tied up at a rate of knots" suggests a sense of anxiety or urgency; he's desperate to create something new, but unsure of how to get there. In this regard, the sea becomes a metaphor for the creative process - vast, unpredictable and often unforgiving.
The second verse finds the singer in his attic, the place where he goes to write his songs. But it's not going well; he finds himself caught up in the distractions of the season - the phone calls, text messages and general air of festive busyness. The sense of frustration is palpable - "something worth singing" is eluding him, and he's running out of time. The image of "switching to manual" suggests a sense of determination to push through this creative block, to keep his nose to the grindstone until he finds what he's looking for. The final lines are a potent metaphor for the price that great artists pay for their work - in this case, the ultimate sacrifice of a parent for their creation.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere in this sea of Club Milks Tea and ashtrays There is a song
In the midst of all these mundane things like tea and ashtrays and Club Milks, there's a brilliant song waiting to be discovered.
I'm in the crow's nest with binoculars Just waiting for one to come along
Like a sailor on a ship in a crow's nest, I'm searching for the perfect song with my binoculars, patiently waiting for it to appear.
I've seen the flare so I know it's there It has me tied up at a rate of knots No navigation, global position Just me and this midnight oil
I've caught a glimpse of the song like a flare in the night sky, and now it's driving me crazy. I'm completely consumed by it, with no sense of direction or time as I work on it through the night.
So take me to your king I hear he's the man to see And I will cross his palm My first born for a song
If there's anyone who can help me discover this elusive song, I'm willing to pay any price. I'd even sacrifice my firstborn child for the chance to hear it.
Somewhere in this froth And howling wind There's something worth singing
Even though it feels chaotic and stormy, there's still something beautiful and worth singing about in the midst of it all.
Climb into the attic to write me a classic But it's not happening It's just Christmas up here
I've retreated to the attic to find inspiration for a classic song, but it's not coming to me. Instead, it feels like an empty, meaningless holiday.
Between the phone calls And text messages The air must be thick with words But not between us
In a world where everyone is constantly connected through phone calls and text messages, it seems like there should be plenty of words to inspire a great song. But between us, there's nothing.
Shoulder to grindstone Switching to manual Keep the head down And I'll see you at the end
I'm committed to working hard and putting in the effort to create a great song. I'll keep my head down and work with perseverance until the end, when it's finally done.
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