Ben Watt’s career began as a singer-songwriter in the early eighties with a clutch of folk-jazz solo recordings on London independent label Cherry Red Records (‘North Marine Drive’ album, ‘Summer Into Winter’ EP with Robert Wyatt). In 1982 he formed alt-pop duo Everything But The Girl with singer-writer-partner Tracey Thorn. They recorded nine studio albums (1984-1999) over a fifteen year period, scooping one UK Platinum and six UK Gold disc awards, plus a handful of UK Top 40 hits. Highpoints include the debut album ‘Eden’ (1984), the multi-platinum global Number 1, ‘Missing’ (1994-95) and the best-selling interpretations of electronica in the late nineties (‘Walking Wounded’ album, ‘Protection’ and ‘Better Things’ with Massive Attack, ‘Temperamental’ album).
Encouraged by DJ-producer Howie B to start DJing, Watt was thirty-two when he first started mixing freestyle sets of jazz, drum n bass and deep house in London in 1995. A quick learner, guest sets followed at top London nights such as James Lavelle's Dusted, Fabio's Swerve and Howie B's own west-side Sunday parties.
In 1998, focussing on deep house, he established the seminal London Sunday day-night club and compilation series, Lazy Dog, with Jay Hannan. Moving away from EBTG's mainstream eclecticism and into club-oriented dance music production, he also turned out an accompanying string of acclaimed dance floor remixes for Sade, Sunshine Anderson, Zero 7, Maxwell and Meshell Ndegeocello. Lazy Dog folded at the top in 2003 after five years of sell-out parties around the world and compilation sales of 100,000.
Expanding his new-found role as DJ and promoter, in 2002 he became part-owner-founder of new west London nightclubs Neighbourhood and Cherry Jam orchestrating the music policy and image of both venues, and helping establish their three-year reputation at the forefront of London’s club scene. Under his creative direction Cherry Jam's intimate 200-capacity surroundings hosted international DJs as well as rock icons (The Libertines' played their first official debut show there) and the space introduced art exhibitions and the long-running spoken word literary night, Book Slam. At the larger Neighbourhood, Watt brought in big guns like Groove Armada, the Rough Trade Records 25th Anniversary, the inaugural House Music Awards and a string of top DJs to guest at his own in-house nights, before qutting both venues in 2005.
In April 2003 Watt launched his own independent label, Buzzin’ Fly focussing on underground house and techno. As well as being a home for his own club-oriented productions (incl ‘Lone Cat’ (2003), ‘Pop A Cap In Yo’ Ass’ with Estelle (2005), ‘Guinea Pig (2008’)), the label has fostered new talent, unearthing Justin Martin (Breakthrough DJ nominee at House Music Awards 2004 and 2005), Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia (The Times called their debut album ‘a modern classic’), Rodamaal, and new Eastern European talent (BarBQ and Kimouts). It has also drawn defining work from remixers such as Ame, Radio Slave, Charles Webster and John Tejada. The label won Best Breakthrough Label at the House Music Awards 2004 and was runner-up as Best Label at the DJ Magazine Best Of British Awards in both 2007 and 2008. In 2008 the label also secured Best Mix Album Of The Year (Justin Martin’s ‘Chaos Restored 2’) and No. 2 Best Track Of The Year (Stimming’s ‘Kleine Nachtmusik’) in iDJ’s Best Of 2008 Round-Up. Meanwhile DJ Magazine put both Watt’s own ‘5 Golden Years In The Wilderness’ collection and Justin Martin’s ‘Chaos Restored 2’ in their Top 10 Compilations Of 2008.
In February 2007 Watt launched a sister label called Strange Feeling, a home for alt-indie and electronic pop with acclaimed signings including Denmark’s Figurines, Brooklyn’s Tigercity and Budapest’s The Unbending Trees.
Now a central figure on London's club scene he DJs regularly in the capital as well as all over Europe, Australia and North America with regular sell-out shows. 2005 saw him tour extensively on the festival circuit (Good Vibrations, Homelands, Coachella, Ibiza, Lovebox Weekender, Electric Picnic). In 2008 he opened Sonar 2008, headlined at Exit 2008 and was made resident DJ at We Love Space Sundays in Ibiza. In London Buzzin’ Fly was one the major success stories at The End in central London before it announced its closure in January 2009.
2009 sees the launch of a new Buzzin’ Fly residency in London plus a series of new Buzzin’ Fly events in various European cities. He is resident again at We Love Space Sundays in Ibiza for 2009. Watt continues to edit and present his weekly radio show on KISS in the UK.
Unfinished projects include his long-running ‘Outspoken’ project, a series of spoken word narratives set to music that he has been writing since 2002 with narrators as diverse as UK R’n’B MC Estelle, art-rock Australian Robert Forster, New York Japanese dancer Miho (wife of film director Hal Hartley) and Grenadan-Brixton poet Malika Booker.
Apart from a life in music, his graphic autobiographical memoir, ‘Patient – The True Story Of A Rare Illness’ (1996), detailing his extraordinary life and death battle with a rare auto-immune disease in 1992 was published to wide acclaim by Penguin (a Sunday Times Book Of The Year, Esquire Non-Fiction Award Finalist) and Grove Atlantic Press US (a New York Times Notable Book of The Year.) It has subsequently been translated into Spanish and Swedish.
He lives in London with partner Tracey Thorn and their three children.
North Marine Drive
Ben Watt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A road curling round by your sea
A sea that matches all of your moods
A place where we always agree
And I’ve been down to North Marine Drive
Where I have scratched our names in the sand
And watched the sea take them away
And I’ve been on a desolate cliff
Where once a great castle had been
And stood, with the wind in my mouth
On a wall so the sea could be seen
And here a chapel once stood
But now, just a handful of stones
But we, we are building it up
Ours as we stand here alone
The lyrics to Ben Watt's song North Marine Drive describe the singer's visit to an idyllic seaside location called North Marine Drive. The place evokes a sense of serenity and peace within him, as he describes the road curling around the sea that perfectly matches all the moods he experiences. He speaks about having scratched his and his loved one's initials on the sand, perhaps as a symbol of their love at this beautiful spot. He mentions that every spray of water takes away the names they've inscribed, which could possibly signify the fleeting nature of love and memories.
The song later shifts its focus to a desolate cliff where a castle once stood, and now only rubble and ruins remain. He stands on the wall to see the sea, describing how the wind feels on his face. A nearby chapel also lies in ruins, and the singer speaks of rebuilding it, almost metaphorically suggesting the idea of rebuilding a relationship or restoring a love that has seen better days. Overall, the song evokes a bittersweet sense of nostalgia, love and the idea of rejuvenation.
Line by Line Meaning
I’ve been down to North Marine Drive
I have traveled to North Marine Drive
A road curling round by your sea
A path following the curves of the nearby sea
A sea that matches all of your moods
The sea that reflects the same emotions as you
A place where we always agree
Somewhere we share a common interest
And I’ve been down to North Marine Drive
I have visited North Marine Drive again
Where I have scratched our names in the sand
Writing both our names in the beach sand
And watched the sea take them away
As the tide rises, the waves washed our names away
Two names scratched in every spray
Our names showing up clearly in the spray of the sea
And I’ve been on a desolate cliff
I have stood on top of a deserted cliff
Where once a great castle had been
The castle we once saw on that cliff is no more
And stood, with the wind in my mouth
Standing with the wind blowing through my open mouth
On a wall so the sea could be seen
Standing on a wall facing the sea
And here a chapel once stood
There used to be a chapel here
But now, just a handful of stones
Only a few stones left of the chapel's ruins
But we, we are building it up
We rebuild the chapel together
Ours as we stand here alone
The chapel is a symbol of our unity standing here by ourselves
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BEN WATT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Funmooky
This song reminds me of when I was young.
@alessandragallandt1039
I still listen to this album sometimes...how can you not
@Thischannelisdeadhelp
Me too! What an album and artist!
@SC-jh9qp
It's my favourite album.
@marklindgren1060
Same here...
@Advocate0908
Still one of my favorite albums....great track
@artwieg
same here.
@vv247
cherish this record
@ndegeochero
always on my mind.
@lupodelupi157
Those were the days