As well as Smith, around 23 musicians were part of the Cardiacs over the years, including Smith's brother, Jim, and multi-instrumentalist, Sarah Cutts, who married Tim Smith in 1983.
Their music combined the excitement and energy of punk with the intricacies and technical cleverness of early British progressive rock, a combination sometimes referred to as pronk, although frontman Smith disavowed this classification.
Cardiacs released eight studio albums plus a number of live albums, compilation albums and singles between 1980 and 2007, and are best known for the 1988 minor hit single "Is This the Life?" They are also noted for attracting strongly diverse responses: they have remained one of Britain's leading cult rock bands during their four-decade-spanning career, but have also attracted virulent critical attack (including a lengthy editorial ban from the British music magazine New Musical Express).
On the 30th June 1990, Cardiacs played at Salisbury Arts Centre (a former church). The show was recorded and initially the video of it was released on VHS tape under the name "All That Glitters Is A Mare's Nest". The video helped Cardiacs achieve a cult following, with pirated copies of the video, being highly sought after. The audio from the show was released on CD in 1995.
The band was on hiatus following the 2008 hospitalisation of Tim Smith after a heart attack and series of strokes which affected his speech and movement.
Commenting on his condition, in 2017, Smith wrote: “Imagine if you were wearing a skintight bodysuit made of fishnet all around you, with electrical pulses going all the time. This is what my body feels like unless I fall asleep.”
In 2018, fundraising was set up for Tim Smith, which included the comment “This condition has affected Tim’s movement, his dexterity, his ability to speak, and it has added painful muscle tone and spasms that are a permanent feature of his life these days.”
On Tuesday 21st July 2020, at around 10.30 pm, Tim Smith passed away at his home, as a result of a heart attack.
Cardiacs final album, "LSD" remained unfinished at the time of Tim Smith's death. At the time of his death, Cardiacs still remained a cult following, their recordings were not, for example, available on Spotify. For many years there were few new copies of Cardiacs albums in circulation. Later on, re-releases became available on CD and then vinyl.
I’m Eating in Bed
Cardiacs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Secondly it has the right of way
And something else is missing
Sometimes sorted out
And wrapped up straight away
Nothing by comparison puts thoughts straight in my mind
As I comfort myself with the will to be unkind
Mr Technique's doing well
And he stands around in poses just like this
But when I gets to thinking it seems better
To betray me with a kiss
We will inform you from day to day
Mr Technique's is a much better way
A change in circumstances
Forget responsibilities
And showbiz personalities?
Goes the way of every day
To hell with uncle, I
[Goes the way of every day]
Know I'm wrong
[To hell with uncle, I]
It must be all this eating in bed
Tell me when it's over
[It must be all this]
A spider is crawling up and eating in bed
Catch this, in a minute
No-one can see or say or do
What no-one wants or not to do
It's scary to be that way
To make use of my body
I'll be round with the tarring can
And stand with the standard man
Who paints us inseperable
But should I break my fall?
In every cry of every man
The mind for? and it calls my bluff
Goes the way of every day
To hell with uncle, I
[Goes the way of every day]
Know I'm wrong
[To hell with uncle, I]
It must be all this eating in bed
[Know I'm wrong]
Tell me when it's over
[It must be all this eating in bed]
A spider is crawling up and eating in bed
No-one can see or say or do
What no-one wants or not to do
It's scary to be that way
To make use of my body
The woman with the clap
Takes me round to the back
To the man with the crocodile smile
Who scares me to my hands and knees
But should I break my fall?
The lyrics to Cardiacs' song "I'm Eating in Bed" contain a mix of disjointed and surreal images that speak to the song's themes of confusion, alienation, and the search for personal agency. The first verse sets the tone for what follows, with its invocation of a "spanner" that has the "right of way," suggesting that the world is a place of chaos and disorientation. The second verse introduces "Mr Technique," who embodies an idea of control and order with his "poses," but who ultimately is revealed to be a betrayer, or at least an unreliable guide. The chorus "Goes the way of every day, to hell with uncle, I" suggests a rejection of the norms and expectations of society, coupled with a sense of resignation in the face of its demands. The final verse features a series of images that are at once disturbing, absurd, and poignant, including a woman with the clap, a man with a crocodile smile, and the singer's own sense of physical vulnerability.
Overall, the lyrics to "I'm Eating in Bed" are open to many different interpretations, and seem to resist any single meaning or narrative. Instead, they point towards a sense of lived experience that is fragmented, confusing, and often painful, yet still full of strange beauty and possibility.
Line by Line Meaning
Firstly there's a spanner in here
There's a problem that needs to be addressed
Secondly it has the right of way
The problem must be addressed before other things can take precedence
And something else is missing
There's still something else that needs attention
Sometimes sorted out
Occasionally, the problem is resolved
And wrapped up straight away
And it's immediately taken care of
Nothing by comparison puts thoughts straight in my mind
No other thought or action is as effective at calming me down
As I comfort myself with the will to be unkind
I soothe myself by embracing the idea of being cruel to others
Goes the way of every day to hell with uncle, I
Every day is filled with frustration and I'm fed up with it
Mr Technique's doing well
Being methodical and analytical is effective
And he stands around in poses just like this
The person with this analytical mindset stands around confidently
But when I gets to thinking it seems better
But sometimes I feel like it's better
To betray me with a kiss
To double-cross myself in pursuit of pleasure
We will inform you from day to day
We will update you frequently
Mr Technique's is a much better way
Being methodical and analytical is better than other approaches
A change in circumstances
Things are different now
Forget responsibilities
Abandon your obligations
And showbiz personalities?
Entertainment and celebrities aren't important
Know I'm wrong
I realize that my actions or thoughts are misplaced
It must be all this eating in bed
The habit of eating in bed is having a negative effect
Tell me when it's over
Let me know when the negative effects have ceased
A spider is crawling up and eating in bed
There's an unwanted element present in the bed
Catch this, in a minute
I'll deal with this soon
No-one can see or say or do
No one has control over everyone else's actions and thoughts
What no-one wants or not to do
People can choose not to do things they don't want to do
It's scary to be that way
But sometimes it's scary to assert oneself in that way
To make use of my body
To use my body as I see fit
I'll be round with the tarring can
I'll be around to fix things
And stand with the standard man
And be with the common people
Who paints us inseparable
Who brings us together even though we're different
But should I break my fall?
But what happens if I fail?
Contributed by Lucas L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.