After banshee wailer Poly Styrene departed from X-Ray Spex, the remaining members held auditions for a replacement singer. Solo won the approval of a few of Styrene's former bandmates, and they debuted at the Music Machine on August 1979. Airport left the group before they even recorded their first single; he was replaced by Gary Steadman. In 1981, Classix Nouveaux released "Guilty," one of their most well-known tracks; the track was a Top-20 hit in Sweden and received interest in the U.K. as well as the U.S. The music video also received airplay on MTV.
A year later, the single "Is It a Dream" reached number 13 on the U.K. charts. Despite successful tours in Yugoslavia, Finland, and Poland, none of Classix Nouveaux's three albums truly catapulted them beyond cult status in Britain or America, getting lost in the shuffle of other new romantic groups that they had originally influenced. The band split up in 1985, and Solo started recording Christian music.
In 2021 band has reunited and released album with re-recorded songs from their back catalogue plus some new material in November 2023 entitled "Battle Cry"
Inside Outside
Classix Nouveaux Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me what do i see?
Very few things to look forward to
For you, or for me
Not surprising people want a way out
Now we're finding
Inside outside, outside inside
What was once the best has been surpassed
Like a memory
What was once the first is now the last
So it seems to me
Always chasing ideas when they are
Forever changing
Inside outside, outside inside
Inside outside, outside inside
How can we be free?
We don't know what it means
And i wonder were we meant to be
Now we're standing going nowhere fast
That's the truth i see
There's no comfort looking to the past
It's all history
Oh frustration! now you spread like fire
Desperation
Inside outside, outside inside
The lyrics of Classix Nouveaux's song Inside Outside appear to communicate a sense of disillusionment with the current state of affairs. The singer describes a world that lacks hope and prospects for the future, which leads people to feel trapped and yearning for a way out. The lines "What was once the best has been surpassed/Like a memory/What was once the first is now the last/So it seems to me" suggest that things have changed for the worse, even when compared to the past, which heightens this feeling of desperation.
The refrain "Inside outside, outside inside" serves to reinforce this idea of being trapped and going around in circles with no clear way out. The singer is wondering how it can be possible to achieve true freedom in such circumstances where even ideas are constantly changing, and there is no stability or permanence. The final lines of the song convey a sense of frustration and desperation, as the singer laments that the situation is only getting worse, and people are getting more desperate, spreading like fire.
Line by Line Meaning
As i stop and look around me
As I take a pause and observe my surroundings
Tell me what do i see?
What do I perceive through my senses?
Very few things to look forward to
There are only a handful of positive things to anticipate
For you, or for me
For both of us
Not surprising people want a way out
It's predictable that individuals desire an escape
Now we're finding
Currently, we are discovering
Inside outside, outside inside
The paradoxical interplay between internal and external experiences
What was once the best has been surpassed
Something that was formerly exceptional has been overshadowed
Like a memory
Similar to a recollection from the past
What was once the first is now the last
Something that was initially at the forefront is now at the back
So it seems to me
It appears that way from my perspective
Always chasing ideas when they are
We are frequently pursuing concepts while they are
Forever changing
Continuously transforming
How can we be free?
In what way can we experience liberty?
We don't know what it means
We are unaware of its definition
And i wonder were we meant to be
I ponder if our existence serves a specific purpose
Now we're standing going nowhere fast
Currently, we are literally or figuratively stagnant and unproductive
That's the truth i see
That's the reality I observe
There's no comfort looking to the past
It's not consoling to reminisce
It's all history
It's all in the past
Oh frustration! now you spread like fire
Oh exasperation! Now it's rampant and contagious
Desperation
A sense of hopelessness or urgency
Inside outside, outside inside
The paradoxical interplay between internal and external experiences
Contributed by Violet N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Clive Smith
"Inside Outside" - Classix Nouveaux, 1981.
As I stop and look around me tell me what do I see?
Very few things to look forward to for you or for me
Not surprising people want a way out
Now we're finding inside outside, outside inside
What was once the best has been surpassed like a memory
What was once the first is now the last, so it seems to me
Always chasing ideas when they are
Forever changing inside outside, outside inside
Inside outside, outside inside
Inside outside, outside inside
Inside outside, outside inside
Inside outside, outside inside
How can we be free?
We don't know what it means
And I wonder were we meant to be
Now we're standing going nowhere fast, that's the truth I see
There's no comfort looking to the past, it's all history
Oh! frustration, now you spread like fire
Desperation inside outside, outside inside
mareek910720
Ten kawałek to jest coś niesamowitego! Tyle w nim emocji i tragedii. Czysta ekspresja!
KRM
Kapcie spadają :P
James Horten
Should have been a bigger hit along with their other singles.
Knocks modern music into s cocked hat. Very underrated band
Gerard
After all these years still love this over and over again
Clive Smith
"Inside Outside" - Classix Nouveaux, 1981.
As I stop and look around me tell me what do I see?
Very few things to look forward to for you or for me
Not surprising people want a way out
Now we're finding inside outside, outside inside
What was once the best has been surpassed like a memory
What was once the first is now the last, so it seems to me
Always chasing ideas when they are
Forever changing inside outside, outside inside
Inside outside, outside inside
Inside outside, outside inside
Inside outside, outside inside
Inside outside, outside inside
How can we be free?
We don't know what it means
And I wonder were we meant to be
Now we're standing going nowhere fast, that's the truth I see
There's no comfort looking to the past, it's all history
Oh! frustration, now you spread like fire
Desperation inside outside, outside inside
Brian Krause
Thanks for posting the lyrics. This is probably my fave song of theirs (along with 'Foreward') so seeing the lyrics to go along with the tune is pretty cool.
Antony Stringfellow
FANTASTIC!!!!
So underrated, this song!
Volt7 Cool Tangs
Awesome new romantic - their best track I think.
Jan Osika
bylem na ich koncercie w ...Lublinie w 1982 ??? .....byli zaje ....Solo i zespul oprocz ....gitarzysty byli super .....ale to JEST moja kapela ....a ..takiego glosu jak ma Sal ....szukac ....polecam ..inne nagrania,,,,,
KRM
Co za nuta