They played soulful, funky pop jazz and were initially signed to Phonogram Records' Mercury imprint. The first came to notice of the UK music and style press when they hooked up with photographer Andy Warhol for the video of the 1986 single Misfit. This featured the band in New York and at one point featured Ben Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot dancing down a side street whilst Andy Warhol referenced Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" by dropping pieces of white card in time to the music (an efect that would also be copied by INXS in the Mediate of 1988).
Their debut album Keep Your Distance entered the British charts at number one in May 1987, and stayed in the Top Ten for 13 weeks, however the release of that album's "Free" lost some of the momentum by limping to only Number 56 in the UK charts.
The bands second album Getahead was lead by an upbeat funky track called "Name and Number". Even though this record only reached Number 14 in 1989, the "Hey How You Doin'" refrain would find itself in the Top Ten two years later as part of the De La Soul song "Ring Ring Ring (Hey Hey Hey)".
After the lack-leisure performance of Getahead and second single First Place, Curiosity (as they were now billed) found themselves dropped from Mercury Records. However three years after the release of that single they returned to the UK Top Ten as a three piece on RCA Records, with a cover of Johnny Bristol's Hang on in There Baby. However the band's follow ups (covers of I Need Your Lovin' and Gimme the Sunshine) flopped in the UK, which resulted in the album Back to Front only being released in Japan and selected overseas markets.
In the 2000s the band reformed for an appearance on a National Lottery midweek show on BBC 1 and since then Ben Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot has toured under the name Curiosity Killed the Cat on a number of 1980s revival packages.
Since Curiosity disbanded, Ben has, by request, continued to perform both live and in the studio and has recently teamed up with dance supremos "Element" (AKA Bimbo Jones) who have already produced remixes for the likes of Deep Dish, Usher and The Bodyrockers. They are also the co production duo responsible for "Meck's" "Thunder In My Heart Again".
Band members
Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot (vocals; * 19 May 1965)
Julian Brookhouse (guitar; * 15 May 1963)
Nick Thorp (bass; * 25 October 1964)
Miguel Drummond (drums; * 27 January 1964)
Down To Earth
Curiosity Killed the Cat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And hanging out on clouds beneath the moon
Hitching rides on magic carpets
It's a fairy tale to me but you're in tune
You're shattered by the final frame of the movie scene
That generates your every aim
You ain't no bird and so far what's it's worth
Straight back down (come down)
Come back down (come down)
Straight back down y'all
Straight back down to Earth
In times when you're in need of assistance
You're looking for a lead and in the distance
You hear them calling come back down again
But you don't know how
You don't know where and don't know when
You're shattered by the final frame of the movie scene
That generates your every aim
You ain't no bird so for what it's worth
Gonna bring you straight back down to earth
Straight back down (come down)
Come back down (come down)
Straight back down y'all
Straight back down to Earth
Don't want to want to be misled (come down)
Don't want to fall on a razor's edge and
You feel at ease you're begging please
Don't make (take) me down for nothing
Don't want to want to be misled (come down)
Don't want to fall on a razor's edge and
You feel at ease you're begging please
Don't make (take) me down for nothing
You're shattered by the vital pain that is needed now
To tell you not to go insane
You're tempted by I say the cooling breeze
That will bring you down oh come back please
Straight back down (come down)
Come back down (come down)
Straight back down y'all
Straight back down to Earth
Don't want to want to be misled (come down)
Don't want to fall on a razor's edge and
You feel at ease you're begging please
Don't take me down for nothing
Don't want to want to be misled (come down)
Don't want to fall on a razor's edge and
You feel at ease you're begging please
Don't take me down for nothing
The lyrics of "Down To Earth" by Curiosity Killed the Cat capture the idea of living in a dreamlike fantasy world and the difficulties of coming back to reality. The first verse sets the scene of the fantasy world with imagery of shooting stars, clouds, and magic carpets. The second verse introduces the struggle of returning to reality and the uncertainty of the journey back. The chorus emphasizes the need to come back down to earth and not get lost in the dream world.
The bridge repeats the idea of being shattered and offers a warning not to become insane. The repetition of "don't want to be misled" and "don't take me down for nothing" reinforces the idea of the struggle to maintain one's grounding in reality.
Overall, the song seems to be a cautionary tale about the dangers of getting lost in a fantasy world and the importance of staying grounded.
Line by Line Meaning
Shooting stars in midnight pastures
Looking up at stars in the night surrounded by nature
And hanging out on clouds beneath the moon
Imagining oneself up in the sky, sitting on clouds under the moonlight
Hitching rides on magic carpets
Fantasizing about a magic world where anything is possible
It's a fairy tale to me but you're in tune
This may be a dream to me, but you seem to know exactly what you want
You're shattered by the final frame of the movie scene
The climax of your dreams is interfering with your reality
That generates your every aim
Your goal is being driven by what you see in your mind's eye
You ain't no bird and so far what's it's worth
You are not meant to fly, and it isn't worth risking everything for it
Gonna bring you straight back down down
You need to come back down to reality
In times when you're in need of assistance
When you need someone to help you see the truth
You're looking for a lead and in the distance
You are searching for someone to guide you in the right direction
You hear them calling come back down again
Their voice is calling for you to return to earth
But you don't know how
You are lost and unsure of yourself
You don't know where and don't know when
You have no idea where or when you'll find what you are looking for
Don't want to want to be misled (come down)
You don't want to deceive yourself into thinking you can achieve the impossible
Don't want to fall on a razor's edge and
You do not want to risk everything on a dangerous gamble
You feel at ease you're begging please
You are begging for peace of mind
Don't make (take) me down for nothing
Don't bring me back down to earth for no good reason
You're shattered by the vital pain that is needed now
The pain you feel is necessary to understand the reality of the situation
To tell you not to go insane
To try and keep you from going crazy
You're tempted by I say the cooling breeze
You are tempted to keep chasing your dream even though it isn't real
That will bring you down oh come back please
You need to find a way to return to reality
Don't take me down for nothing
Don't bring me back down for no good reason
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BEN VOLPELIERE-PIERROT, JULIAN GODFREY BROOKHOUSE, MIGUEL DRUMMOND, NICHOLAS BERNARD THORP, TOBY ANDERSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@patrickstocks3576
Shooting stars in midnight pastures
And hanging out on clouds beneath the moon
Hitching rides on magic carpets
It’s a fairy tale to me but you’re in tune
You’re shattered by the final frame of the movie scene
That generates your every aim
You ain’t no bird and so far what’s it’s worth
Gonna bring you straight back down down
Straight back down (come down)
Come back down (come down)
Straight back down y’all
Straight back down to Earth
In times when you’re in need of assistance
You’re looking for a lead and in the distance
You hear them calling come back down again
But don’t know where and don’t know when
You’re shattered by the final frame of the movie scene
That generates your every aim
You ain’t no bird so for what it’s worth
Gonna bring you straight back down to earth
Straight back down (come down)
Come back down (come down)
Straight back down y’all
Straight back down to Earth
Don’t want to want to be misled (come down)
Don’t want to fall on a razors edge and
You feel at ease you’re begging please
Don’t make (take) me down for nothing
Don’t want to want to be misled (come down)
Don’t want to fall on a razors edge and
You feel at ease you’re begging please
Don’t make (take) me down for nothing
You’re shattered by the vital pain that is needed now
To tell you not to go insane
You’re tempted by I say the cooling breeze
That will bring you down oh come back please
Straight back down (come down)
Come back down (come down)
Straight back down y’all
Straight back down to Earth
Don’t want to want to be misled (come down)
Don’t want to fall on a razors edge and
You feel at ease you’re begging please
Don’t take me down for nothing
Don’t want to want to be misled (come down)
Don’t want to fall on a razors edge and
You feel at ease you’re begging please
Don’t take me down for nothing
@leemcbride9273
Can't believe this band didn't become bigger. A quality band in my opinion.
@Martina-kb5if
Am here from Italy! Please contact me!
@oj136
Lee, I am one of the few who thought they were massive. Played their songs over and over. 80’s massive! :-)
@leemcbride9273
@@oj136 Misfit was my favourite track. A classic 80's tune. Those were the days my friend.
@harryandrew1277
Yea defo
@michelelaraia7358
Detto
@leemcbride9273
One of the best 80's tunes. Great track,great band and great decade. God, everything was better back then.
@Mark-td5ux
So true.
@user-zx1pk4gj5f
Si los '80 una creatividad a toda prueba
@kata369
Even in 2023 its just as good .great decade when times were not so angry and life seemed simpler Whoes listening to it now 😊