Originally formed in 1988 as Sub Sub, a dance act who coincided with the rise of the Hacienda and the rave scene from Manchester expanding outwards, they enjoyed moderate success for seven years including the hit single "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (#3 UK), before suffering the disaster of their studio burning down in 1996, taking all their current recordings with them. The experience, tragedy and pressure of that would inspire their name-change, in 1998, to Doves, and ultimately their first full-length album, Lost Souls released in April 2000. "Lost Souls" was a dark, atmospheric effort, full of brooding keyboards and claustrophobic light grooves, yet charted at number 13, mainly due to the top 40 singles, "The Cedar Room", "Catch The Sun" and "The Man Who Told Everything".
Two years later, Doves enjoyed their commercial and critical peak with their second album, The Last Broadcast, which charted at number 1 in the UK charts, spawning a hit single, "There Goes The Fear", which reached number 3 in the chart. "The Last Broadcast" was characterised by huge, spacious recordings, and an overall feeling of euphoria and relief. Two more singles, "Pounding" and "Caught By The River" both charted inside the top 40, and in the summer of 2003, Doves headlined the Other Stage on the last night of the Glastonbury Festival.
Recording problems and writers' block delayed the emergence of their third album, Some Cities, until Spring 2005. This was a return to the more claustrophobic sounds of their debut, though still featured the top 10 single "Black & White Town". "Some Cities" sold well, debuting at #1 on the UK chart, and received some of the band's strongest reviews to date.
Jimi Goodwin and Jez Williams both contributed to other bands in the late 90's, Goodwin played bass for Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr's band Electronic on their 1999 album Twisted Tenderness and Williams played guitar on Saint Etienne's albums, 1998's Good Humor, 2000's Sound of Water and finally 2002's Finisterre.
2009 saw the release of 'Kingdom of Rust' and a tour to support, soon followed by 'The Places Between', a greatest hits album - also released as a double album with DVD compilation of singles, non-single releases and remixes.
The band is on a break from recording, according to an interview with The Daily Record. Jimi Goodwin stated: "It's nice just to have a bit of breathing space... We just wanted to get off that whole album-tour-album-tour treadmill. None of us are ready to face going into the studio for another two years. This is wiping the slate clean, we have nothing else in the vaults now. That is it. Whatever we do from now on will be a new start."
On 2 October 2012, EMI International released a Doves anthology titled 5 Album Set featuring all four studio albums from Lost Souls to Kingdom of Rust and the 2003 re-issue of Lost Sides.
It has been announced that Jimi Goodwin will support British band Elbow on their Spring 2014 tour of the United Kingdom.
Last Broadcast
Doves Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was thinking about shame
The funny thing how you said
Cause it's better not to stay
Sure enough if you feel nothing
You're better off this way
Gets to the point where you can't breathe
It's the last word
So here we are
At the last broadcast
Here we are
Our last broadcast
Sun on faces made us feel alive
The colours of the sky
Southern trees, made us enemies
Who knows the reason why?
You can't escape yourself
You can't just fall away
It comes to the point when you feel nothing
This is the last time
Cause I can see it in your eyes
So here we are
At the last broadcast
Here we are
Our last broadcast
This is
The last broadcast
Here we are
Our last broadcast
The lyrics to Doves' "Last Broadcast" are evocative and poignant, speaking to the inevitability of endings and the way that relationships can come apart, leaving nothing behind but memories. The opening lines of the song, "I was thinking about what you said, I was thinking about shame," suggest a sense of regret and melancholy. The singer is reflecting on something that has happened between him and another person, and it is causing him to feel a deep sense of sadness and remorse.
The chorus of the song, "Here we are, at the last broadcast," reinforces this sense of finality. It's as if the singer is standing at the edge of a great precipice, looking out over the vast expanse of his life and all that has come before. He is acutely aware that everything is coming to an end, and that there is nothing he can do to stop it.
The final verse of the song, "Sun on faces made us feel alive, the colours of the sky, Southern trees made us enemies, who knows the reason why?" suggests that the relationship between the singer and the other person was once vibrant and alive, but that something happened to cause it to fall apart. The phrase "who knows the reason why?" implies a sense of confusion and uncertainty - the singer doesn't understand why things went wrong. In the end, all that's left is the last broadcast - a final moment of connection before everything fades away into memory.
Line by Line Meaning
I was thinking about what you said
Reflecting on your previous comments.
I was thinking about shame
Contemplating the guilt I feel.
The funny thing how you said Cause it's better not to stay
Amused by your suggestion to leave.
Sure enough if you feel nothing You're better off this way
If you're emotionally detached, it's easier this way.
Gets to the point where you can't breathe It's the last word
When it becomes suffocating, it's the final decision.
I can see it standing
I can envision it happening.
Sun on faces made us feel alive The colours of the sky Southern trees, made us enemies Who knows the reason why?
Recalling the happy moments in nature contrasted with the unknown reasons for conflict.
You can't escape yourself You can't just fall away
You can't run from your inner struggles like it's an easy task.
It comes to the point when you feel nothing This is the last time Cause I can see it in your eyes
When emotions are absent, this is the final occurrence because it's visible in your gaze.
So here we are At the last broadcast Here we are Our last broadcast
We've come to the moment of the final airing of our opinions.
This is The last broadcast Here we are Our last broadcast
The time has come for the ultimate announcement, our final sharing of thoughts.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY WILLIAMS, JEZ WILLIAMS, JIMI GOODWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind