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.
Spellbound
Doves Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All your loving
Echos light into dark hearts
I would swear I've seen this, left beside me
Your eyes they hypnotize
She keeps me here so spellbound
Her love pulls me near to stranger ground
This dark magic mirror, spellbound
A heart-shaped face
With words as cold as stone
I can't believe this is my fate
She raised your head
Now the night, it's coming down
I accept this fate I accept my love you won't be long
You keep me here so spellbound
Your love pulls me near to sacred ground
I lost my mind there
This dark magic mirror, spellbound
And I can't leave now
Leave her now [Repeat: x2]
She keeps me near so spellbound
Her love pulls me near to stranger ground
I lost my mind there
This dark magic mirror, spellbound [Repeat: x2]
So spellbound [Repeat: x3]
The lyrics to Doves' song "Spellbound" describe the powerful hold that love can have over a person. The opening stanza describes how the singer is mesmerized by his lover's eyes, which seem to transmit all of her loving emotion. Though there may be darkness all around, the light of her love shines through and captivates him. He feels as though he has seen this before, as if he and his lover were meant to be together. She has a hypnotic effect on him that keeps him spellbound.
In the second stanza, the singer describes his lover as having a heart-shaped face and words as cold as stone. While he may be surprised by this, he still can't help but feel drawn to her. She has a way of raising his head, of keeping him rooted in the present moment, even as the night falls around them. He accepts his fate, accepting that his time with her won't last forever, but in the moment, he feels as though his love is sacred ground.
Overall, "Spellbound" is a deeply personal and emotional song about the power that love can have over a person, even if it comes at a great cost.
Line by Line Meaning
Those eyes they transmit
The person's eyes convey or communicate something
All your loving
The person's eyes express affection and love
Echos light into dark hearts
The person's eyes bring light or hope to people with heavy hearts or troubles
I would swear I've seen this, left beside me
The artist feels like they've experienced this feeling before and it's still with them
Your eyes they hypnotize
The person's eyes have an entrancing or captivating effect
She keeps me here so spellbound
The woman in question has a mesmerizing hold over the singer
Her love pulls me near to stranger ground
The singer feels like they're being brought to a completely different, unknown place through the woman's love
I've lost my mind there
The artist has become so enamored with the woman that they've become almost irrational or reckless
This dark magic mirror, spellbound
The woman's hold over the artist feels like a mysterious, powerful spell
A heart-shaped face
The woman has a facial structure that resembles a heart shape
With words as cold as stone
The woman's words are unfeeling or harsh
I can't believe this is my fate
The artist can't believe they've ended up in this situation
She raised your head
The woman makes the singer lift their head up, perhaps elevating their spirits
Now the night, it's coming down
The evening is drawing to a close
I accept this fate I accept my love you won't be long
The singer has come to terms with their feelings for the woman and the consequences that come with them
You keep me here so spellbound
The woman's spell over the artist remains
Your love pulls me near to sacred ground
The woman's love makes the artist feel like they're getting closer to something holy or divine
And I can't leave now Leave her now
The singer cannot end their relationship with the woman, despite perhaps wanting or needing to
This dark magic mirror, spellbound
The woman's hold over the singer is like a mysterious, powerful spell that the singer cannot escape
So spellbound
The artist is very captivated by the woman, maybe to the point of being helpless
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY WILLIAMS, JEZ WILLIAMS, JIMI GOODWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind