Tovey began his musical career after studying performance art at Leeds Polytechnic, but started recording upon his move back to his native London, UK. The songs of his early career (under the pseudonym) all feature synthesizers plus, sometimes, machine sounds like that of an electric razor or an electric drill. Almost all of his songs create a dark, mystical atmosphere, with Gadget's voice hovering monotonously over then unheard of, groundbreaking and still brilliant synthesizer sound effects. The lyrics are either very earnest, discussing subjects like guilt or life and death, or convey a black, sarcastic humour.
Initially, Fad Gadget was merely a moniker for Tovey, but as time went on a band was formed (although keeping Tovey as the main focal point). His longest-serving sidekick was drummer Nick Cash. Other members were keyboardist David Simmonds, bassist Peter Balmer, guitarist & bassist David Rogers and viola player & backing vocalist Joni Sackett
Singles included Back To Nature, Ricky's Hand and Collapsing New People. Fad Gadget was the first artist signed to the then-fledgling Mute label, on which he released four full length albums, Fireside Favourites (1980), Incontinent (1981), Under The Flag (1982) and Gag (1984). After 1984's Gag, Tovey released a compilation, (The Fad Gadget Singles), and recorded five more albums under his own name, whose styles ranged from semi-industrial electronic ballads to folk-oriented protest songs. He last appeared on a European tour supporting his latest album in 1993 and then virtually disappeared for some eight years.
In 2001 Tovey (and Cash) resurfaced with a comeback appearance and subsequently supported Depeche Mode on the Exciter tour later that year, again under his pseudonym Fad Gadget and backed by members of Temple X, whose album he had been producing. (Depeche Mode cite Tovey/Gadget as an icon and a paragon, and his influences can be heard in their music.) Tovey died of a heart attack on 3 April, 2002, aged 45, having suffered heart problems throughout his life.
The Box
Fad Gadget Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And finally comes to rest upon an old picture frame
The photo shows a man in hat
A dog at heel
The man is fat
The dog is the same
Let me out...
Let me out...
I can't stand the dark anymore
A POV of man in carbon mononoxide fumes are choking him
His face turns pink
And now we see him winding down
The window streaked excretion brown
We watch him sink
Let me out...
Let me out...
Let me out...
I can't stand the dark anymore
The shot a wide angle now
A man is banging on the door
Of a chrome elevator
Lights go out no air inside
Get no lift from this lost ride
On a cracked generator
Let me out...
Let me out...
Let me out...
I can't stand the dark anymore
Now focus out
The lift goes down
Night creeps in
The screws go round
Blood runs cold
And now we stare up from our hole
Theme tune in, the credits roll
The story told
Let us out...
Let us out...
Let us out...
The Box by Fad Gadget is a dark, dystopian song that portrays the claustrophobic existence of a person trapped within various confined spaces, desperately seeking freedom. The lyrics begin with a camera panning across a room and settling on an old picture frame, showing a man in a hat with his dog. The man is overweight, and the dog is the same. This sets the tone for the song, where the lack of space and freedom brings discomfort and a yearning for escape. The chorus, "Let me out...I can't stand the dark anymore," is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the desperation of the person's situation.
The second verse shifts to a man trapped inside a car, where carbon monoxide fumes are choking him, leading to a feeling of suffocation. He rolls down his window, and we watch him sink, presumably to his death. The third verse describes a person trapped inside a chrome elevator. The lights go out, and there's no air inside, with no way to escape, leading to a sense of hopelessness. The last verse depicts the elevator going down, and a sense of foreboding creeps in. The theme tune comes in, and the credits roll, as the person's story plays out.
Overall, The Box is a powerful song that evokes a sense of confinement and entrapment, with the person yearning for freedom and liberation.
Line by Line Meaning
The camera pans across the room
The camera moves slowly and gradually through the space, showing everything in its path
And finally comes to rest upon an old picture frame
The camera comes to a stop when it reaches an old frame that displays a photograph
The photo shows a man in hat
The picture depicts a man wearing a hat
A dog at heel
The dog is standing close to the man in the photo
The man is fat
The man in the photo is overweight
The dog is the same
The dog has a similar physique to the man in the photo
Let me out...
The singer is requesting to be released from their current situation
I can't stand the dark anymore
The artist has been in the darkness for too long and can no longer bear it
A POV of man in carbon mononoxide fumes are choking him
The perspective is from the point of view of a man who is being suffocated by carbon monoxide gas
His face turns pink
The man's face becomes a shade of pink due to the gas poisoning
And now we see him winding down
The man is becoming exhausted and less alert
The window streaked excretion brown
The window has brownish residue on it
We watch him sink
The man is collapsing
The shot a wide angle now
The camera is now showing a larger view
A man is banging on the door
A man is trying to open a door by hitting it with his hands
Of a chrome elevator
The door being banged on is the one of a chrome elevator
Lights go out no air inside
The lights turn off, and there is no ventilation inside the elevator
Get no lift from this lost ride
The elevator is not moving up or down, and the passengers are stuck in it
On a cracked generator
The elevator's power source is not working properly
Now focus out
The camera moves out, showing a larger view
The lift goes down
The elevator starts moving downwards
Night creeps in
It starts getting dark outside
The screws go round
The elevator's mechanism can be heard, and the screws are turning
Blood runs cold
The situation becomes terrifying, and the artist starts feeling scared
And now we stare up from our hole
We are looking upwards from where we are - probably being stuck somewhere
Theme tune in, the credits roll
The signature tune that plays at the end of a show begins, and the credits roll
The story told
The tale has come to an end
Let us out...
We all need to be released from the situation we are in
Contributed by Miles B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@regplasma7906
One of the greatest artists of all time.
@petraanna9272
Ein musikalischer Held und Pionier.
@keywestWTF
This record changed my life.
@cristianobarducci7092
Capolavoro assoluto
@morphsix7124
I can't stand the dark anymore...
@robertcornelius3516
we are all in a box....waiting to be delivered to the doorstep to bob
@PrimitiveInTheExtreme
🎧▶🎶💫
@morphsix7124
Dancing in the Hollywood underground...........
@myriamhory6434
❤♥❤
@collapsingnewpunkie
Someone's gotta let me out!