In 1986 Gavin briefly abandoned music to paint, which culminated in the 1988 exhibition entitled 'I didn't come up the Liffey in a bubble' at Dublin's Hendriks Gallery. The previous year, itchy to perform again, he had returned to the stage, acting as master of ceremonies in his own weekly cabaret, 'Blue Jaysus'. Friday's own unique interpretations of classic burlesque songs featured alongside comedy and drag acts, as well as appearances by special guests from Dublin's always fertile music scene.
Since 1987 he has composed and performed with pianist Maurice Roycroft (The Man Seezer). Fresh from The Blue Jaysus, they played their first gig together in October 1987 at an AIDS benefit in Dublin. A demo tape of original material attracted attention of Island Records and they signed to the label in 1988.
'Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves' (1989), their compelling moody debut produced by Hal Willner, explored the world of Brel (whose song 'Next' is covered on the album), Piaf, Brecht and Weill with a healthy punk ethos. Recorded in New York, Friday claimed it articulates everything he wasn't able to say in the Virgin Prunes. Themes of love, death and sex permeate the subject matter of the album, which has a strong musical cast including Michael Blair, Marc Ribot, Fernando Saunders and Bill Frisell.
The follow up, 1992's 'Adam 'N' Eve' is an eclectic work by an artist who refused to be pigeonholed. Influenced by Gavin's adolescent pop past, the album contains shades of T-Rex, Roxy Music, Satie and Bacharach and is lighter and more humorous than its predecessor. The first single, 'I Want to Live', was a chart hit in Holland and Belgium where Friday's debut album had been especially well received.
In 1995 Gavin Friday released 'Shag Tobacco'. Produced by Bomb the Bass' Tim Simenon, the sultry, cinematic album uniquely blends 90's dance rhythms with more traditional European pop set in a world not quite in the future, or in the past. 'It's a very sexual album,' said Friday, 'if there is a location for this album, it is a place where love is most definitely the drug and everyone is a junkie.' The Shag Tobacco tours lasted well into 1996, ending triumphantly with a show at the Olympia Theatre in Friday's home town, Dublin.
In Summer 1999, Gavin travelled to Kosovo on behalf of the charity Concern, to film a documentary highlighting to plight of Kosovan refugees. 'Artists for Kosovo', a slide-show of work by renowned Irish artists set to Friday/Seezer music opened in Dublin's Temple Bar. Later that year the video documentary 'Three Wishes For Kosovo' was completed and Gavin's children's charity project for Kosovo, 'Muc the flying piggy bank' was launched. The project encouraged kids in schools around Ireland to set up their own collections for the charity.
Gavin Friday is a prolific vocalist, artist and composer, whose film work includes the songs written with Bono for the popular 1993 film 'In the Name of the Father'. They recorded the title track as well as the Sinead O'Connor sung hit 'You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart'. In 1996 Friday and Seezer contributed the song 'Angel' to the 'Romeo + Juliet' soundtrack and wrote their first piece of score for the Australian film 'Angel Baby'. His subsequent film scores have included 'The Boxer' (1998), 'Disco Pigs' (2001) and 'In America' (2002). In late 2005, Friday and Seezer teamed up with legendary producer Quincy Jones to score the Jim Sheridan directed 50 Cent biopic 'Get Rich or Die Trying.'
A consummate live performer, Friday mesmerises his audiences, slipping into the many different characters that inhabit his songs. In 2001 he created 'Ich Liebe Dich', a twisted and seductive musical theatre tribute to the German composer Kurt Weill. Performed with the Friday-Seezer Ensemble at the Dublin Theatre Festival, the sold out six-show run brought the best of 1920s/30s Berlin and 40s Broadway into the 21st century.
In 2002 Friday and Seezer tackled Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf', recording their own arrangement of the children's classic with their ensemble. A luxury box set, with artwork by U2's Bono, raised money and awareness for the Irish Hospice Foundation.
The next year Gavin performed the surreal and personal one man show 'I Didn't Come up the Liffey in a Bubble' at the Dublin Fringe Festival. The acclaimed director Neil Jordan cast Gavin as the sexually ambiguous rocker Billy Hatchet in the 2005 movie "Breakfast on Pluto". Starring alongside Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson and Brendan Gleeson, Friday held his own and received much praise for his debut screen appearance.
Summer 2006 saw him return to the stage with his tribute to German culture, 'Tomorrow Belongs To Me', and again collaborating with producer Hal Willner on the boisterous collection of pirate ballads, sea songs and chanteys, entitled 'Rogue's Gallery'. Later that year, Gavin narrates The Fortune Teller, a marionette play by Erik Sanko. It premieres in New York to great acclaim.
Taking time out from work on his fourth solo album with new writing partner Herb Macken, Gavin participated in the Shakespeare Sonnet Project, jointly commissioned by Opera North Projects and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The project, curated by the English composer Gavin Bryars, premiered in Stratford-Upon-Avon in February and around the U.K. through March 2007. Gavin performed his take on 'Sonnet 40' live and narrated the eight sonnets that make up Bryars' 40-minute composition 'Nothing Like the Sun'.
In Summer 2007 Gavin Friday and Herb Macken composed the music and main theme 'Dreamland' for Patrick McCabe's play The Revenant, which opened at the Galway Arts Festival in July.
Eden
Gavin Friday & The Man Seezer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our love's garden to tend and to rule
No fear mischief in the shadows waits
We have each other and time to kill
Eden.
We meet by the darkness the truth of our kiss,
One touch of skin commits us a new
Your moist inside, my ease so rich I tremble
The sweetest strain it tears me asunder
Eden.
A spell has broken outcast and in gloom
A waste so dry where is my love?
I wander lost a time that feels like hours
Until I see a place that is green.
Eden.
The song "Eden" by Gavin Friday and The Man Seezer paints a picture of a utopian world where lovers can tend to their garden of love without fear or mischief. The first verse describes the beauty of their surroundings: clear blue skies and pure waters. They have each other and all the time in the world to enjoy their love, without any worries lurking in the shadows. This idyllic world is referred to as "Eden," a biblical reference to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony.
The second verse continues with the theme of love, as the couple meets in the darkness and shares a kiss that commits them anew. The intimacy between them is so intense that it causes physical trembles. However, the sweetest strain of their love also tears them apart. The word "strain" suggests that their love is under pressure, and it is tearing them apart. The chorus repeats the word "Eden," a reminder that this perfect world they have created is just a fantasy.
The third verse introduces a more sinister tone, as the singer becomes an outcast in a dry wasteland, searching for their lost love. They wander aimlessly until they come across a place that resembles the Eden of their dreams - a place that is green and full of life. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for the journey to find love, that sometimes we have to wander through darkness and loss before finding the place where love can flourish.
Line by Line Meaning
Blue sky the waters clear
The weather is good and the water is crystal clear
Our love's garden to tend and to rule
We will take care and control of our relationship
No fear mischief in the shadows waits
We do not have to worry about any problems that may arise
We have each other and time to kill
We have each other's company and don't have to worry about anything else
Eden.
We are in a perfect and peaceful place
We meet by the darkness the truth of our kiss,
We come together in secrecy to share our love
One touch of skin commits us a new
Our physical connection solidifies our relationship
Your moist inside, my ease so rich I tremble
Our intimacy is overwhelming and powerful
The sweetest strain it tears me asunder
Our love is so strong that it is almost painful
Eden.
We continue to enjoy our perfect environment
A spell has broken outcast and in gloom
Something has gone wrong and we feel left out and unhappy
A waste so dry where is my love?
We feel lost and alone in a barren and desolate place
I wander lost a time that feels like hours
We feel like we have been wandering for a long time without direction
Until I see a place that is green.
We find hope in seeing a place that is alive and full of energy
Eden.
We hope to find ourselves back in a perfect and peaceful place
Contributed by Hudson G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.