Gomez completed an inaugural U.S. tour opening for Eagle-Eye Cherry in October 1998, while the press still offered praise (Spin magazine called Bring It On "a damn beautiful album," giving it an eight out of ten rating). Liquid Skin followed one year later and went platinum in England, and the rarities/B-sides compilation Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline appeared in 2000. A third studio album, In Our Gun, was released in spring 2002. Another hiatus saw Ian Ball relocating to Los Angeles while still working with the band at its new studio in Portslade, England. The dozens of tracks recorded during this time were whittled down and fashioned into Split the Difference, released in May of 2004. By that time, Hut, the group's original label, had gone under, leaving Gomez signed to Virgin (Hut's distributor). Despite all the critical acclaim, the band's album sales never seemed to match Virgin's expectations, and the two sides parted ways later that year.
In 2005, Gomez signed with ATO Records and released Out West, the group's first live album. How We Operate arrived in May 2006, and the band rounded out the year by assembling a retrospective collection of singles, rarities, and unreleased tracks entitled Five Men in a Hut: Singles 1998-2004. Gomez's members were spread across two continents by this point, leading to a three-year gap between How We Operate and the band's sixth studio release, A New Tide, parts of which were recorded individually by the various bandmates and then merged online. Ben Ottewell took some time after its release to launch a solo career, with 2011's Shapes & Shadows marking his first major release outside of the band. Months later, the band released another studio album, Whatever's on Your Mind, with Phantom Planet's Sam Farrar sharing production duties with the bandmates themselves.
Biography by Greg Prato
Whippin' Piccadilly
Gomez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We all fall down, there's not enough hours in our day
Played a bit of football, fell in to the union, barged our way to the toilet
With the kung fu king, there's not enough hours in our day
I remember seeing someone dressed in a suit looking like a lunatic
And we all fall down, there's not enough hours in our trip
Well, academy cartwheel's breakin' your hands
And we all fall down, there's not enough hours in our day
We like lovin yeah, and the wine we share
We like lovin yeah, and the wine we share
Finally made our way back to the train, rolling in to sheffield tonight
And we all fall down, there's not enough hours in our life
So try and guess my weight and wait at the station
We're whippin picadilly tonight
And it all falls down, there not enought hours in our life
We like lovin yeah, and the wine we share
We like lovin yeah, and the wine we share
The song "Whippin' Piccadilly" by Gomez is a reflection of the band's impulsive and carefree attitude towards life. The lyrics describe a day out in Manchester, filled with random events and interactions with strangers. There is a sense of urgency conveyed throughout the song with the repetition of the phrase "there's not enough hours in our day/life." This could be interpreted as a frustration with the limited time they have to experience all that life has to offer.
The song starts with the band reminiscing about their day out in Manchester, playing football and visiting a bar called The Union, where they encountered a man dressed in a suit that looked like a lunatic. The lyrics suggest that they had a good time but at the same time felt like there were not enough hours in the day to enjoy everything. The reference to the Kung Fu King could be a nod to Bruce Lee, who was known to have practiced martial arts in Manchester.
The middle of the song features a reference to the Academy, possibly meaning the Manchester Academy, a popular venue at the time. The lines "cartwheel's breakin' your hands, we got lovely posters for sale" suggest that the band had performed at the Academy, selling posters as merchandise. The section ends with the repeated refrain, "there's not enough hours in our day," symbolizing the band's feeling of wanting more time.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the band's love of life and their enjoyment of simple pleasures like love and wine. The song ends with the band returning to Sheffield, their hometown, and planning to whip Piccadilly, a popular neighborhood in Manchester, before the night ends. This final line reinforces the band's desire to make the most of their time and experience all that life has to offer.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a time, not too long ago, we took a day out in manchester
Recently, we went on a day trip to Manchester.
We all fall down, there's not enough hours in our day
We often find ourselves exhausted because we are busy all the time.
Played a bit of football, fell in to the union, barged our way to the toilet
During our trip, we played some football and ended up at a pub where we had to fight to use the restroom.
With the kung fu king, there's not enough hours in our day
We met someone who called themselves the 'kung fu king', but we didn't have enough time to spend with them.
I remember seeing someone dressed in a suit looking like a lunatic
One person we saw in Manchester was dressed strangely and stood out as being odd.
Well, academy cartwheel's breakin' your hands
We saw people doing acrobatics that could cause injury to their hands.
We got lovely posters for sale
We found some nice posters to buy.
And we all fall down, there's not enough hours in our day
We continue to feel overwhelmed and busy all the time.
We like lovin yeah, and the wine we share
As a group, we enjoy romantic relationships and sharing wine together.
Finally made our way back to the train, rolling in to sheffield tonight
At the end of the day, we headed back to the train station to return home, arriving in Sheffield that night.
And we all fall down, there's not enough hours in our life
Life overall continues to feel very busy and overwhelming.
So try and guess my weight and wait at the station
As a joke or game, we encourage someone to guess our weight and wait at the train station.
We're whippin picadilly tonight
We plan to have a wild and entertaining evening in Piccadilly tonight.
We like lovin yeah, and the wine we share
Our group enjoys romantic relationships and sharing wine together.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BEN OTTEWELL, BENJAMIN JOSEPH OTTEWELL, IAN THOMAS BALL, OLIVER JAMES PEACOCK, PAUL BLACKBURN, THOMAS WILLIAM GRAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
That guy who likes Bathory
Once upon a time, not too long ago
We took a day out in Manchester
We all fall down
There's not enough hours in a day
Played a bit of football, fell into the union
Barged our way into the toilet
With the kung fu king
There's not enough hours in a day
I remember seeing someone dressed in a suit
Looking like a lunatic
And we all fall down
There's not enough hours in a trip
Well, academy cogwheels breaking your hand
But we got lovely posters for sale
And we all fall down
There's not enough hours in a day
We like loving, yeah
And the wine we share
We like loving, yeah
And the wine we share
Finally made our way back to the train
Rolling into Sheffield tonight
And it all falls down
There's not enough hours in our life
So try and guess my weight, waiting at the station
Whippin' Piccadilly tonight
And it all falls down
There's not enough hours in our life
We like loving, yeah
And the wine we share
We like loving, yeah
And the wine we share
Thomas J Newton
One of the most brilliant debut albums of all time. Seemed almost impossible to surpass, then they delivered that OMG moment with 'liquid Skin'. BRING IT ON!
David Lynch
One of the greatest bands and songs ever.
Sean Graham
really?
Dave Wilding
I can remember watching mtv really late one night and this debut i loved it straight away and i said to myself this band is gonna take off big time,went down to the record shop (feels weird writing that lol) and asked for a copy,they said i was the second person to ask about it and they said it was going to be released the following week. They took my number to call me soon as it came in ,it seemed like the longest wait ever but soon as that call came in i was straight down there and bought a copy for 99p on tape what a bargain !!! Took it home put stereo on full blast rolled a massive joint of white window and off i went into the world of Gomez and what a world and what a ride its been!! 1 of my all time favourite bands ever, i showed absolutely everybody this band and everybody who heard them loved them instantly!! My dad brought me up to respect true live bands so as you can imagine i grew up listening to the greats such as zepplin ,hendrix,who,pink floyd etc so when i i tried to introduce my dad to new music which was around at that time he wouldnt of given it a second chance trust me lol but when he heard this tune, well that was a different story!!! he actually bought the album the day it came out thats how much he loved it!! Me on the other hand ,well i had to wait till my pay day to get mine but it was well worth it coz finally i could share some amazing new music with my old man my hero my dad r.i.p loves ya dad xxx.......
Victoria Alison
Very lucky to see this live the other day.... such a great track. Never fails!!!
Sue W
Have seen them twice live, great band.
JOE
Reminds me of my brother in the 90s. Still gives me chills. Love it
Alan Bird
so many memories from this tune. Such an underrated band. never forget. love.
Breaking Free from anxiety
Still an incredible song! 😎🎶
tell it how it is
The best backing vocal ever!