Home Service is a British folk rock group, formed in late 1980 from a nucle… Read Full Bio ↴Home Service is a British folk rock group, formed in late 1980 from a nucleus of musicians who had been playing in Ashley Hutchings' Albion Band. John Tams and several other members of the band, have had solo careers and worked in other projects. In 2016 John Kirkpatrick replaced Tams as main singer in Home Service.

Home Service was formed out of members of the Albion Band who had participated in what is often said to be the group's most successful album in its long history, Rise Up Like the Sun (1978). Their establishment was partly out of the confusion caused by line-up changes when the Albion Band were playing as, in effect, a house band in Bill Bryden's National Theatre productions in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Lark Rise to Candleford. Members of the group took part in an adaptation of Michael Herr's Dispatches without band leader Ashley Hutchings. In late 1980 eight members began to rehearse together in Southwark, London and had soon splintered off from the parent band. The original line-up was: John Tams (vocals, melodeon), Bill Caddick (vocals, guitar, dobro), Graeme Taylor (vocals, guitar), Michael Gregory (drums), Roger Williams (trombone, tuba), Howard Evans (trumpet), Colin Rae (trumpet) and Malcolm Bennett (bass). The large group was somewhat unwieldy and complicated by other projects, including the fact that both Evans and Williams were also members of Brass Monkey. Rae soon left and the remaining members initially chose the name 'The First Eleven' and then switched to Home Service, which had both associations of Britishness/Englishness and of a bygone world in the defunct BBC Home Service radio station.

In 1982 two tracks from what was initially intended as a demo session were released as a single, "Doing The Inglish", with the B-side "Bramsley", designed to accompany the group's appearance at the Cambridge Folk Festival and their transmission on the BBC TV programme A Little Night Music. Bass player Malcolm Bennett then left the band to work as Musical Director of the National Theatre's production of Aeschylus' Oresteia and was replaced by Jon Davie. Further recording was delayed by their return to the National Theatre as a supporting band. Having been joined by keyboard player Steve King while recording, among considerable expectations, they released their eponymous first album in 1984. The album made good use of their two experienced songwriters, Tams and Caddick, and the arranging talents in the group for a mixture of original songs and traditional tunes. The result was favourably reviewed, but suffered in retrospect from the fragmented nature of the recording process among their busy schedules, leading to a lack of spontaneity.

Theatre productions continued to dominate the group's existence, particularly Brydon’s trilogy based on the Wakefield cycle of mystery plays known as The Mysteries. Augmented by other musicians, including Linda Thompson on vocals and Andy Findon on saxophone, clarinet and flutes, they released a selection of the music as The Mysteries in 1985. Findon joined the band as a full member, but Bill Caddick, unhappy with the lack of live work, left the group soon after the end of the play's London run.

With this line up the band began working on their third album, attempting to use their considerable talents to the full and overcome the problems that had limited their previous work. The result, Alright Jack (1985), was built around an arrangement of six folk songs by Percy Grainger. There were also three other traditional tunes, but the most striking element of the album were Tams' compositions, which bracketed the traditional material on both sides, including the title track, the apocalyptic and uplifting "Sorrow/Babylon" and the haunting "Scarecrow".

Alright Jack was the group's greatest achievement and almost their last. Tams left soon after and the remaining members gradually moved on to other projects.

They reunited, without Tams, in 1991 to contribute to the charity compilation All Through the Year and with Caddick toured the UK, recordings of which were released as Wild Life (1995), but they disbanded soon after.

In 2011 it was announced that Home Service are reuniting for live performances. The reunion is taking place to promote a forthcoming album of previously unheard live recordings from 1986.

Members

Current members:

John Kirkpatrick - vocals, melodeon, guitar
Graeme Taylor - electric guitar
Rory McFarlane - bass guitar, vocals
Andy Findon - saxophone, clarinet and flutes
Steve King – keyboards, vocals
Michael Gregory - drums, percussion
Paul Archibald – trumpet, flugelhorn
Nigel Barr - trombone, tuba

Past members:

Bill Caddick - vocals, guitar
Howard Evans – trumpet
Malcolm Bennett – bass guitar
Colin Rae - trumpet
John Tams - vocals, guitar
Jon Davie - bass guitar, vocals
Roger Williams - trombone, tuba

Discography

Studio albums:

The Home Service (Jigsaw, 1984) (reissued on CD as Early Transmissions (Fledg'ling, 1996))
The Mysteries (Coda, 1985)
Alright Jack (Making Waves, 1986)
A New Ground (Dotted Line, 2016)

Live albums:

Wild Life (Fledg'ling, 1995)
Live 1986 (Fledg'ling, 2011)

Collaborations:

All Through the Year (Hokey Pokey Records, 1991) (with various artists)

Alright Jack
Home Service Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You don't need a man with a brick in his hand
Or a glass in your face so you know where you stand
Lift up your heads from out of the sands
You might see what a state we're in

You don't need the papers to tell you all the news
If you stand by the reds or you're true unto the blues
Lift up your eyes instead of looking down at your shoes

You might see what a state we're in

And I'm alright Jack—pull up the ladder
Alright Jack—I'm safe on the wall
Alright Jack—and if you climb just a little bit higher
But the higher you climb the further you fall

You don't need a number instead of a name
If you don't like the smoke then don't fan the flame
And if you look in the mirror you might see who is to blame
You might see what a state we're in

You don't need a salesman to prattle and to pose
If you buy one of these you get a free one of those
He could sell you a ring to put right through your nose
You might see what a state we're in

And I'm alright Jack—pull up the ladder
Alright Jack—I'm safe on the wall
Alright Jack—and if you climb just a little bit higher
But the higher you climb the further you fall

(Solos)

You don't need the queues for assistance and for dole
Taxation, inflation, population control
If you listen to the tills you can hear the bells toll
You might see what a state we're in

And I'm alright Jack—pull up the ladder
Alright Jack—I'm safe on the wall
Alright Jack—and if you climb just a little bit higher
But the higher you climb the further you fall

And I'm alright Jack—pull up the ladder
Alright Jack—I'm safe on the wall
Alright Jack—and if you climb just a little bit higher
But the higher you climb the further you fall

(End)
Thank you!

Overall Meaning

The song "Alright Jack" by Home Service is a political commentary on the state of society and the human condition. The lyrics convey a message of empowerment, urging listeners to lift their heads out of the sand and take a closer look at the world around them. The singer puts forth the idea that we don't need violence or aggression to get our point across, but instead, we should use our own power and perspective to effect change.

The first verse speaks to the idea that we don't need a man with a brick in his hand or a glass in your face to enact change. Violence and aggression only lead to further conflict and division. The second verse encourages people to look beyond political affiliations and towards their own values and beliefs. The third verse touches on consumerism and the idea that we are constantly being sold things we don't need, playing on the idea that we refer to everything as marketing "one size fits all" sometimes even piercing a hole on our noses to wear a ring. The song's chorus, "And I'm alright Jack—pull up the ladder, Alright Jack—I'm safe on the wall, Alright Jack—and if you climb just a little bit higher, But the higher you climb the further you fall," suggests that those in power are perfectly content with the status quo, and that anyone who seeks to join them will soon learn that the higher they climb, the greater the risk of falling.

Line by Line Meaning

You don't need a man with a brick in his hand
You don't need someone who is violent or aggressive towards you

Or a glass in your face so you know where you stand
Or someone who will physically harm you to make you understand their point of view

Lift up your heads from out of the sands
Stop ignoring the problems happening around you

You might see what a state we're in
If you pay attention, you may realize the bad state of affairs we are in

You don't need the papers to tell you all the news
You don't need newspapers to be informed about current events

If you stand by the reds or you're true unto the blues
Choosing a particular political ideology should not limit your understanding of the world

Lift up your eyes instead of looking down at your shoes
Stop being introspective and pay attention to the bigger picture

You might see what a state we're in
You may realize the bad state of affairs we are in

And I'm alright Jack—pull up the ladder
I'm doing well in my life, so I'm not concerned about those who are struggling

Alright Jack—I'm safe on the wall
I'm shielding myself from the problems of the world

Alright Jack—and if you climb just a little bit higher
If you try to succeed, you may start to understand the issues people face

But the higher you climb the further you fall
But success can be fleeting and might lead to new problems

You don't need a number instead of a name
People shouldn't be defined by numbers or labels

If you don't like the smoke then don't fan the flame
Don't contribute to the problem if it's not something you believe in

And if you look in the mirror you might see who is to blame
If you introspect, you might realize that you may be responsible for the problems in your life

You might see what a state we're in
You may realize the bad state of affairs we are in

You don't need a salesman to prattle and to pose
Don't be swayed by a good sales pitch

If you buy one of these you get a free one of those
Don't be fooled by offers that seem too good to be true

He could sell you a ring to put right through your nose
People can be convinced to do things that aren't in their best interest in the name of a perceived benefit

You might see what a state we're in
You may realize the bad state of affairs we are in

You don't need the queues for assistance and for dole
You shouldn't have to rely on government assistance to survive

Taxation, inflation, population control
These are all issues that affect society as a whole

If you listen to the tills you can hear the bells toll
If you pay attention to the economy, you may realize that we're in trouble