The group first formed in 1985 when Liam Ó Maonlaí and Fiachna ó Braonáin (who had known each other as children in an Irish-speaking school) began performing as street musicians, or buskers, on the streets of Dublin, Ireland as "The Incomparable Benzini Brothers." They were soon joined by Peter O'Toole, and had won a street-entertainer award within a year. They renamed the group "Hothouse Flowers" and began writing songs and performing throughout Ireland. Rolling Stone magazine called them "the best unsigned band in Europe."
In 1986 Bono from the band U2, saw the Flowers performing on television and offered his support. They released their first single, "Love Don't Work This Way", on U2's Mother Records label, which quickly led to a deal with the PolyGram subsidiary London Records.
Their first album, People was released in early 1988 and was the most successful debut album in Irish history. It reached the number one slot in Ireland within a week and eventually reached number 2 in the UK Albums Chart. The international success of the album received a great boost when a music video for the first single, "Don't Go", was played in the interval between contestants and the scoring in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest.
The second album, Home was released in June of 1990. It was recorded sporadically whilst in the midst of extensive touring; with sessions in Dublin, London, a rented house with a mobile recording set-up in Carlow, Ireland, and one day of work with Daniel Lanois in New Orleans, whilst Bob Dylan was taking a break from his sessions with Lanois. The album did not have the overwhelming success of the first record, but it reached number 2 in Australia. The two singles from the album, "Give It Up" and "I Can See Clearly Now" (a cover of the Johnny Nash song performed by both Jimmy Cliff and Bill Withers) reached numbers 30 and 23 respectively in the UK Singles Chart.
Songs From the Rain was released in March 1993. Whilst it received excellent reviews and achieved some chart success in Australia and Ireland, worldwide sales were disappointing. In an attempt to boost record sales (and especially to break in to the American charts), the record label and the band's management kept the group on the road almost continuously for the entire year. By early 1994, Ó Maonlaí had decided that the group was suffering from physical, mental and creative exhaustion, and he called for a year-long sabbatical.
The year-long break turned into several years, as the band members recouped their energy and experienced changes in their personal lives, including divorces, marriages, the birth of children and the death of Ó Maonlaí's father. The group also split from their long-time manager, and Leo Barnes (saxophone) and Jerry Fehily (drums) left the group. O'Toole and ó Braonáin spent some of their time off from the Hothouse Flowers, recording and touring with Michelle Shocked and Ó Maonlaí worked with Tim Finn and Andy White, whilst also studying traditional Irish music.
In 1998 they released Born. Joined by Wayne Sheehy on drums and Rob Malone on bass, this album contained extensive songwriting contributions from O'Toole, who (freed from his bass responsibilities) played mostly guitar, bouzouki and keyboards on the recording. The music also incorporated more elements of electronic loops, synthesizers and studio effects.
By 1999 they had reached the end of their contract with London Records, and both the label and the band decided not to renew. The label head allowed the group the rights to record songs from their past London releases and produce a live record. Live' was self-released by the group later that year, taken mostly from an October 1998 show in Dublin Stadium (with one track from a November show in Tokyo). Sheehy and Malone left the group shortly after the release of the record. Dave Clarke, formerly of Blue in Heaven, joined on drums and O'Toole returned to the bass.
In 2000 London Records released a compilation of songs from their four previous albums titled Best of.
During the band's official hiatus between Songs From the Rain and Born, band memebers had both written songs individually, and sporadically got together to write collaboratively. Some of these songs were never released, while others altered significantly to become some of the tracks on Born. In 2003 the Flowers collected these unreleased recordings and issued them as Vaults:Volume 1.
In February 2004 the band released their latest album, Into Your Heart, produced by the band and John Reynolds. The first single, "Tell Me", reached the top 20 on the Irish charts. The record was released on the RubyMusic label in Europe and distributed by Redeye in the United States. They have toured extensively in support of the record, including a performance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2004.
Ó Maonlaí has done several tours as a solo acoustic performer, and released an album in 2005 called Rian.
Give It Up
Hothouse Flowers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Coming to an understanding of myself
Clear out all the old cobwebs
Clear out all the old books from the shelf
This song is inspired by a good man and his tune
Thinking good of others sing 'Amazing Grace' to you
It doesn't really matter if you're all jumbled up inside
As long as you know
Give it up
Share it out
Help, help who you can
Talk about it
It's late in the morning, close to the time
And Mary's in the alley she never stops smiling
Always love to see her she means a lot to me
But I know she's got a hard time trying to make ends meet
Give it up
Share it out
Help who you can
Talk about it
Down Georgia Street arcade where the poor children play
Gathering up charity to help them make their day
Well me, I was once their age, once I was young
But I know, I had my family to fall back on
Give it up
Share it out, yeah
Help who you can
Talk about it
Oh, give it up
Share it out
Help who you can
Don't just talk about it
Talk about it
Help these child
Help these child
Give it up
Share it out
Help who you can
Talk about it
Give it up
Share it out
Help who you can
Talk about it
Hothouse Flowers’ song “Give It Up” is an uplifting and inspiring song about love, compassion, generosity, and the desire to help those in need. The song talks about the importance of facing your conscience, understanding yourself, clearing out the cobwebs, and old books from the shelf. The lyrics suggest that when you know that love is endless and the world is wide, it doesn't matter if you're feeling jumbled up inside.
The song is also inspired by a good man and his tune who sings 'Amazing Grace' to others, thinking good of them. It encourages listeners to give it up, share it out, help who they can, and talk about it. It tells the story of Mary, who's always in the alley, and never stops smiling, although she's trying to make ends meet. It shares the story of a group of poor children, who gather up charity to help them make their day, and the importance of helping them.
Overall, the song is about kindness, generosity, and compassion. It encourages people to help others, to share what they have, and to talk about the things that matter. It's a reminder that even small acts of kindness and compassion can make a difference in someone's life and can brighten the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I'm coming face to face with my conscience
I am facing my moral principles and values
Coming to an understanding of myself
I am gaining clarity about my identity
Clear out all the old cobwebs
Remove old negative thoughts from my mind
Clear out all the old books from the shelf
Get rid of outdated beliefs and ideologies
This song is inspired by a good man and his tune
The song is influenced by a virtuous person and their music
Thinking good of others sing 'Amazing Grace' to you
If you have good thoughts towards others, you'll hear people sing 'Amazing Grace' to you
It doesn't really matter if you're all jumbled up inside
It's okay to feel confused or disordered inside sometimes
As long as you know that love is endless and the world is wide
It's important to realize that love is boundless and the world is vast
Give it up
Give away what you have
Share it out
Distribute what you have
Help, help who you can
Assist those you are able to help
Talk about it
Discuss the importance of giving and helping others
It's late in the morning, close to the time
It is early in the day, almost time for work or daily activities
And Mary's in the alley she never stops smiling
Mary is in the alley and continuously smiling
Always love to see her she means a lot to me
I appreciate seeing Mary as she holds significance for me
But I know she's got a hard time trying to make ends meet
I acknowledge that Mary struggles to earn enough to sustain her life
Down Georgia Street arcade where the poor children play
In Georgia Street arcade, there are less affluent children playing
Gathering up charity to help them make their day
Collecting items to assist the children in their daily life
Well me, I was once their age, once I was young
I am similar to those children as I was their age once
But I know, I had my family to fall back on
I had the support of my family to rely on in the past
Don't just talk about it
Don't only converse about giving, take action
Help these child
Assist these children
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY SHAW, DANIEL MARK CASEY, RYAN DOUGLAS MCLERIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@omardonaldson68
I was on holiday in the South of France hitching hiking back from Bordeaux to the UK. I had one cassette with Hothouse Flowers Home and Del Amitri The Waking Hours on repeat for about 24 hours. I got lifts from 4 French families that dropped me outside Le Harve at 5am in the morning. Each on of the lifts was amazing in their own way but the last lift left me in tears. When I climbed the Harbour Wall I looked out on the sunrise listening to "I can see clearly now ". To this day I love this band and their music.
@rmartel919
Amazing story ...
@gols187
Love this story
@dawnpatrol700
We have the same tastes. Mid 1990, those were the same 2 cds I played to death. Del Amitri Waking Hours is a desert island album for me, as well as Twisted and Change Everything
@redordead3868
What a gem,makes me feel good inside.
@harriethunter8910
These Blokes are a great talent. Wonderful music with a great beat you can sing and dance to. Not like crap rap.
@giovannimazzucchelli7487
never give up to listen to Hothouse Flowers
@miroslavasreckovic4123
So happy to see them in a concert in five days 💋
@svobodasimon1185
Really where?
@miroslavasreckovic4123
@svoboda simon Belgrade , Serbia