Hothouse Flowers is an Irish rock group that combines traditional Irish mus… Read Full Bio ↴Hothouse Flowers is an Irish rock group that combines traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel and rock.

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.

Out of Nowhere
Hothouse Flowers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You came out of nowhere
Like you always did
Like a big wind blowing
And blow it will
All I need now is your attention
All I need now is that you trust in me
A chance meeting
On a railway bridge

You were what I was needing
And I need it still

Baby all I need is your attention
Baby all I need is that you trust me

Cos I′m so tired of being in trouble
Love your truth and face your love

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Hothouse Flowers' song "Out of Nowhere" describe the sudden arrival of someone in the singer's life. The opening line, "You came out of nowhere," implies that the person was unexpected and may have surprised the singer. The next line, "Like you always did," suggests that this is not the first time the person has appeared in the singer's life in this way.

The following lines compare the person to a "big wind blowing." This metaphor implies that the person is a powerful force that can't be ignored or avoided.

The singer then expresses their desire for the person's attention and trust. The use of repetition ("All I need now is...") emphasizes the importance of these qualities to the singer. This desire for attention and trust may stem from a feeling of insecurity or uncertainty in the singer's life. The mention of "being in trouble" in the final verse reinforces this idea.

The final line of the song, "Love your truth and face your love," suggests that the singer sees the person as a source of truth and love in their life. This line also implies that the person may be able to help the singer confront their own feelings and emotions.

Overall, "Out of Nowhere" is a song about unexpected love and the desire for connection and trust. The lyrics use vivid metaphors to paint a picture of the powerful force that the person represents in the singer's life, while also expressing vulnerability and uncertainty.

Line by Line Meaning

You came out of nowhere
You appeared suddenly, unexpectedly

Like you always did
As you have done before, without warning

Like a big wind blowing
A forceful and powerful presence, like a strong wind

And blow it will
And it will continue to exert its influence and power

All I need now is your attention
My desire is for you to focus on me

All I need now is that you trust in me
What I most want is for you to have faith in me

A chance meeting
An unexpected encounter

On a railway bridge
In a specific location, on top of a railway bridge

You were what I was needing
You were what I required at that moment

And I need it still
I still feel the same way and require the same thing

Baby all I need is your attention
My focus is on wanting your undivided attention