Since 1980, Icehouse has released seven albums, several compilations, and music from collaborations with other artists including dance companies. Their 1987 album 'Man of Colours' was released at the apex of their fame and international success. It is considered by many to be the band's magnum opus.
As 'Flowers', Icehouse built up a strong following as a live act around Sydney, Australia, noted for their distinctive cover versions of songs by a wide range of acts including T-Rex and Brian Eno. After signing to the independent Regular Festival Records label, they released their debut single, "Can't Help Myself", which hit the Australian Top 10 in June 1980. This was followed by their first album 'Icehouse', which also made the Top 10 and became one of year's biggest selling albums in Australia. The album made use of synthesisers, especially the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5.
Further singles "We Can Get Together" and "Walls" both hit the Top 20. A European single from this album, "Icehouse", created some interest in the U.K., partly because of a memorable music video. Sensing the possibility of international success, the band decided to change their name in early 1981 to avoid confusion with Scottish group The Flowers. As Icehouse, they spent most of 1981 touring the UK, Canada and US, where "We Can Get Together" hit #62. A single release, "Love In Motion", recorded by Davies alone but the first to be credited to the band's new name, duly hit the Australian Top 10 in November 1981.
In January 1982, the band's original line up split, resulting in Davies recording Icehouse's much-anticipated second album, 'Primitive Man', on his own, with assistance from Keith Forsey, who later worked with Simple Minds. Released in August 1982, Primitive Man was another huge Australian hit and became Icehouse's international breakthrough. The hit single "Hey Little Girl" reached the UK Top 20 and has remained their most regularly played song. Another strong track from this album was "Great Southern Land", which made the Australian Top 5 and was later featured in the late 1980s film 'Young Einstein'.
In 1985, Davies' musical standing was further enhanced when he was commissioned to compose and record the score for the acclaimed Sydney Dance Company production of Graeme Murphy's dance work 'Boxes'. Icehouse's third album, 'Sidewalk', was far more sombre and reflective, featuring the tracks "I Don't Believe Anymore" and "Someone Like You". After this album the band made further inroads into the U.S. market with their 1986 release 'Measure for Measure', which featured none other than Brian Eno as a listed band member.
Icehouse's next work, 'Man of Colours', was their best-selling album. It contained the hit singles "Crazy" and "Electric Blue" (a song co-written by John Oates from the band Hall and Oates). Both singles reached the US Top 20, with "Electric Blue" hitting the #7 slot. With this album, the band reached an international zenith, never surpassing this level of popularity and exposure again.
In 1995, Davies was again involved with the Sydney Dance Company's production of Berlin. The musical score is a collection of cover versions of songs by David Bowie, Brian Eno, Simple Minds, The Psychedelic Furs, Frank Sinatra, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, XTC, Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, PiL, The Cure and Killing Joke, which saw him collaborating with pianist Max Lambert in the development of the music.
As well as recording the score to the ballet, Davies performed these songs live with Icehouse at each show. He was an intrinsic part of the ballet, in a role similar to the one in Boxes. Iva was extremely successful in creating a translation from the dancers to the audience. Berlin was an instant success and ran for two seasons. Both shows were the most commercially successful that The Sydney Dance Company have had to date.
On 16 August 2006, Icehouse were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame along side acts such as Midnight Oil, Divinyls and Rose Tattoo. Also in 2006, Icehouse featured prominently on the Triple M Essential 2006 Countdown with 14 songs selected including:
*"Man Of Colours"
*"Electric Blue"
*"We Can Get Together"
*"Don't Believe Any More"
*"Great Southern Land" (which came in at number 12)
Stolen Guitar
Icehouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That was in the beginning
Out of the window with a couple of girfriends
And her red leather boots on
Pitching out on the street in a raincoat
She never needed a license
She was one step ahead of a new thing
Both feet planted over the fine line
She was almost sixteen with her face on
And the singer in the band played a stolen guitar
Played it like a natural man
It was all too easy
Played a stolen guitar
(Stolen guitar)
Later on at the party backstage
It was just a case of tequila
When the message got around there was something going on
It was already over
She was one step away from the real thing
Already way over the fine line
They were locked upstairs in a hotel room
definitely went too far with the black lace on
And the singer in the band played a stolen guitar
Played it like a natural man
It was all too easy
Played a stolen guitar
She said, "The Devil made me do it
I don`t know why
It must have been a stolen guitar
It was all too easy"
She only wanted a ticket to rock and roll heaven
By the time that he woke up she was halfway home again
With the stolen guitar, the next teenage sensation
She says, "Now I got to get a reputation"
She said, "The Devil made me do it
I don`t know why
We might as well forget it, man
It was all so easy"
The singer got the leather boot and Suzie got the photos
The reporter got a phonecall and the papers got the headlines
She says, "I got what it takes, baby, you better not forget it
I got a record on the radio and a stolen guitar"
She played him like a natural man
It was easy
The Devil made her do it
I don`t know why
If you want to know the secret
You want to play the blues
The trick is play it dirty
Play a stolen guitar
Play a stolen guitar
Stolen guitar
Stolen guitar
The song "Stolen Guitar" by Icehouse is a story about a girl named Suziee who just wanted to be famous and live the rock and roll dream. The song starts with Suziee, who has never met anyone famous, hanging out with her girlfriends and wearing her red leather boots. She was living life on the edge, breaking the law by driving without a license and going to cheap dance clubs. It's in one of these clubs that she meets a band that's playing, and the singer has a stolen guitar, which he plays with ease, like a natural.
Suziee is drawn to the idea of the stolen guitar, and as the night goes on, she and the singer end up in a hotel room together. She awakes with the stolen guitar in her hands, and the singer gone. She sets out to fulfill her rock and roll dream and becomes the next teenage sensation, but she does so with a tainted reputation. She claims that the devil made her do it, but it was all too easy.
The chorus of the song repeats the line, "Play a stolen guitar" and hints at the idea that sometimes, to make it in the music industry, you have to break the rules.
Line by Line Meaning
Suzziee never met anybody famous
Suzziee was someone unknown and had not encountered any famous personality.
That was in the beginning
This was during the initial days of Suzziee's life.
Out of the window with a couple of girfriends
She was with some of her female friends and all were hanging out near the window.
And her red leather boots on
She was wearing boots made of red leather.
Pitching out on the street in a raincoat
Suzziee was standing in the street wearing a raincoat.
She never needed a license
Suzziee was someone who did not require any authorization for what she wanted to do.
She was one step ahead of a new thing
Suzziee always had some anticipation regarding new events or things.
Both feet planted over the fine line
Suzziee was standing over the boundary line, but with stability on both her feet.
In a cheap dance club down in the basement
She was present in a not so expensive dance club situated in the basement.
She was almost sixteen with her face on
She was around sixteen years old and all eyes were on her.
And the singer in the band played a stolen guitar
The musician performing in the band was playing a guitar which was not rightfully his.
Played it like a natural man
He played the guitar like it was something he naturally should have been doing.
It was all too easy
Playing guitar came naturally and easily to the singer.
Played a stolen guitar
The guitar he played was the one which he did not own himself.
(Stolen guitar)
This refers to the guitar that he played.
Later on at the party backstage
After some time, they were present at a party behind the stage.
It was just a case of tequila
The issue or event that happened later on was because of drinking tequila.
When the message got around there was something going on
When other people came to know about what happened, there were rumors going around.
It was already over
The incident happened and it was already finished.
She was one step away from the real thing
Suzziee was very close to achieving her original goal.
Already way over the fine line
She had already crossed the boundary which was supposed to be the limit.
They were locked upstairs in a hotel room
Both the singer and Suzziee were locked in a hotel room on the upper floor.
definitely went too far with the black lace on
They both went overboard with having black lace on their clothing or accessories.
And the singer in the band played a stolen guitar
The musician from the band played the guitar which he stole.
Played it like a natural man
He played the guitar as if he was meant to be doing it.
It was all too easy
Playing guitar came naturally and effortlessly to him.
Played a stolen guitar
He played a guitar which he was not supposed to own.
She said, "The Devil made me do it
Suzziee blamed the Devil for something she had done.
I don't know why
She had no specific reason for blaming the devil.
It must have been a stolen guitar
Suzziee believed that the reason for the mistake that she was being accused of must have been because of the stolen guitar.
It was all too easy"
It was not difficult to steal the guitar, which led to the mistake.
She only wanted a ticket to rock and roll heaven
Suzziee only wanted to achieve the great success of rock and roll music.
By the time that he woke up she was halfway home again
By the time the musician realized what had happened, Suzziee was already halfway home.
With the stolen guitar, the next teenage sensation
She had the guitar with her, which added to her popularity and made her the next teenage sensation.
She says, "Now I got to get a reputation"
Suzziee felt that she needed to create an image for herself.
We might as well forget it, man
The artist is suggesting that they could forget about what might have happened.
It was all so easy"
It was too simple to achieve their target of being famous.
The singer got the leather boot and Suzie got the photos
The singer was punished and Suzziee got the pictures or memories of their activities.
The reporter got a phonecall and the papers got the headlines
The media got wind of the incident and the newspapers printed headlines about it.
She says, "I got what it takes, baby, you better not forget it
Suzziee was proud of her abilities and told others not to underestimate her.
I got a record on the radio and a stolen guitar"
Suzziee owned a recording on the radio and also the stolen guitar that made her even more popular.
She played him like a natural man
She knew how to control him effortlessly.
It was easy
It was not challenging to manage him.
The Devil made her do it
She believed that the devil was responsible for what she had done.
I don't know why
She did not know why the devil made her do that.
If you want to know the secret
If someone wants to know the trick or the secret,
You want to play the blues
If someone is interested in playing the genre of blues,
The trick is play it dirty
The trick to playing the blues is to play it in a rough and gritty way.
Play a stolen guitar
To further add to that image and reputation, Suzziee suggests playing a stolen guitar.
Play a stolen guitar
The line is repeated again, emphasizing that playing a stolen guitar could add to the 'dirty' image while playing the blues.
Stolen guitar
The song concludes with repeating the phrase 'Stolen guitar'.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: David Malcolm Chapman, Ivor Arthur Davies, Paul Wheeler, Paul Kenneth Wheeler
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind