His first serious band was The Wilde Flowers (1964-1967) with Hugh Hopper, Robert Wyatt and Richard Sinclair. This early hippie group transformed into Soft Machine. While the Softs went on, others split to form Caravan and Gong. Ayers put together his own band Kevin Ayers & The Whole World featuring Lol Coxhill, David Bedford and a very young Mike Oldfield.
Ayers' career was littered with great music and fine collaborations with more fine artists like Danny Thompson, John Cale, Nico, Brian Eno, Ollie Halsall and Wizards of Twiddly. With 18 albums to his credit Kevin Ayers was the Guru Banana
In 2007, Ayers recorded in a Glasgow studio with long-time admirers Teenage Fanclub, contributions came from Euros Childs from Gorkys Zygotic Mynci, Francis Reader from the Trash Can Sinatras, Robert Wyatt provided his eerie Wyattron in the poignant Cold Shoulder. Phil Manzanera contributed to the brooding Brainstorm, Hugh Hopper from Soft Machine played bass on the title track Unfairground and Bridget St. John, a British Folk singer beloved of the late John Peel, duetted with Ayers on Baby Come Home, the first time they had sung together since 1970 on Shooting at the Moon. The resulting album Unfairground was released in September 2007.
Ayers died, apparently in his sleep, at his home in the South of France on the 18th of February 2013. He was 68.
Brainstorm
Kevin Ayers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Got a break from the storm
And it's visiting time in the past
And you've just reached the part
Where you're losing your heart
And your spirit is leaving you fast
A then the storm blows a scream
Like a fist through the curtain of glass
And there's a giant of darkness
Surrounds you with fright
And the only way out is to stand up and fight
And so you shout, scream
Give me back my dream
I need one to get through the day
If it's lost and if it's gone
I won't keep hanging on
And the storm can just blow me away
Blow me away
It's a long way till dawn
And you've got to get warm
'Cause you're shivering deeply inside
So you turn on the light
Try to burn up the night
But your spirit has run off to hide
There's nowhere to run
So you wait for the sun
Nowhere to run
You wait for the sun
Shout, scream
Give me back my dream
I need one to get through the day
If it's lost and if it's gone
I won't keep hanging on
And the storm can just blow me away
Blow me away
So shout, scream
Give me back my dream
I need one to get through the day
But if it's lost and if it's gone
I won't keep hanging on
The storm, just blow me away
Blow me away
Wait for the sun
Nowhere to run
Wait for the sun
Nowhere to run
In Kevin Ayers’s song “Brainstorm,” he sings about a person who is struggling with their emotions and trying to find their way through a difficult time. The lyrics are full of powerful imagery that creates a vivid image of the struggle and the storm of emotions that the person is facing. The opening lines talk about how the person has found some temporary respite from their troubles, but they are still haunted by the past. The storm, which represents their emotions, is always hanging over them and threatening to take over.
As the song progresses, the storm starts to close in on the person, and they are forced to confront it. They try to fight it off, shouting and screaming for their dream, a symbol of their hope, to be returned to them. They know that they need this dream in order to face the day, but they are afraid that it may be lost forever. The storm is so powerful that the person feels like they have nowhere to run, and they must wait for the sun to rise and bring them some relief.
Through his lyrics, Ayers captures the feeling of being overwhelmed by emotions and the struggle to find hope and perspective in the midst of a storm. The repetition of the lines “shout, scream, give me back my dream” echoes the desperation the person is feeling, while the references to waiting for the sun show that there is a glimmer of hope in the darkness.
Line by Line Meaning
You're safe and you're warm
You feel secure and comfortable
Got a break from the storm
You've escaped a difficult situation for a little while
And it's visiting time in the past
You're reflecting on a difficult period in your life
And you've just reached the part
You're at a critical point in your emotional state
Where you're losing your heart
You're feeling disheartened and discouraged
And your spirit is leaving you fast
You're losing your will to carry on
A then the storm blows a scream
A sudden and intense emotional outburst hits you
And it crashes your dream
It shatters your hopes and aspirations
Like a fist through the curtain of glass
With great force and impact
And there's a giant of darkness
You feel overwhelmed by a great sense of fear
Surrounds you with fright
It envelops and consumes you with terror
And the only way out is to stand up and fight
The only option is to confront and overcome your fear
And so you shout, scream
You express your frustration and pain
Give me back my dream
You want to regain your sense of hope and purpose
I need one to get through the day
You feel that you can't continue without a sense of direction
If it's lost and if it's gone
If your dream is completely gone and can't be regained
I won't keep hanging on
You won't continue to hold on to something that's no longer there
And the storm can just blow me away
You're willing to let the difficulties overwhelm you
Blow me away
You're open to being swept away by the storm
It's a long way till dawn
You feel like you have a long journey ahead of you
And you've got to get warm
You need to find comfort and solace
'Cause you're shivering deeply inside
You're feeling cold and scared
So you turn on the light
You search for a way out of the darkness
Try to burn up the night
You try to overcome the negativity and gloom
But your spirit has run off to hide
Despite your efforts, you still feel lost and despairing
There's nowhere to run
You feel trapped and unable to escape
So you wait for the sun
All you can do is wait for a brighter day
Shout, scream
You continue to express your frustration and pain
Give me back my dream
You still want to regain your sense of hope and purpose
But if it's lost and if it's gone
If you can't find your dream anymore
I won't keep hanging on
You won't continue to hold on to something that's no longer there
The storm, just blow me away
You're willing to let the difficulties overwhelm you
Wait for the sun
You continue to wait for a brighter day
Nowhere to run
Despite feeling trapped, there is still a glimmer of hope
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KEVIN CAWLEY AYERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MrMickeybitzko
A master has passed. Kevin Ayers was a visionary of hard whimsy and soft subversion, fine as mist, true as steel, a seething intelligence who remains as present as the tingling atoms of all attuned sound.
Syd bysyd
One of the great British in-his-own-style artists. Can the modern day music industry take on brilliant unique personalities like this guy?
Bo De
Nice song, I love the oriental orchestral parts. The whole album is quite solid, lyrics and music, tight, deep, what a great last gift.
anzoh53
Dr. Dream at it again, one last great album. Too bad he's gone.
Charlie Uliginosa
Profoundly scary lyrics......I hear Kevin singing about facing death.