The nucleus of Killing Heidi was singer/songwriter Ella Hooper and her older brother, guitarist Jesse Hooper. They grew up in Violet Town, a small Victorian country town, with a population of approximately 2,000 where their parents worked as music and drama teachers.
They started jamming together at home; Ella singing while Jesse played the guitar. They played an acoustic gig together at the Violet Town Arts Festival in 1996, when Ella was 13 years old. Bent Records label owner and local record studio owner, Jamie Durrant, offered them some time in a studio with a couple of schoolmates as the rhythm section. They submitted these recordings into the Triple J Unearthed competition in 1996 and the track "Kettle" won the competition for their area of rural Victoria. "Kettle" was written by Ella Hooper; Brian Walton and Jessie Hooper added some guitar parts later.
The name "Killing Heidi" came from the band members generating two lists before their first gig; one filled with "soft" words, one with "harsh" words. Killing was chosen as the harsh, Heidi the soft. According to the band, the name basically means "the end of innocence".
Producer Paul Kosky who had worked with Crowded House, Rage Against the Machine, Kate Ceberano, and The Clouds was looking for a band to manage and sign to his new recording label Wah Wah Music. He decided to check out a very basic live performance by Killing Heidi. He developed the band from the ground up for the next two years working on songwriting, song structure and overall direction of the music. He became the manager of the band and arranged a contract with Roadshow Music (who had a contract with Savage Garden) for his label, Killing Heidi had also acquired a new rhythm section (which Kosky sourced and introduced to Killing Heidi) with Adam Pedretti (ex-Non-Intentional Lifeform) on drums and Warren Jenkin on bass. They recorded the rest of the first album in 1998.
Killing Heidi's first single "Weir" was released in August 1999 and reached #6 on the ARIA charts (and Platinum sales) by the end of 1999. The second single "Mascara", about self-image and individuality, was released in December 1999 and reached the top of the Australian charts on January 30th 2000, which was Ella's 17th birthday. - it stayed at #1 for three weeks, also achieving Platinum status.
The band's debut album Reflector was released in early 2000 and debuted at #1, quickly becoming the fastest-selling album in Australian music history. The album spent seven weeks at #1 on the ARIA charts, and spawned two further singles: "Live Without It" and "Superman Supergirl".
Reflector eventually sold over 350,000 albums in Australia, earning 5x platinum status and Killing Heidi won four ARIA Music Awards in October 2000.
The band's momentum halted when a cyst was found on Hooper's vocal cords and she underwent an operation in 2001. Her voice was slow to recover, which "destroyed any confidence [Ella Hooper] had in her voice."
The band recorded its second album Present, despite Hooper's continuing problems with her vocal cords. This album was not as successful as its predecessor, selling only 50,000 copies and failing to make the top ten of the Australian album charts. It spawned two singles - "Heavensent" which reached the top 30 in early 2002 and "Outside Of Me" which reached a peak of #12 later in 2002; a third song from the album, "Ammyl", was released to radio in 2003 but was never released as a commercial single.
In 2002 manager Paul Kosky and the band split in an ending characterized as "acrimonious"; the split "almost spelt the end" for the band, and left Kosky feeling that he was the scapegoat blamed for the problems with the second album.
Chris Robinson bought out Kosky's share of their partnership and became the band's new manager.
In late 2003, the band spent three months in Los Angeles recording their next album.
The first single from the band's third album was "I Am", released on July 12, 2004. Debuting at #16 on the Australian singles charts, it spent three months in the Top 50 charts and reached Gold sales. It also features on the Australian version of the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack.
In late August 2004, Killing Heidi released their third studio album. Self-titled as Killing Heidi, the album featured a less styled and more sonically expressive sound. It debuted at #7 on the charts, again only reaching gold and then fell out of the charts relatively quickly.
In September 2004, the second single from the album, "Calm Down" was released, peaking at #23. Early 2005 saw a third song from the album, "Running Underwater" released to radio, but like "Ammyl" in 2003, it was not released as a commercial single and received very little radio airplay. Later in 2005, Killing Heidi left Sony BMG.
In mid-2006, rumours began to surface in the media of the possibility of Killing Heidi breaking up. The reports continued for several weeks, with articles in some magazines and newspapers claiming the band had already split. The band clarified the situation in a blog entry on their MySpace page:
"Oh the waiting... oh the waiting.... ok, hi everyone. Here is the news: We are taking a break from killing heidi for a while but do not see this as a break up! It is us needing to try something else for a little while cos its all we've done for 9 years now. Killing Heidi will be playing some shows in the next 6 months so if you really want to you can get to these shows. I will post the dates as they are confirmed. Ella and Jesse are working on a new as yet unnamed project and will be playing in vic and nsw trying out new material and playing a few oldies too. Pedro is rocking with the very loud and very talented "Monster Truck Extravaganza" (see our top friends for a link to their myspace) so check them out when they start doing shows soon. Hopefully you guys will like what we all get up to over the next little while!!! There have been requests to change the new traks to downloads so i will look into that too!!! Thanks everyone for your continued support, we love playing for you guys and look forward to seeing on the road again soon!!!"
Ella Hooper, after spending time with Jesse in The Verses, is now a solo artist. However in 2016, the band announced they were reforming for their 20th anniversary.
Damage Control
Killing Heidi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
See you here
You're behind
Your stare
You're hiding
From me
You don't want me to see you
And there's nothing anymore
You gave it to her
And what for
Should have seen it
The first time
Seen all the love in her eyes
You loved me (x7)
I'll never let you go
Go, go, go
Oh I won't let you
Go, go, go
I'll never let you go
Go, go, go
No I won't let you
Go...
You're switching
Now do you rain
Yeah you're moving
Wait for me
You loved me (x7)
So the outside beckons me today
I wake up I smell this room, this place
And then it's out through the shit quick as I can be
To my friend's house, yeah I get what I need
I need contact
Feeling low as low
I need to talk back to get the up and go
She gives me joy and love and upwards and go
She got me free of the blues
Got me up on the moon
Yeah it's a sweet day, but it can get to shaking it
And I don't know what my problem is
Or what the fuck's making me lonley
I know that what I did was wrong
But when you get back
When you get back I'll be gone
I'll be gone
On the outside...
Outside beckons me today
I wake up I smell this room, this place
And then it's out through the shit quick as I can be
To my friend's house, where I get what I need
I need contact
Yeah I need contact
Got a situation
What you wanted so you get
What's your motivation?
Now you're running through my head
Ohh I need contact...
Do you love me?
Like I love you...
The lyrics of Killing Heidi's "Damage Control" convey a message of heartbreak and betrayal. The opening verse "Well hello, see you here, you're behind your stare, you're hiding from me, you don't want me to see you" indicates that the singer has encountered an ex-lover who is trying to avoid them. The chorus "You loved me" repeated seven times emphasizes the fact that the singer was once loved by their ex-partner, but that love has been lost. The lines "And there's nothing anymore, you gave it to her, and what for, should have seen it the first time, seen all the love in her eyes" show that the ex-lover has moved on to someone else, and they regret not seeing the signs earlier. The lines "I'll never let you go, go, go, oh I won't let you go, go, go, I'll never let you go, go, go, no I won't let you go" highlights the singer's desperation to hold on to their former love, even though it is clear that they have already moved on.
The second half of the song shifts gears with a different melody as the singer talks about their need for "contact" and "upwards and go". The line "She gives me joy and love and upwards and go, she got me free of the blues, got me up on the moon" suggests that the singer has found solace and happiness in the company of a friend who lifts their spirits. However, the chorus repeats with an added layer of desperation as the singer asks "Do you love me? Like I love you...". The song ends with the refrain "Outside beckons me today, I wake up I smell this room, this place" hinting at the singer's desire to move on from their heartbreak and find a way to the outside world.
Line by Line Meaning
Well hello
Addressing someone who is present
See you here
Acknowledging their presence
You're behind
You're hiding something
Your stare
Your gaze
You're hiding
You're concealing something
From me
From my sight
You don't want me to see you
You're avoiding me
You loved me (x7)
Recalling past love
And there's nothing anymore
And now it's gone
You gave it to her
You gave your love to someone else
And what for
What was the reason
Should have seen it
I should have noticed
The first time
When it started
Seen all the love in her eyes
Realized her affection
I'll never let you go
I won't let you slip away
Go, go, go
Leave, depart, flee
Oh I won't let you
I'll hold on to you
No I won't let you
I won't allow you to leave
You're switching
You're changing
Now do you rain
Is this causing pain
Yeah you're moving
You're shifting
Wait for me
Don't leave me
So the outside beckons me today
The outdoors is calling me
I wake up I smell this room, this place
I'm aware of my surroundings
And then it's out through the shit quick as I can be
I urgently leave this situation
To my friend's house, yeah I get what I need
I go to a friend for help
I need contact
I need social interaction
Feeling low as low
Feeling depressed
I need to talk back to get the up and go
I need motivation
She gives me joy and love and upwards and go
My friend makes me happy and motivates me
She got me free of the blues
I feel better now
Got me up on the moon
I'm feeling euphoric
Yeah it's a sweet day, but it can get to shaking it
It's a nice day, but things can get stressful
And I don't know what my problem is
I'm uncertain about my issues
Or what the fuck's making me lonley
Or what's causing me to be lonely
I know that what I did was wrong
I know I made a mistake
But when you get back
When you return
When you get back I'll be gone
I won't be here anymore
On the outside...
Outside of this relationship
Outside beckons me today
I feel the need to leave
Got a situation
I've got a problem
What you wanted so you get
You got what you wanted
What's your motivation?
What's driving you?
Now you're running through my head
Now you're on my mind
Ohh I need contact...
I really need social interaction
Do you love me?
Do you still have feelings for me?
Like I love you...
The way I feel about you
Contributed by Jayce K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.