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.
Leave Me Alone
Killing Heidi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never thought you could see
It's more than fantasy
You are only bad dreams
Your dead mind Your dead mind
Your dead mind Your dead mind
I thought it would bleed and heal
You never let go of me
there's no way to be free
Your dead mind your dead mind
Your dead mind your dead mind
She says she wanted to be left alone
She says she wanted to be left alone
She says she wanted to be left alone
She says she wanted to be left alone
How much is enough?
Now would you just turn to dust?
I wanted you to believe
This is how it could be
Your dead mind your dead mind.
The lyrics to Killing Heidi's song "Leave Me Alone" seem to be about a toxic relationship that the singer wants to end. The opening line "not what you take but what you leave" suggests that the person in question only takes from the singer and does not give anything in return. The singer never thought that this person would understand how they feel, and the situation is more than just a fantasy. The next line "you are only bad dreams" implies that the person is causing the singer pain and that they want them to go away.
The chorus "your dead mind" repeats four times, seemingly directed towards the person the song is about. The singer questions how this relationship could be real and thought that it would heal, but the person they are with never lets go of them, leaving no way to be free. The repeated phrase "she says she wanted to be left alone" highlights the singer's desire to end the relationship and move on. The final lines again address the person, asking them how much is enough and suggesting that they turn to dust.
Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a relationship that is causing the singer emotional distress, and they want the other person to leave them alone. The use of the phrase "dead mind" suggests that the person is incapable of understanding or empathizing with the singer's feelings, and they are better off without them.
Line by Line Meaning
Not what you take but what you leave
It's not about what you take from me, but what you leave behind that matters
I never thought you could see
I never thought you would understand
It's more than fantasy
This is not just a dream, it's real
You are only bad dreams
You only bring nightmares
Your dead mind Your dead mind
You are emotionally dead inside
How could this be so real?
I can't believe this is really happening
I thought it would bleed and heal
I thought the pain would eventually subside
You never let go of me
You always hold onto me, suffocating me
There's no way to be free
I feel trapped, like there's no way out
She says she wanted to be left alone
She expressed her desire to be alone
How much is enough?
When will you stop hurting me? How much more can I take?
Now would you just turn to dust?
I wish you would just disappear completely
I wanted you to believe
I wanted you to trust me
This is how it could be
Things could've been different if you had listened to me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JESSICA ORIGLIASSO, JOSH ALEXANDER BERMAN, LISA ORIGLIASSO, WILLIAM E STEINBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@OrunitaVivi
This band is amazing!!
@daveoz2731
beautiful song with a unique twist, hard not to love it
@jadedmuse9
It's not what you take
But what you leave
I never thought you could see
It's more than fantasy
You are only bad dreams!
Your dead mind
Your dead mind
Your dead mind
Your dead mind
How could this be so real?
I thought
I would bleed and heal
You never let go of me
There's no way
To be free!
Your dead mind
Your dead mind
Your dead mind
Your dead mind
She says you wouldn't leave me alone
She says she wanted to be left alone
She says you wouldn't leave me alone
She says she wanted to be left alone
She says you wouldn't leave me alone
How much is enough?
Would you just turn to dust?
I wanted you to believe
This is how it could be
Your dead mind
Your dead mind
Your dead mind
Your dead mind
@pootina
So so so so so so so good
@sandrasepeda853
Leave me alone