Teenage schoolmates Loz Hardy and Myles Howell formed the group during their year off after school. They placed an advertisement for a drummer, and eventually recruited the significantly older John Andrew. Andrew was an ex-travelling puppeteer. The band began playing and touring, before making their recording debut with The Celebrated Working Man EP. After this they signed up to Chrysalis Records and released a second EP, entitled Idiots at the Wheel in January 1992. They were also immediately courted by the music press, and they invented a niche category for the band, which they dubbed "New Cool Rock".
With a fan following building up, and lyrical austerity in their melodic music, they were tipped by some as the "next big thing". Their debut album, Eat Yourself Whole was well received, and spent three weeks in the UK Album Chart, reaching a high of number twenty-nine in October 1991. In addition, the single release of the album's title track, "Eat Yourself Whole", reached the U.K. Top Twenty.
They then landed an American record deal with Chrysalis. Kingmaker's second album, Sleepwalking was released in 1993, to general acclaim. Hardy's songwriting prowess seemed to have grown in inverse proportion to their stature. Certainly the songs on Sleepwalking, primarily located in Hardy's bitter world, far surpassed anything on the debut album, and outshone the early singles that had won them most attention. The album starts off with "Playground Brutality", a sad, emotional song about bullying in schools. This sets the tone for the songs to follow, which cover a broad range of subjects such as death, anarchy and injustice.
However, despite their promising debut, the band rapidly fell out of favour. Paul Heaton of local stars The Beautiful South heavily criticised them as being middle class pretenders, and the rot set in thereafter.
Their final album, In the Best Possible Taste emerged in 1995, within one month of the death of the disc jockey Kenny Everett, who had popularised the phrase. Whilst tracks such as "One False Move" revealed a subtle shift towards urban rockabilly, the band called it quits after touring later the same year.
2. Kingmaker is a 5 piece hardcore band from Lake County IL. With members ranging from 17 to 19, it’s hard to believe that such a pissed off heavy sound could come out of some teenagers. Debuting their 6 song EP “Catacomb” recorded in guitarist Andy Eclov’s basement, the band not only shows that it’s possible for the youth of modern times to go against the grain of cookie cutter bullshit bands the suburbs spawns, but that hardcore is still alive and well today. Being the first EP any of them has recorded, there is still much room for improvement, but having only been a band for 2 months and putting out music of this quality speaks for itself. My favorite thing about this band thus far is the fact that they can put out music that makes you want to kill the person next to you, but they do it with a smile on their faces because they integrate what most bands fail to into the music, having fun. Get ready for Kingmaker kiddies, these boys are out for blood. - grizzly
Revelation
Kingmaker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Members of institutions
You've always denied deliverance for fooled
Followers of ignorance
Shaky visions
Thoughts injected
Inspirations resurrected
Rusted, Rack, Ruin reigns
Revelation for little miss tunnel vision
You've never believed in fidelity while you walked
The halls of supremacy
I once was in awe of your strength and power
I would've followed you to
The final hour, don't you know
You were a concept I once knew, but now
You're gone and now we're through
A certain state of mind you hail in all other
Shaped and sizes you fail
Shaky visions
Thoughts injected
Inspirations resurrected
Rusted, Rack, Ruin reigns
Red lights gonna pre-arrange
Revelation for little miss tunnel vision
At your funeral I was there
You boyfriend was held in a strangers glare
Just me and him, her and you
None of us mourned and that's the truth
Shaky visions
Thoughts injected
Inspirations resurrected
Rusted, Rack, Ruin reigns
Red lights gonna pre-arrange
Revelation for little miss tunnel vision
The lyrics of Kingmaker's song "Revelation" revolve around a person who once looked up to someone in power and followed them blindly, only to realize their misguided beliefs and flawed character. The song speaks of the singer's disillusionment with this figure, who they once admired for their supposed strength and power but now see as corrupt and unfaithful. The chorus refers to a "little miss tunnel vision," perhaps implying that this person only sees their own narrow perspective and ignores the truth around them.
The rest of the lyrics refine the singer's disappointment and anger towards this false idol. The lines "You've always insisted retribution for misguided / Members of institutions / You've always denied deliverance for fooled / Followers of ignorance" suggest that the figure in question held an unforgiving view of anyone who they felt was inferior or weak. The repeated lines "Shaky visions / Thoughts injected / Inspirations resurrected / Rusted, Rack, Ruin reigns / Red lights gonna pre-arrange" may signify the singer's state of mind navigating this figure's world of delusion.
In the end, the singer attends the figure's funeral but doesn't mourn, instead noting the strange and tense atmosphere between the figure's partner and themselves. The song ultimately comes off as a bitter takedown of a once-beloved yet ultimately flawed figure.
Line by Line Meaning
You've always insisted retribution for misguided Members of institutions
You've made it clear that those who have gone astray in their actions within organized groups must face punishment
You've always denied deliverance for fooled Followers of ignorance
You refuse to offer salvation to those who have been deceived by their own lack of knowledge or understanding
Shaky visions
You have an unclear and uncertain idea or concept
Thoughts injected
You have been influenced or implanted with certain ideas or beliefs
Inspirations resurrected
You have revived or brought back to life your creative or imaginative ideas
Rusted, Rack, Ruin reigns
Destruction and decay dominates the situation or circumstances
Red lights gonna pre-arrange
Warning signals indicate that something detrimental is going to happen soon
Revelation for little miss tunnel vision
An unexpected and enlightening truth has been revealed to someone who has been narrow-minded and restricted in their thinking
You've never believed in fidelity while you walked The halls of supremacy
You have never shown loyalty or faithfulness as you made your way through positions of power or authority
I once was in awe of your strength and power I would've followed you to The final hour, don't you know
There was a time when I was impressed by your influence and control over others, and would have stayed with you until the very end
You were a concept I once knew, but now You're gone and now we're through
You were once an idea or a belief that I held, but now that idea no longer exists and our relationship is over
A certain state of mind you hail in all other Shaped and sizes you fail
You have a particular way of thinking that works for you in certain situations, but that same way of thinking doesn't apply to everyone and every circumstance equally
At your funeral I was there You boyfriend was held in a strangers glare Just me and him, her and you None of us mourned and that's the truth
I attended your funeral, along with your significant other and a stranger who seemed to be watching him/her. However, none of us felt any sorrow or sadness for your passing
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: A YOUNG, DE SHAUN DUPREE HOLTON, DENAUN M PORTER, MICHAEL ELIZONDO, ONDRE C MOORE, RUFUS B JOHNSON, VON M CARLISLE, JOHN ANDREW, LAURENCE PAUL HARDY, MYLES JONATHAN HOWELL
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