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
Stay Free
Kingmaker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause there is no love on the dole
Others feel the weight of history
Bought before they're sold
Why have all her friends become housewives
Acting on remote control
She'd love to stay free
Absolutely!
She'll stay free
The things she does just for money...
What a drag it is being broke
She'd like to stay in bed forever
But it wouldn't even pay for the rope
You can't but stare at her baby
With her eyes of Sellafield green
She'd love to stay free
She'd love to stay free
I walk with a guilty conscience
Work seems alien
And they're a fickle bunch, the government... at best
Always attacking imagination
Like it's some kind of joke
So for the time being she'll stay free... on a tightrope
Love, love, love, love, love
To stay free
She'd love, love, love, love, love
To stay free
She'd love to stay free
She'd love to stay free
She'd love to stay free
She'd love to stay free
Absolutely!
(She'll stay free)
Economically
(She'll stay free)
...maybe...
(She'll stay free)
If nothing else she'll stay free
The lyrics of Kingmaker's song, Stay Free, are poignant and meaningful. The song touches upon the struggle of those who are trapped in poverty and dream of living a better life. The singer of the song longs to live her life free from the constraints of poverty, and she wishes to escape the drudgery of everyday life. She wishes to daydream, hoping to escape the reality of living on the dole, where there is no love, only survival.
The singer is surrounded by friends who have succumbed to their circumstances and become household servants, living their lives robotically. The weight of history has taken its toll on them, and they have become slaves to their environments, bought and sold like commodities. The singer doesn't want this for herself. Instead, she dreams of staying free, defying the odds and remaining unfettered.
The song touches upon the struggle of those who are forced to do things for money. Poverty can make people do things they would never do otherwise, and the singer of the song is no exception. She longs to stay in bed forever, hoping to avoid the hardship that comes with being broke. However, even that is a luxury she cannot afford. The song touches upon the harsh realities of poverty, where everything becomes a luxury.
Overall, Stay Free is a thought-provoking song that highlights the struggles of those who live in poverty. It touches upon the desire to escape the drudgery of everyday life and the harsh realities of living on the dole. The singer's desire to stay free is a compelling message that resonates with everyone who longs to be free from the constraints of the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
She'd like to live her life in a day-dream
She wishes she could avoid reality and just dream all day
'Cause there is no love on the dole
Being poor and living off government assistance means there's no love to be found
Others feel the weight of history
Some people are held back by their past
Bought before they're sold
They were bought by someone who will later sell them for a profit
Why have all her friends become housewives
She wonders why all her friends have given up their independence to become housewives
Acting on remote control
Their husbands have complete control over their lives
She'd love to stay free
She wants to keep her independence
Absolutely!
Agreement or confirmation
She'll stay free
She will continue to maintain her freedom
The things she does just for money...
She's willing to do anything for money to avoid being broke
What a drag it is being broke
Being broke is boring and exhausting
She'd like to stay in bed forever
She wishes she could just stay in bed and avoid everything
But it wouldn't even pay for the rope
Even if she were to hang herself, she wouldn't have enough money to afford the rope
You can't but stare at her baby
Her baby is so beautiful that people can't help but stare at it
With her eyes of Sellafield green
Her baby's eyes are bright green that resemble a nuclear plant in Sellafield, England
I walk with a guilty conscience
The artist feels guilty about something
Work seems alien
The artist doesn't feel comfortable or familiar with work
And they're a fickle bunch, the government... at best
The government is unreliable and unpredictable, if not downright fickle
Always attacking imagination
The government is always attacking creative or unconventional ideas
Like it's some kind of joke
The government treats these ideas as if they're silly or unimportant
So for the time being she'll stay free... on a tightrope
For now, she'll stay independent even though it's hard and risky
Love, love, love, love, love
Repetition of 'love' for emphasis
To stay free
She wants to stay independent
She'd love, love, love, love, love
Repetition of 'love' for emphasis
She'd love to stay free
She really wants to stay independent
She'd love to stay free
She really wants to stay independent
She'd love to stay free
She really wants to stay independent
Absolutely!
Agreement or confirmation
(She'll stay free)
She will remain independent
Economically
In terms of money
(She'll stay free)
She will remain independent
...maybe...
Slight hesitation or doubt
(She'll stay free)
She will remain independent
If nothing else she'll stay free
She will do whatever it takes to stay independent
Contributed by Luke E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bluetonic78
I saw them live just literally a few before they split up in 95 - happy days! Be sure to check out more of their stuff as they were vastly underrated!
anmaree
Yeah, and this album's a lost classic. I came across them by accident and I'm glad I did.
modsheff1
you cant but stare at her baby with her eyes of sellafield green.....LOZ I love ya babyx