Over the course of their career, the band has released five studio albums - "Love is Hell" (1989), "Strange Free World" (1991), "The Death of Cool" (1992), "Cowboys and Aliens" (1994), and "Folly" (2013).
Dan Goodwin (drums) met Julian Swales (guitar) at college in 1980, and Swales met Patrick Fitzgerald (vocals/bass guitar) at a party in 1985.The trio began rehearsing together that same year, taking their name from a company of the same name that specialised in home decor and kitchen and plumbing fixtures after Swales spotted one of their advertisements on the side of a bus while riding his bike. The Kitchens' first single, "The Last Gasp Death Shuffle" (which featured Swales on lead vocals and bass, as well as guitar) was recorded in just one day on an eight-track in a Kennington basement, and was released in December 1987 on the band's own Gold Rush Records. It was named a single of the week in the NME, and led to the band signing with the British indie label One Little Indian Records; it was around this time that Fitzgerald, a medical doctor, put his career on hold to devote himself fully to the band. Their first singles for One Little Indian, 1988's "Prize" and 1989's "The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule", made it onto the "NME Writers' 100 Best Indie Singles Ever" list, published 25 July 1992.
Their first full-length album, Love Is Hell, was released in April 1989. Fitzgerald's impassioned, wordy, often bluntly personal vocals careened over what sounded like a mass of swirling guitars, though the band only had one guitarist. Swales' chiming, effects-laden style of playing drew him comparisons to the guitarists of The Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, and A.R. Kane. KOD's melodic yet abstract sound was a precursor to the shoegazing scene of the late 1980s/early 1990s.
Despite the promising start, the band faced a subdued reception from the mainstream music industry, generally due to their lyrical content. For instance, "Margaret's Injection", on the 1989 Elephantine EP, was a fantasy about killing then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Also, Fitzgerald was openly gay, and his lyrics were unapologetic, especially on tracks like "Prize" and "Within the Daze of Passion". Even the more indie-focused television programs like Snub TV and Rapido failed to give them much coverage, although Snub TV played the video for their 1991 single "Drive That Fast". Likewise, they were not offered a John Peel radio session, although they eventually did get one after asking Peel personally, following a Glastonbury performance which he appreciated.
Kitchens of Distinction sometimes performed "secret" gigs under the alter ego Toilets of Destruction.[2][6] An example was at The Bull & Gate in Kentish Town on 6 August 1990, where the band appeared in drag and played ABBA, David Bowie, and Bauhaus covers.
In 1990, they signed with A&M Records in the US, and went into the studio with producer Hugh Jones (Simple Minds, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Undertones). Their second album, Strange Free World, was released in February 1991, and spawned some moderately successful singles in "Drive That Fast" and "Quick as Rainbows", both of which were very well received by college radio in the US. The band went back into the studio in 1992, again with Jones at the helm, and their third album The Death of Cool came out in August that year; it was named in honour of the passing of Miles Davis, who had released an influential album titled The Birth of the Cool in 1950. A&M balked at the band's choice of "Breathing Fear" for the first single, due to its touchy subject matter (gay bashing), so "Smiling" became the album's initial single in the US. The band toured extensively, including a high-profile slot opening for their US labelmate Suzanne Vega, whose album 99.9F° came out within a few weeks of theirs.
Later in 1993, KOD began work on their fourth album, co-producing it themselves with engineer Pete Bartlett. One Little Indian rejected the album twice, and eventually, both label and band agreed to bring in up-and-coming producer Pascal Gabriel to work on a couple of tracks. One of the label's complaints about the album as the band originally submitted it was that they felt it lacked a potential hit single, so Gabriel produced a new song ("Come on Now") that the band had written after the rest of the album had already been recorded; Gabriel also remixed two of the album's other tracks (the opener "Sand on Fire" and first single "Now It's Time to Say Goodbye"). The resulting album, Cowboys and Aliens, was released in the UK in October 1994, and although the band admitted that they enjoyed working with Gabriel, the changes did nothing to help the album's dismal sales. When the album saw its US release in early 1995, it was largely ignored by the same alternative rock radio and media that had championed them just a few years before. By the end of 1995, both A&M and OLI had dropped the band.
Shortening their name to Kitchens O.D. and signing to the London-based indie label Fierce Panda Records, they issued a single, "Feel My Genie" in May 1996, which was named "Single of the Week" by Melody Maker, but they officially disbanded that summer after a farewell gig at London's Kings Cross.
In September 2012, Fitzgerald announced that he and Swales had recorded and were in the process of editing ten new songs. The reunited trio of Fitzgerald, Swales, and Goodwin released their fifth studio album Folly, their first new album in 19 years, on 30 September 2013
On Tooting Broadway Station
Kitchens of Distinction Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I knelt down and wept.
My hands hit the concrete floor
Until my fingers bled.
I will cut him out of my heart,
I will leave these tears in pools.
Tripped over these pourings, tripped over his feelings,
Burn, burn his clothes,
Burn everything he owned
And the empty chamber left,
I'll carry around as this hollowness
That drags in my voice.
Burn, burn it all,
Burn, burn it all.
Benedictory fire, blessing of the burns.
On Tooting Broadway station
I lay down and slept.
The concrete for a pillow,
Fingers in bandages.
I cut him out I lie here dry,
I unstiched the bindweed of love.
Burn, burn his clothes...
Burn, burn it all...
My John of Arc...
burn, burn it all...
Give me his charred heart,
Give me his fillings.
And god, give me god to forgive me.
Burn, burn it all...
My John of Arc, fire fire.
My John of Arc,
fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire.
The lyrics of Kitchens Of Distinction's song "On Tooting Broadway Station" explore the emotional turmoil of heartbreak and the process of healing. The first stanza is filled with imagery of physical pain and emotional distress. The singer kneels down and weeps on Tooting Broadway station and hits the concrete floor until their fingers bleed. They are determined to cut their former lover out of their heart and leave their tears in pools. The repeated line "I've cut him out of my heart" emphasizes the singer's willpower to move on.
The second stanza introduces the imagery of fire and burning. The singer desires to burn everything that their former lover owned and carry around an empty chamber as a symbol of their hollowness. They hope that this "benedictory fire" will provide a blessing of the burns, symbolic of a purging of their emotions. The song's title serves as a refrain throughout the chorus, emphasizing the importance of the setting in the singer's journey.
In the final stanza, the singer lies down and sleeps on the cold concrete of the station. They have cut their former lover out of their heart and unstitched the bindweed of love. They call out for his charred heart and fillings, a sign of their desire to leave nothing of him behind. They also ask for God to forgive them, indicating the singer's feelings of guilt or regret.
Overall, "On Tooting Broadway Station" is a powerful song about the pain of heartbreak and the struggle to heal from its aftermath. The lyrics are filled with vivid imagery and raw emotions, making it a standout track from Kitchens Of Distinction's discography.
Line by Line Meaning
On Tooting Broadway station
At the train station on Tooting Broadway, presumably waiting for a train.
I knelt down and wept.
The singer is overwhelmed with sadness and cries while on the station floor.
My hands hit the concrete floor
Until my fingers bled.
The singer hits the floor in despair, causing their fingers to bleed.
I will cut him out of my heart,
I will leave these tears in pools.
The artist is determined to remove someone from their heart, but they cannot stop crying.
Tripped over these pourings, tripped over his feelings,
I've cut him out of my heart.
The artist stumbles over their emotions as they try to remove someone from their heart.
Burn, burn his clothes,
Burn everything he owned
And the empty chamber left,
I'll carry around as this hollowness
That drags in my voice.
The singer wants to destroy everything that reminds them of the person they removed from their heart, but the resulting emptiness causes their voice to sound heavy and tired.
Benedictory fire, blessing of the burns.
The singer finds some solace in the act of burning things related to the person they removed from their heart, possibly symbolizing a form of purification.
On Tooting Broadway station
I lay down and slept.
The concrete for a pillow,
Fingers in bandages.
The artist returns to the station later and lies down to sleep, using the concrete as a pillow and their bandaged fingers as a reminder of their previous actions.
I cut him out I lie here dry,
I unstiched the bindweed of love.
The artist feels detached from the person they removed from their heart while lying at the station, and they compare the relationship to a weed that needed to be removed.
My John of Arc...
burn, burn it all...
The artist compares themselves to Joan of Arc, champion of France who was burned at the stake, as they continue to burn everything related to the person they removed from their heart.
Give me his charred heart,
Give me his fillings.
And god, give me god to forgive me.
The singer desires something symbolic of the person they removed from their heart to destroy and seeks divine forgiveness for the actions they have taken.
My John of Arc, fire fire.
My John of Arc,
fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire.
The repeated call to action and image of fire portrays the intensity of the artist's emotions and desire to remove the person from their life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAN GOODWIN, JULIAN SWALES, PATRICK FITZGERALD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@CGRile-nt4py
I just found this amazing band. This was the first song of my introduction
In tears I was...immediately
Haunted
Had to hear it again
Oh My.
This piece just slays
The full Pathos of broken hearted and lost love.
Bravo K. O.D.!!
@CGRile-nt4py
I just found this amazing band. This was the first song of my introduction
In tears I was...immediately
Haunted
Had to hear it again
Oh My.
This piece just slays
The full Pathos of broken hearted and lost love.
Bravo K. O.D.!!
@U240robert
Unfreakin’ incredible. Amazing.
@tedmartin83
the most under-rated band of all time.
@ShattyMcPants
One of the few songs that make me wistful of the 90's almost as much as the 80's
@johnboyce3904
Absolutely beautiful
@gonzalonavarronogueira4719
thought 'remember me' was my favorite... never heard the whole record before. Many thanks for sharing! lovely
@Ajosee
Best dreampop song ever
@elsaunadelhype
Enormes Los cocinas! Saludos a Solete!
@PetersPianoShoppe
My John of Arc... fire fire fire fire!
@kostaspetriliotis2741
On tooting Broadway station was the soundtrack of my ...Black love days