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
Prince of Mars
Kitchens of Distinction Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He'll sit quietly as the fizzyness flows around
Never seen wars before, never been to a party
He says "they laugh like balloons, they dance like baboons
They're so different when it's dark"
Hiding away as the noise gets louder
Watching the people loose in the corridor
Too many questions
"Why are their lips even redder than
The bad one in Snow White
Why do they shout so, are they in pain
I don't understand
Can't stay much longer, I must tame my fox
So this is what goes on when you grow old."
Hiding away in memory now sits my Prince laughing
He had to go, we all have to go, there's too much I didn't ask
Like "what happens when you know the answer
But they're so used to you being wrong?
And why this cover when caught inside
We're heavy hearted, too close to the knives
Our hearts are closing like hammer horror walls
Fingermarked skin, hurt to the bone
We don't understand
Oh, my Prince, answer please
I'll get the pencils
We'll draw ourselves a new world."
The song "Prince of Mars" by Kitchens of Distinction is a melancholic reflection on the isolation and alienation that can be felt as an outsider in a society. The song's protagonist, the "Prince of Mars," is an observer who does not fully understand the ways of the people around him. He watches as they party and make merry, but he cannot fully participate, seeing himself as different from them. He is struck by their appearance, their behavior, and the way they interact with one another, but he cannot comprehend them. He retreats into his own mind, where he can laugh and dream without fear of judgment, and where he feels safe from the loud, vibrant, and confusing world around him.
Line by Line Meaning
Hide him away from the backhand of angry
Protect him from harm and keep him safe from conflict.
He'll sit quietly as the fizzyness flows around
He remains calm and collected as the chaos and excitement build up around him.
Never seen wars before, never been to a party
He's inexperienced and has yet to witness the extremes of life.
He says "they laugh like balloons, they dance like baboons
They're so different when it's dark"
He observes the strange behavior of others, noting that they act differently depending on the situation.
Hiding away as the noise gets louder
Watching the people loose in the corridor
He retreats further into the background as the commotion intensifies and others become more wild and uninhibited.
Too many questions
He can't stay long, this is not his world
He's curious but overwhelmed, and knows that he doesn't fit into this environment.
"Why are their lips even redder than
The bad one in Snow White
Why do they shout so, are they in pain
I don't understand
Can't stay much longer, I must tame my fox
So this is what goes on when you grow old."
He ponders why others look and act the way they do, but eventually realizes he must leave and tend to his own affairs. He reflects on the harsh reality of aging and coming to terms with what one cannot understand.
Hiding away in memory now sits my Prince laughing
He had to go, we all have to go, there's too much I didn't ask
Like "what happens when you know the answer
But they're so used to you being wrong?
The artist laments not knowing more about the Prince and wishes they had asked him more questions while he was still present. They wonder about the struggle of being misunderstood despite knowing the truth.
And why this cover when caught inside
We're heavy hearted, too close to the knives
Our hearts are closing like hammer horror walls
Fingermarked skin, hurt to the bone
We don't understand
The artist muses on the pain and isolation they feel, likening it to a physical enclosure. They are confused and hurt by the circumstances they find themselves in.
Oh, my Prince, answer please
I'll get the pencils
We'll draw ourselves a new world.
The artist longs for the Prince to offer guidance and help create a better reality. They are willing to put in the effort to change and improve their current situation.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAN GOODWIN, JULIAN SWALES, PATRICK FITZGERALD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind