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
Railwayed
Kitchens of Distinction Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The train into the station
She has often waited
And wondered if he'll come
Why has he kept her waiting
Hell from coming home now
Was it trouble (something)
Or a brand new family
Will he step down
Onto the platform
Will he stay now
Or go again
Softly something comes
A feeling that she loves him
Remembering his birthday
And sentimental times
Was she really that bad
To force him to silence
Were her tears forgotten
Or was it just like?
Daddy will you
Stay this time
Daddy will you
Walk away
Shower her
With your own tears
Give to her
That love (not lost?)
Open now
Those cold blue eyes
Promise her
There'll be no more goodbyes
No goodbyes
Softly something feeling
As if she is just dreaming
Daddy she has been good
You must be here to stay
Slowly steam is rising
She's shouting as she sees you
She's running up to hold you
Will your arms be there?
Daddy will you
Stay this time?
Daddy will you
Go again?
Shower her
With your own tears
Give to her
?
Open now
Those cold blue eyes
Promise her
There'll be no more goodbyes
No surprise
No more surprise
Shower her
With your own tears
Give to her
?
Open now
Those cold blue eyes
Promise her
There'll be no more goodbyes
No surprise
No more surprise
No surprise
"Railwayed" by Kitchens of Distinction is a song that deals with themes of love, loss, and reconciliation. The song's lyrics are sung from the perspective of a daughter waiting at a train station, waiting for her father to arrive. As the daughter waits, she reflects on their relationship, wondering why her father has kept her waiting and if he will stay this time.
The opening lines "Softly something comes, the train into the station" and "she has often waited and wondered if he'll come" introduce the central metaphor of the song - the train representing the father's presence or absence in his daughter's life. The daughter questions her father's absence, wondering if it was due to trouble or a new family. She also questions whether she was to blame for pushing her father away.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the daughter's desire for her father to stay and their relationship to be healed. The repetition of "Shower her with your own tears, give to her that love not lost" conveys the daughter's longing for her father to show her more love and attention.
In the final verse, the daughter sees her father approaching the platform, and she runs to hug him. The song ends with the repetition of "No more surprise," leaving the listener wondering if the father will stay or leave again.
Overall, "Railwayed" is a heartfelt and poignant song that deals with the complicated emotions of family relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Softly something comes
A vague feeling is arising
The train into the station
A train arrives at the station
She has often waited
A person has spent much time waiting
And wondered if he'll come
A person has questioned if someone else will arrive
Why has he kept her waiting
A person is questioning why they were left waiting
Hell from coming home now
Perhaps a person won't return home anymore
Was it trouble (something)
Questioning if there was an issue or a problem
Or a brand new family
Wondering if the person has started a new family
Will he step down
Will the person come out of the train
Onto the platform
Will the person step into the station
Will he stay now
Questioning if the person will remain
Or go again
Wondering if the person will leave again
A feeling that she loves him
A feeling that the person is loved
Remembering his birthday
Recalling the person's birthday
And sentimental times
Remembering sentimental moments
Was she really that bad
Questioning if the person was truly bad
To force him to silence
Wondering if something was bad enough to make the person avoid talking
Were her tears forgotten
Asking if the person forgot about someone's tears
Or was it just like?
Wondering if it was like it should have been
Daddy will you
Asking if someone's father will
Stay this time
If the father will remain
Walk away
If the father will leave
Shower her
To cover someone with something
With your own tears
Covering someone with tears
Give to her
Give something to someone
That love (not lost?)
Giving someone love that they might not have lost
Open now
Open something right now
Those cold blue eyes
Referring to someone's physical appearance
Promise her
Pledging to do something
There'll be no more goodbyes
Saying goodbye will no longer happen
No surprise
No surprise moments
Softly something feeling
A person feels something softly
As if she is just dreaming
Feeling like it's a dream
Daddy she has been good
Asking for a person's father to acknowledge someone being good
You must be here to stay
The person assumes that someone will stay
Slowly steam is rising
Mist or water vapor is rising slowly
She's shouting as she sees you
A person starts shouting after seeing someone
She's running up to hold you
A person runs towards someone to give a hug
Will your arms be there?
The person wonders if they will be hugged
No surprise
No surprise moments
No more surprise
There will be no more unexpected events.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAN GOODWIN, JULIAN SWALES, PATRICK FITZGERALD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniel Delayne
Softly softly comes the train into the station.
She has often waited and wondered if he'll come.
Why was he kept away then, held from coming home now?
Was it troubled loyalty or a brand new family?
Will he step down onto the platform?
Will he stay now or fall again?
Softly softly comes the feeling that she loves him
Remembering his birthday and sentimental times.
Was she really that bad to force him to silence?
Were her tears forgotten or was it just that letter of pain?
Daddy will you stay this time?
Daddy will you walk away?
Shower her with your old tears
Give to her your lovely lost look.
Open now those cold blue eyes.
Promise her there'll be no more goodbyes
No more surprises.
Softly softly feeling as if she is just dreaming.
Daddy she has been good you must be here to stay.
Slowly the steam is rising, she's shouting as she sees you
She's running up to hold you, will your arms be there?
Daddy will you stay this time?
Daddy will you fall again?
bjonas0725
I bought this album from a bargain bin back in 1993 or so. One of my favorite albums ever, just sitting there ignored. It's just criminal.
Trucker Kev The Paid Tourist
yep me too cut out
Barry Cantin
Agreed 100 % bjonas. It’s a work of art. I have two vinyl copies and a CD of this. It is just incredible.
Cyrus Budd
+bjonas0725 Well , I'm prepared to buy it of you! Sky's the limit!
BluePedal
Follow all the sounds and little nuances in this mixing and engineering masterpiece. Put on your headphones and blow your mind. You'll hear new things in this for years to come.
Brian Barajas
It's true. Very clean recording and editing even by today's standards
Token Of Devotion
It has that digital high-end saturation typical from that era
eboe
Your username makes me think you biased lol.
Chirko Telhin
But don't watch this shitty quality yt vid
just Me
haven't listened to this for FAR too long, utterly brilliant, totally underated.