In late 1968, Chappell and Lovich went to London, England to attend art school. It was there that Lovich first tied her hair into the plaits that later became a visual trademark, though at first she did it to keep her hair out of the clay when studying sculpture. Expressing a variety of artistic interests, she sought to find the best outlets for her work.
Over the following decade, Lovich attended several art schools, busked around the London Underground and appeared in cabaret clubs as an "Oriental" dancer. She also travelled to Spain, where she visited Salvador Dalí in his home. She played acoustic rock music around London, sang in the mass choir of a show called Quintessence at the Royal Albert Hall, played a soldier in Arthur Brown's show, worked as a "go-go" dancer with the Radio One Roadshow, toured Italy with a West Indian soul band, and played saxophone for Bob Flag's Balloon and Banana Band and for an all-girl cabaret trio, The Sensations. She recorded screams for horror films, adapted lyrics for French disco star Cerrone (including the sci-fi dance smash "Supernature," later recorded by Lovich in her own version) and worked with various fringe theatre groups. She was also one of thousands of people in the audience at the 1972 Lanchester Arts Festival when Chuck Berry recorded the risqué "My Ding-a-Ling" for Chess Records. As the audience was encouraged to sing-a-long technically this could be described as her first appearance on record. The record was a No. 1 hit in the U.K. and the U.S.A.
In 1975, Lene joined The Diversions, a funk group that put out five singles and an album on Polydor Records without success. In 1978, disc jockey and author Charlie Gillett presented her to Stiff Records boss, Dave Robinson, who quickly signed her to a contract. Her first single for Stiff was "I Think We're Alone Now", a cover of a song originally performed by Tommy James & The Shondells.
Invited to join the Be Stiff Route 78 Tour on 1978, Lovich quickly recorded her first album for Stiff, Stateless, which spawned the remixed hit singles "Lucky Number" and "Say When." Lovich's musical style combined ethnic influences with then current punk rock and new wave.
Maintaining her long term writing partnership with Les Chappell, Lovich recorded the albums Flex and No-Man's-Land for Stiff over the next few years, as well as an EP titled New Toy, the title cut penned by touring band member Thomas Dolby. She also recorded vocals for the track 'Picnic Boy' by The Residents. Following her departure from Stiff, Lovich released "Don't Kill The Animals," a single with Nina Hagen, with whom she had previously appeared in Cha Cha, a film that also starred Herman Brood; together, the three created the film's soundtrack.
In 1989, after an absence of several years, she recorded the album, March which was only moderately successful and was not released until nearly a year after the album's single "Wonderland" had been issued and become an American dance hit. Lovich continues to perform in much the same style she did back in the 1970s and 1980s, with Les Chappell still at her side. In 2005 she appeared on Hawkwind's Take Me to Your Leader CD, as well as appearing occasionally on stage with them.
Lovich's first album since March, entitled Shadows and Dust received a limited release on Mike Thorne's Stereo Society label on September 13, 2005.
Natural Beauty
Lene Lovich Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We danced upon a paradise complete
Handsome—happy—nothing to hide
Natural beauty
Long time outside memory
We lost a lot of energy it seems
So low—static—nothing inspired
See how beauty fades when faith has broken down
Where has beauty gone
Natural beauty still survives
I can see it in your eyes
O precious fire of life
Come shining through
Sometimes minds freeze easily
We let ourselves get mesmerized
Dazed—indifferent—nothing to drive
Natural beauty
See how beauty fades when faith has broken down
Where is beauty now
Natural beauty still survives
I can see it in your eyes
O precious fire of life
Come shining through
The Lene Lovich song "Natural Beauty" is a tribute to the pure and raw beauty of nature and ourselves. The opening lines describe a wild and carefree time where the singer and their partner danced in paradise, embodying the idea of natural beauty. However, as time passes, life takes its toll, and energy is lost. The once exuberant spirit is now static and uninspired, with nothing to drive them. This is where the theme of beauty fading when faith has broken down comes into play, as the singer realizes that beauty cannot survive without a belief or purpose.
Despite the challenges and difficulties, the singer finds hope and comfort in the existence of natural beauty that still persists in the world. They see it reflected in the eyes of their partner, a symbol of the precious fire of life that continues to shine through, even in the darkest and lowest moments. The song suggests that even though life may wear us down, it is important to remember and cherish the natural beauty that surrounds us and resides within us, as it is a reminder of our own value and potential.
Line by Line Meaning
One time so wild—ultra free
In the past, we were carefree and without restrictions.
We danced upon a paradise complete
We once enjoyed an idyllic and perfect existence.
Handsome—happy—nothing to hide
We were attractive, content, and had nothing to conceal.
Natural beauty
Our beauty was innate and not artificially created.
Long time outside memory
Those happy days seem like a distant memory.
We lost a lot of energy it seems
We have since depleted our energy.
So low—static—nothing inspired
We feel aimless, stagnant, and lacking motivation.
See how beauty fades when faith has broken down
When we lose faith, our beauty also diminishes.
Where has beauty gone
We wonder where our beauty has disappeared to.
Natural beauty still survives
However, our innate beauty still exists.
I can see it in your eyes
I can perceive this beauty when I look into your eyes.
O precious fire of life
This beauty is a valuable and vital aspect of our existence.
Come shining through
Let this beauty be evident and radiate outward.
Sometimes minds freeze easily
We can be easily trapped or fail to progress due to our mindset.
We let ourselves get mesmerized
At times, we become entranced or spellbound.
Dazed—indifferent—nothing to drive
We lose our bearings, become apathetic, and lack ambition.
Where is beauty now
Again, we question where our beauty exists at present.
Contributed by Alyssa J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mimet Velvet
One time so wild ultra free
We danced upon a paradise complete
Handsome happy nothing to hide
Natural beauty
Long time outside memory
We lost a lot of energy it seems
So low static nothing inspired
Natural beauty
See how beauty fades when faith has broken down
Where has beauty gone
Natural beauty still survives
I can see it in your eyes
Oh precious fire of life
Come shining through
Sometimes minds freeze easily
We let ourselves get mesmerized
Dazed indifferent nothing to drive
Natural beauty
See how beauty fades when faith has broken down
Where has beauty gone
Natural beauty still survives
I can see it in your eyes
Oh precious fire of life
Come shining through
Les Plus Belle Choses Dans Le Monde
This is my jam! I love this song so much!
frozen qeen
wonderful song and style of singing
Leslie Marlene Prado Jimenez
Love too much this song
Marchant2
The late 70's and early 80's introduced pop music to a variety of upbeat, creative and extremely fun music, leading pop in a very interesting direction. Then Madonna came along and the direction of pop music followed her instead. We've been paying tube price ever since.
Franco Perez
YAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍