LAM has gained a large and loyal following all over the world, from the USA to Europe to Latin America (where the live band has toured extensively), and beyond. LAM has headlined and co-headlined concerts and major festivals with bands like The Cure, Green Day, HIM (HIM has cited LAM a favorite artist), Rammstein, Soft Cell and many more. LAM has performed to crowds of over 30,000 people as headliner and co-headliner on major music festivals around the world. However, London After Midnight maintains a strong underground and independent "personality" despite being a top seller (charting in the top 10 and top 20 German DAC, and other European independent charts, with each of 4 CDs released) and a major draw at music festivals year after year.
Songwriter, instrumentalist, producer and founder Sean Brennan is known for his strong stances in favor of animal rights, pro-environmental and human rights issues, anti-corporate control of media, and support for progressive and liberal political and social causes. Whatever the approach or subject matter, the music of London After Midnight is deeply touching, powerful, socially aware, romantic, emotional, disturbing, haunting, moving, and often exhibits a morbid wit with its sardonic humor (listen to the tongue-in-cheek "Your Best Nightmare" and try not to think of an Edward Gorey story).
LAM is all this, while at the same time appealing to a wide variety of people. There really is no classification that fits London After Midnight (despite LAM's "dark" image) because the music is so varied and the lyrical content (and even LAM's personality and causes) are unique and uncommon in today's music scene (often breaking boundaries- much to the outrage of people who live and die by genre labels). Sean Brennan shuns all labels (as any artist worth their salt will do) and the music he creates can really only be classified as "London After Midnight".
From 2015-2019 LAM headlined major festivals around the world, including Wave Gotik Treffen multiple times, and many other events. In 2019 Sean Brennan started his own record label, Darkride Records, and released "Selected Scenes from the End of the World: 9119", the original 1991 album remixed from the original master tapes (it is NOT A REMASTER- it's completely remixed from the multi-track master tapes). This new mix restored missing audio tracks and includes a never before released song from the 1991 sessions. Darkride Records released the "Oddities Too", similar in theme to the 1998 album "Oddities" with unreleased music, new music and much more. The all new un-named LAM album and a complete remix of "Psycho Magnet", remixed from the original master tapes, is also underway.
Main discography:
-Selected Scenes from the End of the World, 1995 CD (originally released as a cassette in 1991)
-Psycho Magnet, 1995 cassette, 1996 CD
-Oddities, 1998 cassette, 1998 CD
-Violent Acts of Beauty, 2007 CD
-Selected Scenes from the End of the World: 9119, 2019 CD (remixed from original multi-track master tapes)
- Live From Isolation, 2021 CD.
- Oddities Too, 2022 CD
Permanent line-up:
Sean Brennan: music, lyrics, vocals, most of the instruments.
Current live line-up:
Jeremy Kohnmann: guitar
Michael Areklett: bass
Pete Pace: drums.
Claire's Horrors
London After Midnight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drifting through dead branches in the night
While in the moonlight we
Go down upon our knees
Entwined together only we can see their beauty
Beneath the stars a bell begins to toll
For reasons which we really shouldn't know
Wrap me in darkness, Claire make love to me
I am thunder
I am rain
I am pleasure
I am pain
Only in darkness can there be light
Tell me angel have you prayed tonight?
In the dark I know you all so well
Beauty from Heaven wrapped 'round souls from Hell
So take a drink from me
My sacrifice to thee
Damned fallen angels
Always blessed with me
The lyrics to London After Midnight's song Claire's Horrors explore the dark and supernatural elements of love and desire. The song opens with haunting imagery of spirits drifting through a darkened sky and dead branches in the night. The chorus reveals the two lovers, entwined together on their knees, experiencing a beauty that only they can see. The bell tolling beneath the stars adds to the eerie atmosphere of the song, leaving the listener with a sense that the lovers are venturing into forbidden territory.
As the song progresses, the lyrics become more intense, with the singer describing themselves as "thunder," "rain," "pleasure," and "pain." The idea that only in darkness can there be light suggests that the singer's experiences are necessary to achieve enlightenment or to find true pleasure. The lyrics also suggest that there is an angelic quality to their lover, with the question "tell me angel have you prayed tonight?" adding to the mystical themes explored in the song. The final verse urges the listener to take a drink from the singer, their sacrifice to so-called "damned fallen angels," indicating that they are perhaps a supernatural being themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Spirits seem to drift up through a darkened sky
The atmosphere is eerie and ghost-like, as if spirits are moving around in the dark, cloudy sky.
Drifting through dead branches in the night
The spirits seem to be floating around aimlessly, perhaps even getting caught in the dead tree branches in the darkness of the night.
While in the moonlight we
The singer, along with someone else, is present in the moonlight and witnessing the spirits hovering around them.
Go down upon our knees
Kneeling down, they are perhaps paying respects to the spirits or feeling vulnerable in their presence.
Entwined together only we can see their beauty
The intertwined couple seems to be the only ones who can find beauty in the presence of the haunting spirits.
Beneath the stars a bell begins to toll
The sound of a bell, tolling perhaps at a nearby church or cemetery, can be heard under the starlit sky.
For reasons which we really shouldn't know
The reason for the bell tolling is unclear, yet ominous in its presence.
So take a walk with me down to the cemetery
The artist is inviting someone to join them for a walk to a nearby cemetery, perhaps to explore the mystery of the bell tolling.
Wrap me in darkness, Claire make love to me
In the darkness of the cemetery, the artist is expressing a desire for intimacy with someone named Claire, almost as if being wrapped in the haunting setting is arousing.
I am thunder
The artist is identifying themselves as a powerful force comparable to the sound of thunder.
I am rain
The singer is identifying themselves as a cleansing and rebirthing force, similar to the way rain can replenish the earth.
I am pleasure
The artist is identifying themselves as a source of enjoyment and pleasure for others, perhaps in a sexual context.
I am pain
The singer is identifying themselves as a source of pain and suffering, perhaps in a masochistic sense.
Only in darkness can there be light
The singer is suggesting that light can only be truly appreciated and recognized in the context of darkness.
Tell me angel have you prayed tonight?
The singer is questioning if someone they are with has been praying or seeking spiritual guidance, perhaps in the context of the eerie setting.
In the dark I know you all so well
The artist seems to have a deep understanding of those they are with when in dark, spooky settings such as the cemetery.
Beauty from Heaven wrapped 'round souls from Hell
The artist is suggesting that even those who may seem flawed or come from a darker place can possess a striking beauty.
So take a drink from me
The singer is offering something to drink, perhaps in a ceremonial way.
My sacrifice to thee
Whatever the drink is, the singer seems to be offering it as a sacrifice or gift to those they are with.
Damned fallen angels
The artist is identifying those they are with as angels who have fallen from grace or who may be considered damned in some way.
Always blessed with me
Despite their apparent flaws, the artist seems to embrace and bless those around them who are considered damned.
Lyrics © THINGMAKER MUSIC
Written by: SEAN BRENNAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bg-boo-g2152
Spirits seem to drift up through a darkened sky
Drifting through dead branches in the night
While in the moonlight we
Go down upon our knees
Entwined together only we can see their beauty
Beneath the stars a bell begins to toll
For reasons which we really shouldn't know
So take a walk with me down to the cemetery
Wrap me in darkness, Claire make love to me
I am thunder
I am rain
I am pleasure
I am pain
Only in darkness can there be light
Tell me angel have you prayed tonight?
In the dark I know you all so well
Beauty from Heaven wrapped 'round souls from Hell
So take a drink from me
My sacrifice to thee
Damned fallen angels
Always blessed with me
@spiritualdreamer
Spirits seem to drift up through a darkened sky
Drifting through dead branches in the night
While in the moonlight we
Go down upon our knees
Entwined together only we can see their beauty
Beneath the stars a bell begins to toll
For reasons which we really shouldn't know
So take a walk with me down to the cemetery
Wrap me in darkness, Claire make love to me
I am thunder
I am rain
I am pleasure
I am pain
Only in darkness can there be light
Tell me angel have you prayed tonight?
In the dark I know you all so well
Beauty from Heaven wrapped 'round souls from Hell
So take a drink from me
My sacrifice to thee
Damned fallen angels
Always blessed with me
@aidacailar1126
This song is a masterpiece that doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves. It’s one of the most intense, dark and soulful songs of the genre. It makes me feel nostalgic for things that I don’t even remember…
@bg-boo-g2152
Spirits seem to drift up through a darkened sky
Drifting through dead branches in the night
While in the moonlight we
Go down upon our knees
Entwined together only we can see their beauty
Beneath the stars a bell begins to toll
For reasons which we really shouldn't know
So take a walk with me down to the cemetery
Wrap me in darkness, Claire make love to me
I am thunder
I am rain
I am pleasure
I am pain
Only in darkness can there be light
Tell me angel have you prayed tonight?
In the dark I know you all so well
Beauty from Heaven wrapped 'round souls from Hell
So take a drink from me
My sacrifice to thee
Damned fallen angels
Always blessed with me
@djaesthetic
Also -- I bought my first London After Midnight CDs back in the late 90s after downloading a few mp3 tracks. It's how I find music to go buy. A few tracks and I had to have all of it. It's unfortunate that this is not the "norm"... These days, it's exciting to find music just the same via YouTube! SUPPORT YOUR ARTISTS!!!
@queennera6458
I flipped when I found this song because my name's Claire.XD
@knowingforever
Queen Nera Same - except a different spelling!
@Chalkaspis
+Queen Nera Right! What an uncommon name!
@richardnash6111
Named after Claire Clairmont and probably a line from the 1986 film Gothic by Ken Russell.
@uhltron
Well... now i guess we know what your babies will be listening to when their teenagers. This is what the decade of 2000 was really about for those who missed 2000 and onward and say it sucked. That's the fun thing about the Goth scene. It disappears into the shadows then emerges more powerful in the future.
@marcpando5410
uhltron No! this came before...and the 2000s generally do suck!!
@megajaredx9679
Hate to say it I barely found this in 2022