This is what Morning Parade have discovered. And for starters, Morning Parade are Steve Sparrow (vocals/guitar), Chad Thomas (guitar), Phil Titus (bass), Ben Giddings (synth) and Andy Hayes (drums), from Harlow, Essex, UK, fromed in 2007.
As Steve explains of the town, which is still struggling to adjust to the decline of its manufacturing base: “Harlow’s like a weird bubble where no-one really enters and no-one really leaves.”
Solace of sorts came in the town’s one live music venue, The Square where Steve and Phil, gradually joined by the three friends who would become their bandmates in a nascent band scene. But even there they felt like outsiders. Like any youth movement through the ages, the kids of Harlow fell into two camps, the mainstream ‘townies’ and the skate-punk ‘grebos’, with little room for anyone inbetween. And of course, inbetween was exactly where they found themselves. “I used to dress like a chav but I used to try and go to The Square… I didn’t really like the metal stuff but I wasn’t into UK Garage or 2 Step or anything like that either. I was in a bit of a weird place because I didn’t know which I wanted to be. There was a little group of us that kind of did that because we didn’t know which one we were.”
The turning point for Steve was one night way back when at The Square one night when The Cooper Temple Clause rolled into town supported by a little-known band called Biffy Clyro. Their opening song ‘Hope For An Angel’, he says, opened his mind. “Everyone was just talking and it was the quietest song you’ve ever heard, and suddenly it just erupted into this massive wall of noise. That was crucial.”
What followed was years in identikit rock bands, but when they went to London they didn’t feel included either, and years of thankless day jobs ensued. But what it was what they did with their weekends, during the overspill from the nineties rave era, that would point them in the path that would lead them to where they are now. Chad remembers: “round here that was just a new thing to do. Not so much out of boredom, but it was new. Playing guitar was fun but on a Saturday night sometimes you just want to let go and get smashed. And that was where that music imprinted itself onto our souls. It was a different kind of euphoria.”
Those years of passing CDs and mixtapes round, getting off on Daft Punk and Aphex Twin would affect the fivesome profoundly. But with that music as prevalent in the UK as rock’n’roll, it’s perhaps surprising that so few bands have successfully blended them together. They admit it took them some time from their Interpol-esque beginnings, but in the widescreen, windswept, emotional yet undeniably euphoric guitar pop sound of Morning Parade, they have got there in spectacular fashion.
The first song where they really cracked it was with the urgent ‘A&E’, so it stands to reason that this will be the song that launches them onto the national stage. Yet while it’s powered energetically along by 4/4 dynamics, this is no ‘new rave’ fantasia. Like all their songs it’s rooted in the world they know. “It was about one of my friends who was seeing this girl, and basically she was having another relationship with somebody else at the same time as him but convincing him that it wasn’t happening so he couldn’t tell the difference between the paranoid and the reality and it really wound him up. It’s about these scenarios unfolding in your head really fast.”
Heavy stuff for a pop song perhaps, but Steve imbues these everyday stories with a passion that burns through everything they do in their quest to elevate the normal to the fantastical. “We used to get frustrated when we were out and about going to see other bands. We were like ‘what the fuck is this, who are these jumped up people singing absolute bollocks about nothing?’ We’d think, ‘that’s so pretentious, there’s nothing real about what you’re doing but you’re trying to sell it as something real. So when we started doing our own songs we thought it had to relate to something. But being here there’s nothing really to write about, so we just started writing about the people around us.”
Even their title was inspired by their surroundings. On returning bleary-eyed from the forest raves of their teens, they would be struck hard, possibly giggling, by the contrast between those party hordes returning by tube in the opposite direction of those on the commuter belt. Chad remembers: “Whether it’s the people on the way to work or the social aftermath, you’re always in this morning parade.”
It wasn’t long before the band were noticed. After being picked up by Wildlife Management (Arctic Monkeys) they signed with Parlophone and were quietly left to grow into the band they could be. They recorded their debut album with producer Jason Cox at Damon Albarn’s 13 Studios, and in September the world will be able to hear the fruits of their labours in the form of the trance-inducing ‘Under The Stars’, the tearjerking ‘Headlights’ and the grand, expansive ‘Speechless’. And now they’re ready to take their message out to the world.
And with only a clutch of gigs under their belt so far, the blend of mass euphoria and sweeping emotion that mark out their shows is already earning them new fans at every corner. “The songs have been cooped up for so long,” says Steve, “that when you get them out there and you get feedback from people, you get a little private moment. You do it for yourself, but there’s a lovely validation when a complete stranger comes up to you and says ‘this speaks to me’, or ‘this song helped me get through that time’. I’m still not used to that.”
“What we said earlier about the divide where we were between the townies and grebos, and how being in the middle you always feel so alone. Once we started putting the songs out and getting feedback we realised that there are thousands of people out there who feel like that. Everybody feels like that. And if the songs make a connection, and if we can unify people – then that’s everything we could hope for.”
Morning Parade are fast discovering that most people don’t have chance to worry about where they’re from or even where they’re at – most people just want somebody with them for the journey.
"This Essex quintet are writing songs as expansive & ambitious, as the large venue spaces that we expect them to be filling by the end of the year." Xfm
"... it’s epic, anthemic, and likely to conquer a lot of hearts in 2011." TheFly
"A fusion of pulsating synths, 90's Britpop, melodic vocals and supercharged stadium busting guitar riffs..."Rising Stars of 2011" " 4MUSIC & T4
Members:
Steve Sparrow (vocals/guitar)
Chad Thomas (guitar)
Phil Titus (bass)
Ben Giddings (keys)
Andy Hayes (drums)
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Under The Stars
Morning Parade Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're gonna stay up late tonight
Under the stars
I'll put you in pride of place
I'm gonna set my sights
I'm gonna set your soul alight
Under the stars
So let the street lights shine away
Till the breaking of the day
In the morning you'll decay a little
We've let a lifetime come undone
Staring straight into the sun
Like the barrel of a gun
Under the stars
Under the stars
Been waiting my whole life
For you to come and waste a while
Out in the dark
In the emptiness of time and space
Been going out my mind
I gotta bring you back to life
You and your heart
You and your heavy heart
So let the street lights shine away
Till the breaking of the day
In the morning you'll decay a little
We've let a lifetime come undone
Staring straight into the sun
Like the barrel of a gun
Under the stars
Under the stars
You know you look so tired
You're gonna stay up late tonight
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
Under the stars
So let the street lights shine away
Till the breaking of the day
For tonight all of the saints are sinners
And I can feel we're coming up
Like our hearts start filling up
Like it's rushing through our blood
Under the stars
Under the stars
Morning Parade's song "Under The Stars" is a love song that speaks of a deep appreciation for someone special while enjoying the beauty of the nighttime sky. The opening lines "You know you look so tired, you're gonna stay up late tonight" is a loving gesture to their partner as they indicate that they would like to enjoy the beauty of the stars with them. The lyrics "I'm gonna set my sights, I'm gonna set your soul alight under the stars" show that the person wants to make their partner happy and fulfilled under the warm glow of the stars above them.
The chorus of the song ("So let the street lights shine away till the breaking of the day, in the morning you'll decay a little. We've let a lifetime come undone, staring straight into the sun, like the barrel of a gun under the stars, under the stars") links the stars to the break of day, signifying how precious the time they have under the stars is. It also shows the vulnerability of being under the stars, requiring trust in oneself and their partner, since the stars can feel intimidating and lure one into a state of helplessness. The song concludes on a positive note, "For tonight all of the saints are sinners and I can feel we're coming up, like our hearts start filling up like it's rushing through our blood under the stars, under the stars." The last stanza suggests that being under the stars allows one to take risks, let go of inhibitions, and live in the moment.
Line by Line Meaning
You know you look so tired
You seem exhausted and in need of a rest.
You're gonna stay up late tonight
You're planning to stay awake until the early morning hours.
Under the stars
Outside, under the night sky.
I'll put you in pride of place
I'll make you feel important and valued.
I'm gonna set my sights
I have a clear goal in mind.
I'm gonna set your soul alight
I will ignite a passion within you.
So let the street lights shine away
We don't need city lights to enjoy the night.
Till the breaking of the day
Until the sun begins to rise.
In the morning you'll decay a little
After staying out late, you may feel a little worse for wear in the morning.
We've let a lifetime come undone
We've allowed the passage of time to unravel our lives.
Staring straight into the sun
Confronting something difficult or painful head-on.
Like the barrel of a gun
Dangerous and potentially deadly situation.
Been waiting my whole life
I've been waiting a long time.
For you to come and waste a while
To spend time idly without any specific purpose or goal.
Out in the dark
Outside in the nighttime.
In the emptiness of time and space
In the vast, empty expanse of the universe where there is no sound, light or matter.
Been going out my mind
I've been going crazy.
I gotta bring you back to life
I have to revitalize you.
You and your heart
You and your emotions.
You and your heavy heart
You and your deep emotional pain and sorrow.
For tonight all the saints are sinners
On this night, even the most virtuous people can behave immorally.
And I can feel we're coming up
I sense that we're about to experience something amazing.
Like our hearts start filling up
We're becoming more and more emotionally overwhelmed.
Like it's rushing through our blood
We can feel the excitement coursing through our veins.
Under the stars
Outdoor, under the night sky.
Under the stars
Outside, under the night sky.
Under the stars
Outside, under the night sky.
Under the stars
Outside, under the night sky.
Contributed by Jayden K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
rainbowbright2613
This song gives me goosebumps, every time I hear it
Frank Wijers
Absolute masterpiece.
Paul o'brien
brilliant song !
SIGE
Best song of 2012
Late Night Ciy
Beautiful
randomshittutorials
Why no lyrics:(
Great song, a callback to years ago for me.