Neils Children are an English three-piece garage punk outfit who formed in … Read Full Bio ↴Neils Children are an English three-piece garage punk outfit who formed in 1999 at Harlow College in Essex, where members John Linger (guitar/vocals), Brandon Jacobs (drums) and Tom Hawkins (bass/vocals) were then studying. The band's name came from Linger's obsession with 1960s proto-punk band John's Children; 'Neil' was the nickname of bassist Hawkins.

Primarily playing freakbeat-inspired music, the band performed several gigs on the London Mod scene as well as performing in the Harlow Square Rock Contest. In 2000 Hawkins quit the band for unknown reasons, and went on to become a successful sound engineer for The Subways. Replacement bassist, James Hair, was recruited and the band decided to move to London.

They have since played many shows in London, Southend, Brighton and many other cities, notably playing the Insomniacs Ball in London in 2006, and the popular London Calling Festival in Amsterdam. To this date, they have released an 8-track mini album and a string of singles on several different indie music labels. Their 2004 single 'I Hate Models' has become something of an underground hit and was included on an XFM compilation; it is currently still the song for which they are best known, despite its exclusion from their live show. More recently, in December 2005 bassist James Hair was replaced by Keith Seymour (formerly of Hope of the States), and a shift in their sound has been notable since this change.

In 2007, the band received attention in the wake of the critical and commercial explosion of The Horrors, with whom they toured in April. The two bands share personal connections, as John Linger is a friend of Rhys 'Spider' Webb, and there are similarities in the two bands' dress sense and appearance (although less so between their music).

In July 2009, long term bassist Keith Seymour left Neils Children and, in willingness to use the line-up change as a chance to experiment, John and Brandon added Electricity In Our Homes' Charlie Boyer (bass) and Paul Linger (percussion, samples) to the fold.

In September 2010 Neils Children revealed that they would be playing their final show and unveiling a new project, The Drop Five, at that years Offset Festival. Founding members John Linger and Brandon Jacobs feature in The Drop Five's line up, as well as Paul Linger.

In autumn 2011, updates on the band's facebook page indicated the group were to release a rarities record, followed in November with the following message: "First NC Mk2 rehearsal on Saturday 12th November with John, James and Brandon, the lineup that created Come Down, I Hate Models, Always The Same... It sounded big, intense and loud. News soon. Live soon."

On December the 5th the band released the Warehouse Stories E.P, a collection of three recordings made by their band after X.enc that never saw the light of day.

Sites: Facebook and MySpace.

Getting Evil In The Playground
Neils Children Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When you say, it's not OK,
Then I say that it is
When you say, come out to play,
Then I say that I've been

When you say, the sky is grey
Then I say that it's blue
When you say, it must be me

Then I say that it's you

They say opposites attract
Well I think that is wrong
I say opposites repel
The whole thing is a con

The further away you are
The happier I am
Although I do this to you
Simply because I can

When I say these things to you
It's not a jest - I really mean it
If I don't stop, what will you do
There's no way out
We've already been here
Already been here

They say opposites attract
Well I think that is wrong
I say opposites repel
The whole thing is a con

The further away you are
The happier I am
Although I do this to you
Simply because I can

We've already been here before.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Neils Children's song "Getting Evil In The Playground" tell the story of two people who are playing a power game. The singer is defiant and wants to assert their control over the situation. They do this by adopting an opposing attitude to everything their counterpart suggests. When their counterpart says "It's not OK," the singer confidently responds, "Then I say that it is." This happens again when their counterpart invites them to play, and again when the sky is described as grey. The singer is deliberately taking an opposing view, asserting their dominance and causing chaos.

The singer becomes self-aware and acknowledges that their behaviour is not healthy, but they are unable to stop. They attribute their own actions to a desire for distance and solitude, claiming that the further away their counterpart is, the happier they are. However, the true cause of their actions is a desire for control, and they are unable to stop themselves from causing chaos, despite recognizing the destructive nature of their actions. The song's closing line, "We've already been here before," suggests a cycle of behaviour that is difficult to break.

Line by Line Meaning

When you say, it's not OK,
I will disagree with you just for the sake of it

Then I say that it is
I will always take the opposite stance

When you say, come out to play,
I will say that I'm not interested in playing with you

Then I say that I've been
I will give you a pointless excuse not to play

When you say, the sky is grey
I will argue with you about anything

Then I say that it's blue
I will contradict you just to cause a reaction

When you say, it must be me
I will blame you for everything

Then I say that it's you
I will point fingers without any evidence

They say opposites attract
Some people believe in the myth of opposites attracting

Well I think that is wrong
I believe that opposite personalities do not fit well together

I say opposites repel
I believe opposing personalities only cause tension and conflict