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.
You Didn't Care
Neils Children Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To make life worth living
But you didn't care
I should have known it
Right from the beginning
That you didn't care
Some say I was mad
But you didn't care
I could not be the man
You wanted me to be
And you didn't care
You didn't care
You didn't care
You didn't care for
You didn't care
You didn't care
You didn't care
You didn't care
You didn't care for
You didn't care for
You didn't care for
Somehow I seem to
Find joy in the sorrow
That you didn't care
I hope that I won't
Feel this way tomorrow
And you didn't care
You didn't care
You didn't care
You didn't care for
They say that absence
Makes the heart grow fonder
My heart will stop it
I have to wait longer
And you didn't care for me
In the song "You Didn't Care," Neils Children sings about a failed relationship. The lyrics express the disappointment and hurt felt by the songwriter after realizing that their partner did not care about the effort they put into the relationship. The lines "I try so hard, to make life worth living" and "Some say I was mad, to think that you loved me" indicate the songwriter's frustration and disbelief at the lack of reciprocation from their partner. Despite their efforts, they feel that their partner did not appreciate or care about them.
The chorus repeats the phrase "You didn't care," emphasizing the songwriter's feelings of rejection and abandonment. The verse "Somehow I seem to find joy in the sorrow" suggests that the songwriter is trying to find peace in the fact that their partner did not care, perhaps indicating a desire to move on from the relationship. The final verse highlights the pain of waiting and hoping for a partner who does not care.
This song captures the pain of unrequited love and the sense of rejection that comes when one partner does not care for the other. The lyrics are raw, emotional, and relatable, speaking to those who have experienced similar situations.
Line by Line Meaning
I try so hard
I put in a lot of effort
To make life worth living
To make my life meaningful and fulfilling
But you didn't care
But you were indifferent to my efforts
I should have known it
I should have realized it earlier
Right from the beginning
At the start of our relationship
That you didn't care
That you didn't value me or my efforts
Some say I was mad
Some people think I was foolish or delusional
To think that you loved me
To believe that you had strong feelings for me
But you didn't care
But you didn't show any love or affection towards me
I could not be the man
I could not live up to your expectations of me
You wanted me to be
You had a certain idea or vision of who you wanted me to be
And you didn't care
And you were unsupportive of my attempts to be myself
You didn't care
You were uninterested or dispassionate
You didn't care
You weren't invested or concerned
You didn't care for
You didn't have affection or regard for
You didn't care
You were indifferent or apathetic
You didn't care
You didn't show any concern or interest
You didn't care
You were lacking in empathy or sympathy
You didn't care for me
You had no regard for my feelings or well-being
Somehow I seem to
Despite everything
Find joy in the sorrow
Take pleasure in small things even though I feel sad
That you didn't care
Despite your lack of support or affection
I hope that I won't
I wish that I don't
Feel this way tomorrow
Feel as sad or alone as I do today
And you didn't care
Despite your lack of empathy or understanding
Contributed by Noah C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Pilar Herrera
No puedo creer que hayan pasado 10 años desee que conocí la música de los Neils. 😍
Diego Martinez
Pilar Herrera estoy escuchando estas canciones de la adolescencia y vi tus comentarios aquí y en un video de these new puritans jajaja hace dos años hacías lo mismo que estoy haciendo hoy jajaja
RasputinaMan
neils children are really like the best neo new wave band, they're stuff sounds like they made it in the 80s. Joy Division's dead spirit channeling through them via music :D
Daniel Aragon
tiene la estetica de the horrors, usa la guitarra de ian curtis y canta como robert smith solo le falta ser vegano como morrisey para tener el paquete completo.
Jadro Borges
any of their songs should be a single.. specially i'm ill... they rock!
Jimenez Calle
pasaron 10 años y aun recuerdo esos dias :,
Marcotsx
Great band!
Neil Laurence
Love the final chord on this song!
vicoland
NEILS CHILDREN is a great band, i could say that is one of my fav bands today, i like too much....but they need to accept their influences if they want to go far..... JOY DIVISION + BAUHAUS + GANG OF FOUR + THE CURE = NEILS CHILDREN
Sergi Gil
pues la verdad es que son muy amigos y colegas..vamos que van juntos por ahi...yo los conoci en el 2002a ambos los neils children tocaban ya antes que los horrorspero mira trinf<aronm antes los horrors..