In 1993, the start of the turnaround occurred. Paul Weller invited the band to support him on some dates of his tour. On the back of these performances, Weller invited guitarist Steve Cradock to play on one of his singles, and vocalist Simon Fowler to sing on his album, Wild Wood. Cradock was asked to play live with Weller on his tour, and the money Cradock made kept the band afloat during this time.
Britpop fame (1995–2000)
The band recorded a demo that was sent to various industry figures. After hearing this tape, Noel Gallagher invited the band to play with Oasis on their 1995 tour. This support slot brought OCS to the attention of more record labels, and eventually in late 1995, the band signed with MCA Records. With the explosion of the Britpop scene, OCS's music became nationally and internationally known. Their second album Moseley Shoals was released to mixed-to-positive reviews, containing four hit singles and reached No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart. They also played at one of the concerts at Knebworth House supporting Oasis in August 1996.
Marchin' Already, the follow-up to Moseley Shoals, went to No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, displacing Oasis' Be Here Now at the top of the charts in 1997. In 1998 they headlined their own arena tour in support of Marchin' Already and played three sold out nights at Stirling Castle, Scotland.
One from the Modern was released in 1999, and peaked in the UK Albums Chart at No. 4. The record spawned three top 40 singles, "Profit in Peace", "So Low" and "July". A Greatest Hits album, Songs for the Front Row, was released in 2001.
Post-Britpop (2001–2008)
After splitting with bassist Damon Minchella, the band continued to record and perform. Releases in 2001 (Mechanical Wonder), 2003 (North Atlantic Drift), 2005 (A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad) and 2007 (On the Leyline) continued the trend of releasing new material every two years.
2004 saw the band release their first live album, Live: One for the Road. The album was a compilation of nineteen live tracks taken from various concerts. In 2006 the band released a live acoustic album, Live at the Jam House, which consisted of fifteen live tracks and also contained four new songs in "Great Man in Waiting", "The Word", "Still Trying" and "Matilda's England".
The band also released a live album in December 2006, which was recorded at Birmingham Academy and spread over two discs. People attending the gig were able to purchase the recording straight afterwards.
Recent years (2009–present)
In 2009, the band went into the studio with producer Gavin Monaghan, known for his work with Editors, Scott Matthews and The Twang, to work on a new album, Saturday, with a release date of 1 February 2010 to mark the 21st anniversary of the band. The album had a working title of 'Rockfield', named after the studios where it was recorded, but it was released as Saturday - both "Rockfield" and "Saturday" being tracks thereon.
On 2 November 2009, the band released a free downloadable version of a new song, "Mrs Maylie". "Magic Carpet Days", the first single from Saturday, was released on 25 January, followed by the album a few days later. The album charted at No. 35 on the UK Albums Chart. A second single, "Saturday", was released in May 2010 but it failed to chart. On 24 July 2010 they performed at the Wickerman Festival.
On 11 October 2010, the band released a 4-CD box set, 21, to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the band. It included many previously unreleased tracks and a brand new song entitled "Twenty One".
In March 2011, the band released a 15th anniversary special edition of their 1996 hit album Moseley Shoals. It consisted of the full album, b-sides and live tracks. The band played a full UK tour in support of the re-release. December saw the limited edition release of a double CD/DVD release of the band's Moseley Shoals gig at O2 Academy Birmingham, which was filmed on 26 February 2011. They performed an acoustic set at Lanford Live in 2011 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. In December 2012, the band announced the forthcoming release of their tenth studio album, Painting, which was released on 11 February 2013. They also played at V-festival where Inbetweeners actor James Buckley performed "The Circle" with them in Chelmsford and at The Electric Picnic Festival in Stradbally, Ireland.
In 2014 a special edition of Marchin' Already was released on a 2 CD edition and a special deluxe 4 disc box set which included a DVD of their live performance at Stirling Castle in 1998. Early 2015 saw the band celebrate their 25th anniversary with some acoustic concerts around the UK. They released a double CD live album which was recorded at the Manchester concert on the tour.
The following year, in 2016, the band announced several special concerts around the UK to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 1996 hit album Moseley Shoals. They also played several dates in Australia for the first time in their career.
On 22 June 2016, the band officially announced that Scottish musician Raymond Meade would be joining the band permanently on bass, following the departures of both Dan Sealey and Andy Bennett. Meade had already played live with the band since the start of the year.
In November 2018 the band unveiled their first new material in five years since the release of Painting. The four track EP was released on 10" vinyl and available only at the band's Christmas shows. The EP received a 5 stars rating from Flick of the Finger, with the publication stating that 'Lushly textured, these four compelling and diverse new offerings are nothing short of brilliant.' In 2023 the band released a career-spanning box set entitled Yesterday, Today 1992–2018, which contained all their studio albums and 5 bonus CDs, totalling 230 tracks. The set also came with a 72-page book. A companion vinyl box set was also released, covering their first three studio albums from 1992–1997. In May, a follow-up vinyl set was released, covering the three studio albums released between 1999-2003. August saw the release of the final box set, covering the remaining four albums, 2005-2013.
Studio albums
Ocean Colour Scene (1992)
Moseley Shoals (1996)
Marchin' Already (1997)
B-Sides: Seasides & Freerides (1997)
One from the Modern (1999)
Mechanical Wonder (2001)
North Atlantic Drift (2003)
A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad (2005)
On the Leyline (2007)
Saturday (2010)
Painting (2013)
It's a Beautiful Thing
Ocean Colour Scene Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How could you ever say he never stayed alone
And how could I belong with anyone you know
Come on every line's a line I'll never know
Oh, it's a beautiful thing
Oh, it's a terrible thing
Backing everyone away and never have enough
And how could I be playing every line for you
Look at the things today that I can never choose
Oh, it's a beautiful thing
Oh, it's a terrible thing
Sometimes I could never ever ever fade again
Sometimes I could never ever ever fade again
Sometimes I could never ever ever fade again
And how could I be playing every line for you
Look at the things today that I never choose
Oh, it's a beautiful thing
Oh, it's a terrible thing
The lyrics of Ocean Colour Scene's song "It's a Beautiful Thing" showcase a sense of ambiguity and the longing for clarity in relationships. The song follows a narrator who is struggling to understand the actions of someone else named Sonny; he has gone away and left the singer alone, causing them to question their relationship. The lyrics convey a sense of confusion and a lack of closure, stating that every line is one they will never fully understand. The singer also remarks that they have been backing people away and spending time alone, which could reflect a struggle with isolation and loneliness. Ultimately, the chorus lines imply that the beauty and complexity of love and relationships are just as often painful and difficult.
The song's lyrics are open to interpretation, but the overall tone conveys feelings of vulnerability, confusion and frustration, underscored by a sense of beauty and wonder. The song's ambivalence towards love is a notable element of its themes, with the singer seemingly torn between wanting to connect with others and feeling afraid of the emotional risks involved.
Line by Line Meaning
Sonny went and flipped away and said he had to go
Sonny left abruptly and said he had to go.
How could you ever say he never stayed alone
It is impossible to say that Sonny never spent time alone.
And how could I belong with anyone you know
I don't feel like I fit in with anyone you know.
Come on every line's a line I'll never know
Every situation is unique and I will never fully understand all the details.
Sometimes I can get along alone enough
There are times when I am content being alone.
Backing everyone away and never have enough
I tend to push people away and it's never satisfying.
And how could I be playing every line for you
I feel like I am constantly trying to please you.
Look at the things today that I can never choose
There are things happening in my life right now that I have no control over.
Sometimes I could never ever ever fade again
At times, I feel like I can't handle fading away again.
And how could I be playing every line for you
Once again, I feel like I am trying too hard to please you.
Look at the things today that I never choose
I am faced with situations today that I never wanted or intended to happen.
Oh, it's a beautiful thing
Life can be beautiful.
Oh, it's a terrible thing
Life can also be terrible.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAMON MINCHELLA, OSCAR LLOYD HARRISON, SIMON FOWLER, STEPHEN CRADOCK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joe Temple
Sonny went and flipped away
And said he had to go
How could you ever say
He never stayed alone
And how could I belong
With anyone you know
Come on every lines
A line I’ll never know
Oooh its a beautiful thing
Oooh its a terrible thing
Sometimes I can get along alone enough
Backing everyone away and never have enough
And how could I be playing every line for you
Look at the things today that I can never choose
Oooh its a beautiful thing
Oooh its a terrible thing
Sometimes I could never ever ever fade again
Sometimes I could never ever ever fade again
Sometimes I could never ever ever fade again
And how could I be playing every line for you
Look at the things today that I can never choose
Oooh its a beautiful thing
Oooh its a terrible thing
Nunzio Lagana'
I don't care what anybody thinks, this is the most underrate band of the 90's
BilisNegra
"The most underrated (whatever)" makes it not possible to take comments seriously, kid.
Riley James music
Defo
Michael McCulloch
For me it's Oasis, then OCS ✌🏻✌🏻 best bands of the 90s.
Although the 90s was just the best decade for bands and music in general.
Muppetmitts
They were never underrated. Always brilliant.
Lesley Bignell
I so agree x
Tom Hooker
had this song at my dads funeral, such a beautiful song, he use to play this when he was stoned with his best mate, just sitting there loving life, thankyou so much for your music, will have to come watch you live when covid goes away, thankyou
Ryan Lafferty
RIP to your dad, he had taste x
James Brown
RIP to you're old man I know he was the salt of the earth x
katym0172
No words to describe how much I love this duet ❤️ 2 of the finest voices together and so much emotion I could never get tired of it 🥰