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)
Man in the Middle
Ocean Colour Scene Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All I do is wait so I feel sad
My mind slips away and I'm wondering how
It all came to this, can I go now
I'm the man in the middle
D'you know how that feels
And I don't really love you
I've been here before
I've been in the middle you see
I don't have to go, so I stay home
Wondering why I'm feeling so bad
Don't you think that you, you could be strong
'Cos I'm not something to share
And I'm on my own
(Oh yes I am)
I'm the man in the middle
D'you know how that feels
The one in the middle you know
And I don't really love you
I've been here before
I've been in the middle you see
The lyrics to Ocean Colour Scene's song "Man in the Middle" tell a story of feeling trapped and disconnected from a relationship. The singer is stuck in the middle of two people, struggling to figure out their role and their feelings for both. The lyrics suggest a deep sense of loneliness and desperation as the character tries to navigate their emotions.
The opening lines reveal that the singer has let go of themselves, leading them to feel bad. They are simply waiting and feeling sad, suggesting that they are stuck in a rut and unable to move forward in a meaningful way. Their mind is slipping away, and they are left wondering how they ended up in this situation. They ask if they can go now, indicating that they are unhappy and want to find a way out.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "I'm the man in the middle," underscoring the feeling of being stuck and trapped. The singer doesn't love the person they are with, but they have been in this position before. They are on their own, further emphasizing their isolation and loneliness. Overall, the lyrics suggest a deep sadness and frustration, as the singer feels trapped in a situation they don't want to be in.
Line by Line Meaning
I let go of myself so I feel bad
I have lost control of myself and now I feel terrible
All I do is wait so I feel sad
I spend all my time waiting, which makes me feel unhappy
My mind slips away and I'm wondering how
My thoughts drift away and I'm trying to figure out how I got here
It all came to this, can I go now
I've ended up in this position, can I leave now?
I'm the man in the middle
I'm stuck in the middle of a difficult situation
D'you know how that feels
Do you understand what it's like?
The one in the middle you know
I'm the person who is caught in the middle of everything going on
And I don't really love you
I don't have true feelings of love for you
I've been here before
I've been in this situation previously
I've been in the middle you see
I've been in a similar scenario before where I was the person in the middle
I don't have to go, so I stay home
I don't have anywhere to go, so I remain at home
Wondering why I'm feeling so bad
I'm questioning the reason behind my negative emotions
Don't you think that you, you could be strong
Do you think you could be strong enough to handle this situation?
'Cos I'm not something to share
Because I'm not someone to be shared between multiple people
And I'm on my own
I'm alone in this situation
(Oh yes I am)
(Yes, I truly am alone)
Contributed by Charlotte B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mark Smith
What a GREAT track!! Sublime guitar work from Steve!!
FOTHERS
when Dan sings with Simon they sound fantastic. not sure about the chorus. when they toured with merrymouth, it was the same: watch:. They create a setting where you could be sat amongst elves and fairy's, drinking nectar from a flower cup. Its like Jethro Tull meets the Jam. Simon has an old English folk singers voice. you could just see him as a court minstrel in tudor times. Beautiful song. great guitar work Steve OCS OCS OCS OCS OCS OCS OCS!
dennis o'cain
Luv!