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)
STEP BY STEP
Ocean Colour Scene Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Little by little, that's all
And a though it may be a long time
If you and I'm strong, that's all
Winter froze us like a blue Monday
So you and I we battened our defenses overnight
Come the spring and I'll be on the road then
You and I should sail out on the water
And you and I should do just what we ought to
Some time soon
Come the autumn we'll be getting home by
The light is thin that I'll be holding you by
Not too soon
Winter chills us like a bloody Sunday
But you and I have loosened our defenses overnight
Come the spring and I'll be don't know where then
But I know that you'll have had a load of feeling all right
The opening line of Ocean Colour Scene's song "Step By Step" seems self-explanatory enough - the duo wants to achieve whatever it is they have in mind "step by step". However, it's not just about any kind of progress or pursuit. The lyrics are pointing towards the idea of doing something with someone special, and how they will manage to handle obstacles along the road together. The phrase "little by little" hints that everything doesn't have to happen quickly - they are willing to take their time and work towards the goal at their own pace. The lyrics also talk about the changing of seasons and how it seems to affect them. The winter and autumn periods seem cold, melancholic, and oppressive. However, the spring period seems to represent hope and the possibility of new beginnings.
The second verse then describes how the winter affected their relationship, and how they had to protect themselves emotionally. However, come spring, they have to come out of their hiding and let their guards down. They are embarking on a journey, and they hope that they will both be alright. In the third verse, they seem to have found their footing and are ready to sail out on the water, and do what they ought to together. And although it will take some time, they know they will make it, and they will be home soon.
Line by Line Meaning
We're gonna take it step by step
We'll go through it gradually and be patient about it
Little by little, that's all
We'll make small, incremental changes that will add up over time
And a though it may be a long time
It might take some time to reach our goals
If you and I'm strong, that's all
We can do it if we stay strong and support each other
Winter froze us like a blue Monday
The difficulties we faced felt like a cold, gloomy day
So you and I we battened our defenses overnight
We prepared ourselves to face the challenges we knew were coming
Come the spring and I'll be on the road then
When things get better, I'll be moving forward towards our goal
I just hope that you'll have got a hold on feeling all right
I hope that you'll be feeling better and ready to move forward too
You and I should sail out on the water
We should take some time to enjoy life and have fun together
And you and I should do just what we ought to
We should do what is right and necessary to reach our goals
Some time soon
In the near future
Come the autumn we'll be getting home by
When things start to wind down, we'll be heading back home
The light is thin that I'll be holding you by
Our time together may be running out, but I'll make the most of it while I can
Not too soon
Not before we're both ready
Winter chills us like a bloody Sunday
The hardships we face are painful and difficult to bear
But you and I have loosened our defenses overnight
We've learned to adapt and cope with the challenges that confront us
Come the spring and I'll be don't know where then
I'm not sure where life will take me, but I'm ready to find out
But I know that you'll have had a load of feeling all right
I'm confident that you'll be doing well and feeling good about our progress
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAMON MINCHELLA, OSCAR LLOYD HARRISON, SIMON FOWLER, STEPHEN CRADOCK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind