1. A pseudonym of B… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least eight artists that use this name:
1. A pseudonym of British rock singer/guitarist Deborah Anne Dyer, lead singer of Skunk Anansie.
2. A Swans side project, of Michael Gira and Jarboe.
3. A British hard rock band.
4. A Japanese rock super-group (aka S.K.I.N.).
5. An Australian four piece percussion group.
6. A Richmond, VA, USA noise rock band.
7. A Venezuelan alternative indie rock girl band.
8. A german post-punk band from Flensburg.
1) A pseudonym of British rock singer / guitarist Deborah Anne Dyer (b. 3rd Aug 1967, Brixton, London, England), lead vocalist with Skunk Anansie. Under this name, she débuted solo with the single "Trashed" (June 2003, EMI) and the latest is "Tear Down These Houses" (Dec 2007, Sony BMG Music Entertainment).
After Skunk Anansie split, Skin released her debut solo album "Fleshwounds". The album was toned down from her Skunk Anansie days and seemingly Skunk Anansie fans never took to it. After releasing "Fleshwounds", Skin went on to perform various solo gigs around Europe. She was also support for the European leg of Robbie Williams' and Placebo's world tours. After touring, she began to record her second album, "Fake Chemical State", which was released in March 2006, preceded by a new single 'Just Let the Sun' on 6th March 2006. The first single from this album was "Alone in My Room", a download only track released on 7th November 2005. "Alone in My Room" was also the name given to Skin's first UK solo tour in two years, which started in Berlin on 4th November, 2005.
Her second album, Fake Chemical State, was released on 20th March 2006. She is currently working on her third, as well as touring with the reformed Skunk Anansie.
Site: SkinMusic.net (official)
2) A Swans side project, of Michael Gira and Jarboe. The first album: Blood, Women, Roses was released in 1987 and had Jarboe singing lead vocals with Gira doing occational backing vocals. This LP had cover versions of Cry Me a River and The Man I Love along with original material from the artists themselves. Later came 2 12"s: Girl: come out and One Thousand Years and in 1988 the 2nd LP Shame, Humility, Revenge was released, on which Gira provided lead vocals, with Jarboe doing backing vocals on several tracks. In 1990 they changed name to 'The World of Skin', and released 'Ten Songs For Another World' LP, in which both Gira and Jarboe provided lead vocals. There's no significant difference between Skin and Swans, the music is the same in many senses. It could be said that the change to Skin marked a slight change in style of the music in that it became slower and more emotional.
3) A British hard rock band, fronted by Neville MacDonald with Myke Gray on guitars, Dicki Fliszar on drums and Andy Robbins on bass.
Members: Neville McDonald (vocals), Myke Gray (guitar), Andy Robbins (bass), Dicki Fliszar (drums), and Colin McLeod (keyboards - 1994 to 96).
Skin were formed in the early 1990s by ex-Jagged Edge members Myke Grey and Andy Robbins (also formerly of Tokyo Blade & Shogun) along with former Kooga vocalist Neville MacDonald and drummer Dicki Fliszar, formerly from Bruce Dickinson's touring band and band Vamp. Originally called Taste, they went through a number of names as they played a smattering of small club dates throughout 1992. The band showed enough quality on these dates to be offered a management deal with Sanctuary Management, who also handled Iron Maiden and, ultimately, a record deal with Parlophone. Through Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, the band came to the attention of noted American producer Keith Olsen who offered to produce their debut at his 'Goodnight LA' Studio. During 1993, the band flew to LA and began recording. Once the sessions were finished, the band listened to the finished product and decided more was needed so another three songs were recorded with Shay Baby producing.
Prior to the release of the album, the band finally decided upon the name Skin (someone had written it down on a wall) and embarked upon a fourteen-date UK tour supporting Little Angels. Another support tour, this time with Thunder helped swell their growing fan base and, in 1993, they released their debut single The Skin Up EP. This was followed by House of Love before their first UK chart single "Money".
1995 saw Skin consolidating their fan base by recording and releasing Live at the Borderline. A very limited edition CD of classic rock cover versions given away free with Kerrang! magazine, only 50 were available and it has become one of the most prized collectors items among Skin fans although a Japanese import version was released shortly after. In order to capitalise upon their appearance at Gateshead Stadium supporting Bon Jovi, the band also recorded and released Take Me Down to the River as a double CD along with some of the Borderline cuts.
The Bon Jovi appearance marked a high and low point in the career of Skin. A gig that would potentially give excellent exposure was marred by a fault with the band equipment as a voltage converter was incorrectly installed to USA settings by a stage tech which resulted in blowing Myke's guitar amp and Colin's hammond organ.
1996 marked the first time that touring keyboard player Colin McLeod was featured in promotional artwork as well as the music video for single "Perfect Day". Despite this, Colin was a part time member as he wanted maintain a funk orientated direction he was continuing at the same time.
Neither the second album, "Lucky" or the two singles, the first being "How Lucky You Are" and "Perfect Day" achieved the chart success of the debut album. The progression of British chart music at this time, along with the lack of backing for rock music in the mainstream media, led to the band being dropped by Parlophone.
Despite this, Skin still held a Japanese record contract and the third album "Big Fat Slice of Life" was finished and released in 1997. Awaiting a UK release, the band released a self-financed two track CD single "Degeneration" that was distributed through the fan club. Later that same year they released their fourth, and final, studio album Experience Electric on Snapper Music. "Experience..." marked a revised version of the Japanese release with several tracks being reworked. "Ride The Blue Wave" evolved into the title track from the album, but "Big Fat Slice..." and "Degeneration" were omitted due to the fan club release. The album went on to top the indie charts at number 1.
During this period, Skin toured relentlessly. The albums was shopped to several American record companies, and met with mogul Jonathan King. Following the culmination of the tour to promote the album, skin announced they would be emabarking on their farewell tour in 1998.
The final Skin concert at the LA2 in London, was recorded and released as a double live album Hasta La Vista, Baby! on Reef Records (a subset of Snapper Music). Since the band's demise, a number of un-official releases have been issued featuring rare and unreleased tracks. These tracks combined of what would be the fifth UK album, and a large collection of demos that didn't make it on the debut.
In March 2009 it was announced that Skin would reform to play the Download 2009 Festival.
Site: SkinFreak.co.UK (official)
4) A Japanese rock super-group (aka S.K.I.N.), with: former X JAPAN drummer [atist]Yoshik, former Malice Mizer vocalist Gackt, former Luna Sea guitarist Sugizo, and former Dué Le Quartz guitarist -miyavi-.
5) An Australian four-piece percussion group, reflecting their country's multicultural society. They take musical influences from Polynesia, Africa, Asia, and more, and create unique rhythms by experimenting with number patterns to make up rhythmic phrases. Some band members also play in Blue King Brown.
6) A Richmond, Virginia, USA noise-rock band (aka The Skin), with a self titled CD out on CNP Records. The band is Alex Tomlin (La Mere Vipere, Battlemaster, Partyman), Derek Tomlin (La Mere Vipere), and Chris Conrad (The Amoeba Men, Seven Hearts) and each song on the CD has lead vocals with different guests including Danny Trice (La Mere Vipere, Leper Colony), Jason Hodges (The Amoeba Men, Suppression, Bermuda Triangles), John Chambers (Hallelujah!), and Andy Horn (Battlemaster, Cannabis Corpse).
8) A post-punk group formed in the spring of 2015 in Flensburg, Germany. The quintet includes Leon Kraack (vocals, guitar), Lasse Jürgensen (vocals, guitar), Max Schumacher (bass), Meret Krasa (cello, synths) and Lennart Krasa (drums) who replaces the founding member Lennart Autzen. 2018 they published the EP 'Shave My Eyelashes' and 2022 their debut album 'Entertainment' at the german label Wimbleheim.
Fooling Yourself
Skin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Funny when you're looking back
You see all the signs were there
(You) just didn't know
Sooner or later then
Probably when the rain comes in
Your gonna ask your self
Bridge 1
I find it hard to leave
Never wanted to deceive you
But the truth is
Don't wanna do this
Chorus
(I can) pull the wool over your eyes
(I can) laugh it off and tell you I'm fine
(But) something inside me ain't right
(And I'm) fooling myself all the time
(It) shouldn't really be so hard
Everything ain't meant to be
So difficult and
Smothered in stress
Maybe in time you'll see
We will never get to breathe
Pure happiness
Inside of this mess
Bridge 2
i find it hard to go
Never wanted you to know
But the truth is
Don't wanna do this
I will understand
If you get angry
But it all just faded away
And there's no reason left for me to stay
In Skin's song Fooling Yourself, the lyrics are about the realization that the signs were there all along, but the singer chose to ignore them. They are now left questioning where the time went and what could have been if they had listened to their instincts. The first verse talks about how the cracks were present but not noticed until it was too late. Looking back, the singer sees all the signs that they missed, but at the time they just didn't know better. Later in the song, the singer anticipates that they will eventually question themselves about where the time went, and why they didn't act on the signs that were in front of them.
The bridge and chorus express a confusion the singer feels - they do not want to deceive the other person, but at the same time, they are "fooling themselves all the time." The singer can pull the wool over the other person's eyes, telling them that everything is fine, but they know better, and they can't stop feeling like they are pretending everything is okay. They are trapped in a cycle of fooling themselves, and they can't seem to come to terms with the emotions that they are feeling.
In the final verse, the singer suggests that life doesn't have to be so difficult and stressful. But, no matter how hard they try, they can't seem to find pure happiness within their current situation. The second bridge reflects once again how the singer is torn between wanting to be honest about their feelings and wanting to keep everything as it is. The song ends on a note of acceptance. The singer realizes that the relationship has run its course, and they must leave.
Line by Line Meaning
(You) never saw the cracks
You were oblivious to the warning signs and underlying problems that were present in our relationship.
Funny when you're looking back
Upon reflection, the situation is ironic and unexpected.
You see all the signs were there
Hindsight has made it clear that there were clear indications of our relationship's unhealthy nature.
(You) just didn't know
You were unaware at the time, but now that it has ended, the truth is exposed.
Sooner or later then
At some point in the future, inevitably.
Probably when the rain comes in
Presumably during a difficult time or period of change.
Your gonna ask your self
You will question and reflect upon your choices and actions.
Where the time goes
Wondering how you ended up where you are now, without realizing how quickly time has passed.
I find it hard to leave
Breaking up with you is difficult for me, and I struggle with the decision.
Never wanted to deceive you
I never intended to lie to or mislead you, but it seems that I have.
But the truth is
Despite my reluctance to hurt you, I must be honest.
Don't wanna do this
I do not want to be in a relationship with you anymore.
(I can) pull the wool over your eyes
I can deceive you and make it seem like everything is okay, even when it is not.
(I can) laugh it off and tell you I'm fine
I can pretend to be happy and make light of the situation, despite feeling the opposite.
(But) something inside me ain't right
I have an underlying feeling that everything is not okay, despite my attempts to convince myself otherwise.
(And I'm) fooling myself all the time
I am constantly lying to myself about my true feelings and the health of our relationship.
(It) shouldn't really be so hard
In a healthy relationship, things should not feel so difficult and strained.
Everything ain't meant to be
Not all relationships are meant to last, despite how much we may want them to.
So difficult and
Our relationship has been challenging and demanding for both of us.
Smothered in stress
We were both overwhelmed by the stress and pressure of our relationship.
Maybe in time you'll see
Perhaps with time and distance, you will come to understand the situation more fully.
We will never get to breathe
Our relationship was suffocating and did not allow for breathing room or space to grow.
Pure happiness
A state of genuine joy and contentment, which we failed to achieve in our relationship.
Inside of this mess
Despite the chaos and disorder of our relationship, happiness was still a possibility.
I will understand
I recognize that you may be upset or angry with me.
If you get angry
Your anger is a natural and valid response to the situation.
But it all just faded away
Our relationship lost its spark and attraction, causing it to die out.
And there's no reason left for me to stay
At this point, there is no compelling reason for me to remain in the relationship.
Contributed by Mason F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.