Singer/ guitarist Boyer and bassist Resende formed the pop combo as students at the University of Rouen, sharing an affinity for indie music, new wave and sixties pop. Taking their name from a souvenir t-shirt given to Boyer's father in 1980, the duo recruited guitarist Mederic Gontier, and with the addition of drummer Sylvain Marchand a year later, the lineup was complete. The foursome released a self-produced and self-financed EP, "20 Minutes" (Bobby Records 1996) which resulted in them signing a deal with French label Atmospheriques.
In 1998, the band flew to NYC to record their first album “Puzzle” with Andy Chase. Featuring contributions from Eric Matthews and Adam Schlesinger, "Puzzle" was mixed in Sweden with Tore Johansson. The record, released between the end of 1999 & early 2000 received much praise from the press (band of the week in Melody Maker in Spring 1999), and saw the band touring the world to promote it. “Puzzle” eventually went gold in Japan. Of all the singles taken from the album, "Heartbeat" was the most successful. Tahiti 80's US label, Minty Fresh, released a mini LP called "Extra Pieces", which included B-sides, remixes & other rarities.
In 2001, the band re-united with Andy Chase to record a more experimental follow up album: “Wallpaper For The Soul”. The sessions took place in Rouen, NYC, Etretat, London & Portland (Oregon). Collaborators on this effort include mixer Tony Lash and Let It Be arranger Richard Hewson. “Wallpaper For The Soul” was released in 2002, garnered good reviews (it was selected as one of Uncut’s top 10 albums of the year) and was followed by another mini album "A piece of Sunshine" made up of out-takes from the prolific album sessions.
Following that, Xavier Boyer selected songs for a compilation called "A Piece of Gold” on behalf of the band. Featuring various artists such as Todd Rundgren, The Small Faces, Donald Byrd....) it was only released in Japan for copywrite reasons.
For their third album, from 2003 – 2004, Tahiti 80 spent several months at their own recording studio, the Tahitilab. The way of working was different this time: as opposed to "Puzzle" & "WFTS", the songs were mostly improvised and written in the studio. The soul journey which began on songs like "Heartbeat" and "1,000 Times" matured on "Fosbury". They collaborated with Neal Pogue (co-production & mix) and Serban Ghenea (mix), respectively Outkast’s and NERD’s sound engineers, with British singer Linda Lewis duetting on "Your Love Shines". And "Better Days Will Come" was featured in the first episode of the fourth season of Smallville (an American television series) in September, 2004.
Between tours, Boyer & Resende produced a couple of albums by friends (Fugu, Calc) whilst Xavier Boyer - under the anagram pseudonym Axe Riverboy - recorded the somewhat folk-influenced solo album "Tutu To Tango".
In 2007, the band transferred to Universal's Barclay label and in 2008, they went back to the Tahitilab to record "Activity Center". It was described by the critics as a back to basics album, with a rawer sound and a rock production style. Sylvain Marchand wasn't involved as a drummer as ear problems which had plagued him for years, prevented him from recording his drum parts. Drums were subsequently played by Julien Barbagallo with percussion by Raphael Leger (respectively Tahiti 80's live keyboardist/percussionist and drummer). To promote the album, the band explored new territories (Taiwan, South America) and they even licensed the album for release in the US on their own imprint "Human Sounds" (a reference to "Pet Sounds" by The Beach Boys).
In 2010, Tahiti 80 will record their 5th album for release on their own label.
Fire Escape
Tahiti 80 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't let memories curl me up again
What happened to the old you?
You took out the fire escape
Dressed up in a superhero cape
How come you didn't take me with you?
I know you need some time
And people will wonder why we're together
And people will wonder why we still came together
And the movie is still the same
Except for one missing frame
I believe it when I awake with you
It's hard to keep the pace
I painted your colors all over my face
Do you think I am queasy too?
I wanna stay by your side
You will love me sometimes
And people will wonder why we're together
And people will wonder why we still came together
And people will wonder why we're still together
And people will wonder why we stay together
The song "Fire Escape" by Tahiti 80 is about a person who is tired of playing games and being hurt in a relationship. The first verse talks about how the singer is through with their partner's "wicked games" and doesn't want to be hurt again. They question what happened to their partner and how they changed. The second verse describes how the partner took out the fire escape and dressed up as a superhero, but didn't take the singer with them. The singer pleads with their partner to stay by their side, knowing that they need some time to figure things out.
The chorus describes how people will wonder why they are still together even though things are not perfect. The missing frame in the movie symbolizes how something is not quite right in their relationship, but the singer believes that when they wake up together everything will be okay. The bridge speaks of the difficulties in their relationship and how the singer has "painted [their partner's] colors all over [their] face," meaning that they have invested a lot in the relationship, but they are unsure if their partner feels the same. The final chorus repeats how people will wonder why they are still together, but the singer emphasizes the fact that they will stay together despite everything.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm through with your wicked games
I have had enough of your deceitful behavior
Don't let memories curl me up again
Don't make me reminisce and get emotional again
What happened to the old you?
What happened to the person you used to be?
You took out the fire escape
You left quickly without warning
Dressed up in a superhero cape
Acting like you were invincible and could do no wrong
How come you didn't take me with you?
Why didn't you take me along with you?
Please stay by my side
Please don't leave me alone
I know you need some time
I understand that you need some space
And people will wonder why we're together
Others may question why we are still in a relationship
And people will wonder why we still came together
Others may question why we reunited after a break-up
And the movie is still the same
Our relationship seems to be stuck in a rut
Except for one missing frame
Except for one crucial piece that is missing
I believe it when I awake with you
I feel like our love is real when I wake up next to you
It's hard to keep the pace
It's difficult to maintain the speed and intensity of our relationship
I painted your colors all over my face
I allowed your emotions and personality to influence me greatly
Do you think I am queasy too?
Do you think I feel uneasy about our relationship as well?
I wanna stay by your side
I want to be with you and support you
You will love me sometimes
I hope you will show me moments of love and affection
And people will wonder why we're still together
Others may question why we are still continuing our relationship
And people will wonder why we stay together
Others may question why we are committed to each other
Contributed by Joshua H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.