Originally from Nottingham in the UK, this band of virtuoso musicians under the leadership of Alvin Lee conquered the UK scene and then spread their wings to the USA. Their blend of jazz, blues and rock was initially slightly awkward but their first album provided an opening for them. In October, their 1967 self-titled debut album was released.
In 1968, after touring Scandinavia and the United States, Ten Years After released their second album, live Undead, which brought their first classic, "I'm Going Home." This was followed in February 1969 by studio issue, Stonedhenge, a British hit, that included another classic, "Hear Me Calling" (it was released also as a single, and covered in 1972 by British glam rock rising stars, Slade). In July 1969 they appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival, in the first event to which rock bands were invited. In August, the band performed a breakthrough American appearance at Woodstock; their furious-to-soft-to-furious rendition of "I'm Going Home" featuring Alvin Lee as the lead singer was featured in both the subsequent film and soundtrack album and catapulted them to star status.
During 1970, Ten Years After released "Love Like a Man", their only hit in the UK Singles Chart. This song was on their fifth album, Cricklewood Green. The name of the album comes from a friend of the group who lived in Cricklewood, London. He grew a sort of plant which was said to have hallucinogenic effects. The band did not know the name of this plant, so they called their album Cricklewood Green. It was the first record to be issued with a different playing speed on each side – one a three-minute edit at 45rpm, the other, a nine-minute live version at 33rpm. In August, Ten Years After played the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 to an audience of 600,000.
In 1971, the band released the album A Space in Time which marked a move toward more commercial material. It featured their biggest hit, "I'd Love To Change The World". But a few albums later, the band broke up after the 1974 album Positive Vibrations. They re-united in 1983 to play the Reading Festival and this performance was later released on CD as The Friday Rock Show Sessions - Live At Reading '83. In 1988, they re-united for a few concerts and recorded the album About Time (1989). Finally, in 1994, they participated in the Eurowoodstock festival in Budapest.
Alvin Lee has since then mostly played and recorded under his own name. In 2003, the other band members replaced him with Joe Gooch and recorded the album Now. Material from the following tour was used for the 2005 double album Roadworks.
Lee died on March 6, 2013. According to his website, he died from "unforeseen complications following a routine surgical procedure."[2][3][4] He was 68. His former bandmates lamented his death, Leo Lyons called him "the closest thing I had to a brother", while Ric Lee (no relation) said "I don't think its even sunk in yet as to the reality of his passing." Billboard Magazine wrote of his passing, highlighting such landmark performances as "I'm Going Home" from the Woodstock festival and his 1974 hit single "I'd Love to Change the World."[5]
Band members:
Alvin Lee – guitar, vocals
Leo Lyons – bass
Chick Churchill – keyboards
Ric Lee – drums
Joe Gooch – guitar, vocals (joined in 2003)
You can also see Alvin Lee and / or Alvin Lee & Ten Years After and / or Alvin Lee & Co and / or The Alvin Lee Band on Last.fm.
Bad Scene
Ten Years After Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You ruin my night
You ruin everything I do
You're killing in my way
You're killing in my life
You're killing in everything I do
You're hurting my heart
You're hurting everything I own
You're choking my head
It's choking inside
Why don't you leave my life alone
I just want to do it like it used to be
So, why don't you leave it up to me
I want to tell you if you think it's right
Baby, won't you do it right?
Ten Years After's song "Bad Scene" displays the emotions an individual goes through when their life is dominated by a toxic relationship. The first verse of the song starts with the lyrics "You ruin my day, You ruin my night, You ruin everything I do," The repetition of the word "ruin" showcases how the artist feels. The negativity in their life is not only limited to certain areas but dominates all facets of their life. The second verse continues to express how the relationship is affecting the artist's life. The words "You're hurting my heart, You're hurting my pride, You're hurting everything I own," demonstrate the damage caused internally and externally. The following lines, "You're choking my head, It's choking inside," reveals the psychological impact of the relationship. The chorus denotes the desire of the individual to return to a time in their life without any complications, "I just want to do it like it used to be, So, why don't you leave it up to me."
The song conveys the message that the person who is being hurt has had enough and wants to take control of their life again. The lyrics "I want to tell you if you think it's right, Baby, won't you do it right?" is their way of telling the other person to either treat them better or leave. The artist portrays a sense of anger, frustration and disappointment towards the other person throughout the song. The lyrics demonstrate how negatively the relationship is affecting them, and that they cannot take it anymore.
Line by Line Meaning
You ruin my day
Your actions are so negative that they ruin my entire day
You ruin my night
Your actions have such a negative impact that they even ruin my night
You ruin everything I do
Regardless of what I'm doing, your actions end up ruining it
You're killing in my way
Your actions are putting up obstacles or killing off opportunities for me
You're killing in my life
Your actions are negatively impacting my life as a whole
You're killing in everything I do
Everything I do, no matter how small, is being negatively affected by your actions
You're hurting my heart
Your actions are causing me emotional pain or heartache
You're hurting my pride
Your actions are causing me to feel embarrassed or ashamed
You're hurting everything I own
Your actions are causing damage to my possessions or things that I own
You're choking my head
Your actions are causing me to feel overwhelmed or unable to think clearly
It's choking inside
I feel suffocated or trapped by your actions or behavior
Why don't you leave my life alone
I want you to stop interfering with my life and causing problems
I just want to do it like it used to be
I wish things were like they used to be before your negative influence
So, why don't you leave it up to me
I want to make my own decisions and choices without your interference
I want to tell you if you think it's right
I want to have the ability to communicate my thoughts and feelings without judgement
Baby, won't you do it right?
I'm asking you to change your behavior and start doing things better or differently
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ALVIN LEE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind