By the time their third record, "Regular Urban Survivors" was released in 1996, Briptop was firmly established in the mainstream, but perhaps surprisingly Terrorvision thrived. Single "Perseverance" charted at number five (It's awesome "Whales and Dolphins" hook proving irresistable to daytime radio and indie dancefloors alike) and the album was a commercial and critical hit. In many ways a bigger, widescreen sequel to HTMFAIP (with a couple of songs suspiciously close to re-makes - Bad Actress = Middleman, Celebrity Hitlist = Discotheque Wreck...) the cover featured the band larking around as spoof filmstars and was ostensibly a soundtrack to a fictional film - an idea reflected in songs such as "Didn't Bleed Red" (sci-fi) and "Dog Chewed the Handle" (An implausible murder mystery) The band still got in a few digs in at the Briptop elite, with "Superchronic" taking a few swipes at Oasis.
The odd man out, though, of Terrorvision albums is without doubt 1998's "Shaving Peaches", a curiously restrained record which in hindsight sounds like an ill-founded attempt to gain a mainstream audience which in truth they probably already had. Basically, TV forgot how to rock. Despite the album selling poorly, it ironically spawned their biggest hit, "Tequila". Admittedly it was a Mint Royale remix of the track which reached number 2, but in truth it didn't differ that much from the original, adding only an irresistably immediate speed-mariachi tempo. The band took this in their stride - where other, cooler bands would have turned their nose up at such psuedo-success, Terrorvison cheekily just learned to play the remix live instead.
Dropped from major label EMI after "Shaving Peaches", Terrorvision finally returned in 2001 with the independently released "Good To Go". Probably knowing it would be their final record, it is very much a return to 'classic' Terrorvision and in many ways a return to form. Whilst the record lacks some of their prime period sparkle, the choruses are undeniably huge and the album brims with the band's trademark good time party vibes. "Friends And Family", in particular went down a storm at festivals, with its joyously profane "Party Over Here, Fuck You Over There!" refrain.
Terrorvision played their 'final' gig in October 2001, in their hometown of Bradford - a riotous celebration of all things TV which was eventually released as a double live album, "Take The Money And Run".
Since Terrorvision split there have been a number of side projects including Tony Wright's Laika Dog, Leigh Marklew's Malibu Stacey and Mark Yates's Blunderbuss and Boomville. Tony Wright has also released two solo albums and one country album with Ryan Hamilton, and tours with Milton "Milly" Evans performing acoustic versions of Terrorvision songs as well as his own material.
Ultimately Terrorvision were a wonderful oddity - despite coming from a undeniably Heavy Metal background, the band took the genre, (Which, lets not forget, was in terminal decline during the mid 90s) stripped away the po-faced seriousness, and fashioned a rock party band from the ashes. Often dismissed as a novelty act, TV in truth simply loved what they did, and never once considered being too cool to show it. Mark Yates's urgent, exciting guitars anchored the band musically, but it's Tony Wright's hyper-go-go vocals which truly make the band, delighting in rolling his Yorkshire vowels around wordplay which lyrically is sometimes closer to rap than rock. They never hid behind the too-common pretence of disliking success - Terrorvision celebrated every foray into the mainstream and were never afraid to show it. At the same time, they surely gave a generation of Britpop kids a taste what rock delights could await them - witness the bands cover versions of Iggy Pop's "The Passenger", Cheap Trick's "Surrender", Free's "Wishing Well" or perhaps most bizzarely, their lounge-blues version of Iron Maiden's "Take Your Daughter To the Slaughter". They even dabbled with Paul Oakenfold remixes and their very own handbag-house-rock foray, B-side "Too Stoned To Dance". All hail Terrorvision then, Bradford' finest (and most proud) musical export.
While they have never returned to music full-time, Terrorvision have reformed numerous times since their initial split. The first time was for a 'one week only' tour in 2005, for which a live album and DVD were recorded, followed by a performance at Scarborough Castle later that year.
In 2007, the band announced that they were reforming again for a small number of gigs, this time without bassist and founding member Leigh Marklew. Danny Lambert, member of Mark Yates' band Blunderbuss, stood in for Leigh. The following year Leigh returned to the band and the original lineup performed on several short tours and festival appearances over the next few years, including a tour celebrating the 15th anniversary of "How To Make Friends and Influence People", for which two live albums were made available - one recorded from the Manchester show, and one from the London show.
In 2010, drummer and founding member Ian "Shutty" Shuttleworth retired from the band and was replaced by Cameron Greenwood. Terrorvision announced that they were working on a new album, their first new music since 2001. The album, "Super Delux", was released in February 2011. The band continued to tour and make festival appearances, performing at Download Festival in 2012, their highest profile gig in some time.
The band went on hiatus from 2013-2016, returning for a one-off 'Alternative Valentines' show on the 14th of February. Later that year they embarked on a UK tour supporting Thunder, and announced a headline tour at the end of the year for the 20th anniversary of "Regular Urban Survivors". A live album was released, recorded at the Manchester Ritz, as well as a behind-the-scenes DVD film, "Wired Up and Scary".
Since 2016 the band have continued to perform on an annual basis, including a novel triple-headline tour in 2018 with Reef and The Wildhearts called "Britrock Must Be Destroyed", where the order of the bands would rotate from one gig to the next, and a 25th anniversary tour for "How To Make Friends and Influence People" in 2019.
Also in 2019, Terrorvision released their first new material since "Super Delux" eight years prior - the Christmas single "Our Christmas Song", as well as a pre-order exclusive download track "By My Side". The band have indicated their intention to release more new music during 2020, though whether this takes the form of an album, EP or individual tracks is currently unknown.
Can't Get You Out of My Mind
Terrorvision Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just lately she hates me,can't take no more,
And I cannot guarantee the things you say to me will make me run along,
I wanna tell you,how much I miss you,
I need to be you, I need to see you,
I got to tell you how much I need you,
'cause I can't get you out of my mind,
It's up to me she said,
Decisions mine and yet I don't know what to do I really don't know what to do,
She told me straight she said the plan was safety
Don't forget what to do now don't forget what to do,
I promised you security forever, every night and every day,
Because,
I wanna tell you,how much I miss you,
I need to be you, I need to see you,
I got to tell you how much I need you,
Cause I can't get you out of my mind,
Give me one more try,
My conscience plays tricks upon me,
I'm not guilty until proved,
But your refusal to get to know me leaves me so confused
I don't know what to do,
I wanna tell you,how much I miss you,
I need to be you, I need to see you,
I got to tell you how much I need you,
'cause I can't get you out of my mind,
Give me one more try,
I wanna tell you,how much I miss you,
I need to be you, I need to see you,
I got to tell you how much I need you,
Cause I can't get you out of my mind,
The lyrics to Terrorvision's "Can't Get Out of My Mind" express a complicated relationship that is reaching its breaking point. The singer admits that their partner is aware of the situation, and "just lately she hates me, can't take no more". Despite this, the singer also admits that they are unable to resist the lure of their partner and their need for them: "I wanna tell you, how much I miss you, I need to be you, I need to see you, I got to tell you how much I need you, 'cause I can't get you out of my mind".
The second verse depicts a conversation between the singer and their partner, where the partner reveals that the decision of what to do is up to the singer, but they themselves are advocating for a safe plan. The singer then pledges to offer their partner security "forever, every night and every day", suggesting that their desperation for their partner’s affection stems from a fear of losing them. The final verse returns to the idea of the singer's confusion, with their conscience doubting whether they are guilty or not, and the refusal of their partner to get to know them exacerbating their confusion.
Overall, "Can't Get Out of My Mind" tells the story of a relationship that is about to come apart at the seams, with both parties struggling to make sense of their own feelings and the behavior of the other person.
Line by Line Meaning
All right now,so she knows what going on,
I acknowledge that she understands the current state of our relationship.
Just lately she hates me,can't take no more,
Her recent behavior towards me suggests that she cannot tolerate our situation any longer.
And I cannot guarantee the things you say to me will make me run along,
I cannot guarantee that I will be swayed by any words you may try to use to dismiss or escape our issues.
I wanna tell you,how much I miss you,
I have a strong desire to express how much I long for your presence.
I need to be you, I need to see you,
I crave your companionship and require your physical presence to feel complete.
I got to tell you how much I need you,
It is imperative that I make you aware of how important you are to me.
'cause I can't get you out of my mind,
My mind is consumed by thoughts of you and I cannot escape them.
Give me one more,
I implore you to grant me another chance to make things right.
It's up to me she said,
She informed me that the decision is solely mine to make.
Decisions mine and yet I don't know what to do I really don't know what to do,
Even though I am responsible for deciding our fate, I am lost and uncertain as to what that should be.
She told me straight she said the plan was safety
She openly communicated to me that the goal was to ensure our security.
Don't forget what to do now don't forget what to do,
She reminded me not to overlook or neglect our plan for safety.
I promised you security forever, every night and every day,
I pledged to provide you with a lifetime of safety, every single day without exception.
My conscience plays tricks upon me,
I am plagued by moral uncertainties and inner conflicts.
I'm not guilty until proved,
I do not believe myself to be guilty of any wrongdoing until evidence proves otherwise.
But your refusal to get to know me leaves me so confused
Your indifference towards me and unwillingness to understand me leaves me befuddled and uncertain about your true feelings.
Give me one more try,
I am once again pleading for an opportunity to fix our relationship.
I wanna tell you,how much I miss you,
I still desperately crave your presence and want you to know how much I long for you.
I need to be you, I need to see you,
I need to be around you and see you to feel whole again.
I got to tell you how much I need you,
It is imperative that I once again express how much I require you in my life.
'cause I can't get you out of my mind,
My mind remains consumed by thoughts of you and I cannot escape them.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MELVIN GENTRY, BOAZ WATSON, RICHARDO BONNER, BOBBY LOVELACE, VALERIE DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind