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.
III Wishes
Terrorvision Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Panorama, men at work, oh man alive,
If I had five wishes I'd wish for six,
I'd have a Midas touch and not a nervous twitch,
If I had six wishes I'd wish for seven,
No I'll go the whole hog give me a hundred and eleven wishes,
What are they all for,
So I can have everything I've ever wished for and more,
If I had three wishes I'd wish for five,
Then I could breath under water and I'd still be alive,
I'd be as strong as ten tigers and fly through sky,
Or be completely invisible yet still pleasing to the eye,
Oh just nine wishes, no make it ten,
So I can travel through time and start all over again.
So I can travel through time and start all over again.
[Refrain:]
If I had three wishes I'd wish for five,
Peace on earth, ban the bomb, get along and survive,
If I had five wishes I'd wish for six,
I'd have a flat in the city and a house in the sticks,
If I had six wishes I'd wish for seven,
Just decide what you want and then make it happen.
Just decide what you want and then make it happen.
[Refrain:]
Wish me luck, wish me well,
Wish me all the best and the rest to hell,
Wish happy birthday, wish good new year,
It's a wish wash there I bet you was here,
It's a wish wash there I bet you were here,
[Refrain:]
If I had three wishes,
I'd have a hundred and eleven wishes.
[repeat to end]
The lyrics to Terrorvision's song "III Wishes" describe a hypothetical situation in which the singer is granted multiple wishes that will help fulfil their desires. The song is humorous in tone and the lyrics move from wishes that seem achievable to ones that are whimsical and fantastical. The singer's ultimate goal is to have everything they've ever wanted and more.
The first verse begins with the singer wishing for more than what they're asking for, highlighting their desire to have everything they could possibly want. They then mention "Panorama" and "men at work" which could suggest their desire for knowledge and career success respectively. The next set of wishes continue in a similar vein, with the singer wishing for even more extravagance such as a Midas touch and invincibility. The final wish is for a hundred and eleven wishes so that they can have everything they could possibly desire.
The refrain of the song is a recurring wish for peace on earth, with references to banning the bomb and survival. This serves as a reminder that amidst all the frivolous wishes, the singer recognizes the importance of global harmony.
Overall, "III Wishes" is a fun and light-hearted song that expresses the yearning for abundance and a life without limitations.
Line by Line Meaning
If I had three wishes, I'd wish for five,
If given limited options, I would still go beyond and ask for more.
Panorama, men at work, oh man alive,
I wish for excitement and adventures in life.
If I had five wishes I'd wish for six,
I always want more than what's available to me.
I'd have a Midas touch and not a nervous twitch,
I would rather be successful than anxious.
If I had six wishes, I'd wish for seven,
I would keep striving for more and more.
No I'll go the whole hog give me a hundred and eleven wishes,
I want to have everything I desire and then some more.
What are they all for,
The reason behind my wishes is to have everything I've always wanted.
So I can have everything I've ever wished for and more,
I want to have a fulfilling life with everything I've ever wanted and beyond.
Then I could breath under water and I'd still be alive,
I wish to be able to live in an environment in which humans cannot.
I'd be as strong as ten tigers and fly through sky,
I want to possess extraordinary abilities.
Or be completely invisible yet still pleasing to the eye,
I want to be undetectable, but still attractive.
Oh just nine wishes, no make it ten,
My desires are never limited to what's given, I always want more.
So I can travel through time and start all over again.
I want to rewind and repair my past mistakes.
Peace on earth, ban the bomb, get along and survive,
I wish for a peaceful world without wars and weapons.
I'd have a flat in the city and a house in the sticks,
I want to have different living styles in both urban and rural areas.
Just decide what you want and then make it happen.
To achieve what I want, I must make a decision and work for it.
Wish me luck, wish me well,
I want people to support me and wish me the best.
Wish me all the best and the rest to hell,
I only want positive wishes for my future.
Wish happy birthday, wish good new year,
I wish to celebrate happy occasions with my loved ones.
It's a wish wash there I bet you was here,
I'm reminiscing about the happy moments I have shared with those who wished me well.
Contributed by Juliana A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.