Terrorvision were formed in Bradford, (or more accurately the small town of… Read Full Bio ↴Terrorvision were formed in Bradford, (or more accurately the small town of Keighley) West Yorkshire, England in 1987, originally with the moniker "The Spoilt Bratz". After a undeniably wise name change, the band released their first album "Formaldehyde" in 1992. Although showing their obvious Heavy Metal influences, there was a sense of humour and pop leaning which could not be hidden, particularly in their breakthrough single "My House". It was those pop quirks which informed their breakthrough second album "How To Make Friends And Influence People". A collection of exuberant pop-metal classics, it featured the single "Oblivion", which showed off TVs trademark mix of disenfranchised lyrics coupled with enormously catchy tunes, in this case with added "Doo-Wops", giving the band a genuine crossover hit. The singles from HTMFAIP all charted well, propelling the decidedly unfashionable Terrorvision firmly into the mainstream.

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.

Killing Time
Terrorvision Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Maybe someday soon,
I'll find out what it's all about,
And if you don't leave it too long,
Then maybe we'll be able to sort it out.
Give me five minutes more,
I'm not trying to turn you away,
Spend all my time asking you what's wrong,
But all you say is you can't explain.

I hope it'll all come through,
Then I can find it out for myself,
I wish it'd all come true,
And let it sort things out for itself.

Leave me to myself for a while,
It'll only hurt more now if you stay,
I don't know how to break the news,
But maybe we'll be better off this way.

I hope it'll all come through,
Then I can find it out for myself,

I wish it'd all come true,
And let it sort things out for itself.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Terrorvision's "Killing Time" present a bittersweet reflection on the complications of relationships and the process of self-discovery. The singer expresses a desire to understand the situation they find themselves in, suggesting that if they don't wait too long, they may be able to "sort it out." However, they are met with resistance from their partner who cannot explain what is wrong. Despite this, the singer remains determined to figure things out for themselves, hoping that they will eventually gain the clarity they seek.

Amidst this struggle for understanding, there is a sense of resignation and acceptance. The singer recognizes that it may be better to be alone for a while and that the situation may ultimately resolve itself without their intervention. The repeated refrain of "I hope it'll all come through, then I can find it out for myself, I wish it'd all come true, and let it sort things out for itself" highlights the underlying theme of letting go and allowing things to unfold naturally, even if it means giving up control over the situation.

Overall, "Killing Time" offers a poignant commentary on the complexities of relationships and encourages listeners to be patient and trust in the process of self-discovery and letting go.

Line by Line Meaning

Maybe someday soon,
At an undetermined point in the near future,

I'll find out what it's all about,
I will eventually understand the situation,

And if you don't leave it too long,
If enough time hasn't passed yet,

Then maybe we'll be able to sort it out.
We might be able to resolve things,

Give me five minutes more,
Can I have a little more time,

I'm not trying to turn you away,
I'm not trying to push you away,

Spend all my time asking you what's wrong,
I spend all my time inquiring about your issues,

But all you say is you can't explain.
But you can't elucidate your problems,

I hope it'll all come through,
I'm hopeful I'll get clarity on the matter,

Then I can find it out for myself,
So I can understand it personally,

I wish it'd all come true,
I yearn for everything to work out smoothly,