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.
Left To The Right
Terrorvision Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Up and down, side to side searching all over far and wide,
To the left to the right, round and round and out of sight,
Up and down, side to side searching all over far and wide,
I was sitting at the station waiting for my train to a new destination to relax the strain,
Call it a holiday, call it a break, it's just something to save me for saviors sake,
And I'm not looking for trouble, I'm not not looking for fame,
I'm not looking for anything, maybe a little bit of personal gain,
I don't claim to be original, originality's not my claim,
If someone does it better then do it like Curt Cobain,
As you are, come as you like from far around and out of sight,
Up and down, side to side searching all over far and wide,
I was renting this car, I was on my way, I was sitting at the junction at the end of the lane,
Taking a holiday, taking a break, it's just something for the good of me for goodness sake,
And I'm not looking for trouble, I'm not not looking for fame,
I'm not looking for anything maybe a little bit of personal gain,
I don't claim to be original, originality's not my claim,
If someone does it better then let's all do it again,
To the left to the right, round and round and out of sight,
Up and down, side to side searching all over far and wide,
I'm not looking for trouble, I'm not not looking for fame,
I'm not looking for anything maybe a little bit of personal gain,
I don't claim to be original, originality's not my claim,
If someone does it better then let's all do it again,
To the left to the right, To the left to the right, To the left to the right
I'm not looking for trouble, I'm not not looking for fame,
I'm not looking for anything maybe a little bit of personal gain,
I don't claim to be original, originality's not my claim,
If someone does it better then let's all do it again,
I'm not looking for trouble, I'm not not looking for fame,
I'm not looking for anything maybe a little bit of personal gain,
I don't claim to be original, originality's not my claim,
If someone does it better then let's all do it again,
To the left to the right,
The lyrics to Terrorvision's song "Left To The Right" can be interpreted as the singer's search for something new and exciting. The repeated lines "To the left to the right, round and round and out of sight, Up and down, side to side searching all over far and wide" suggest a desire to explore and move in different directions in order to find what he's looking for. The verses describe the singer's attempts to escape his everyday life and find some relief, whether it's through a holiday or just a brief respite. He acknowledges that he's not looking for trouble or fame, but admits that he wouldn't mind a little personal gain. The last lines of the song repeat the message that he's not looking for originality, but instead encourages others to try and do it better.
The repetition in the lyrics, especially the titular phrase "Left To The Right," creates a sense of restlessness and urgency - it's like the singer can't sit still and has to keep moving until he finds what he's looking for. This sense of movement and searching is reinforced by the metaphor of "searching all over far and wide." The singer seems to be saying that he's willing to travel wherever he needs to in order to find what he wants.
Overall, the lyrics to "Left To The Right" suggest a feeling of restlessness and a desire for something new and exciting. The repetition and metaphor help to create a sense of movement and urgency, which makes the song feel energetic and dynamic.
Line by Line Meaning
To the left to the right, round and round and out of sight,
Moving back and forth, around and around, disappearing out of sight,
Up and down, side to side searching all over far and wide,
Searching everywhere, from the heights to the depths, from one side to another,
I was sitting at the station waiting for my train to a new destination to relax the strain,
I was waiting for my train, to reach a new destination, to escape stress,
Call it a holiday, call it a break, it's just something to save me for saviors sake,
It's a vacation or a break, just something to get me out of trouble,
And I'm not looking for trouble, I'm not not looking for fame,
I'm not searching for drama or attention,
I'm not looking for anything, maybe a little bit of personal gain,
I'm not looking for anything specific, except maybe a little personal benefit,
I don't claim to be original, originality's not my claim,
I don't pretend to be unique, originality is not my strength,
If someone does it better then do it like Curt Cobain,
If someone does something better, do it that way, like Kurt Cobain did,
As you are, come as you like from far around and out of sight,
Come as you are, from far and wide and disappear out of sight,
I was renting this car, I was on my way, I was sitting at the junction at the end of the lane,
I rented a car, and was heading somewhere, waiting at the intersection at the end of the road,
Taking a holiday, taking a break, it's just something for the good of me for goodness sake,
I'm taking a vacation, a break, for my own well-being,
If someone does it better then let's all do it again,
If someone does something better, let's all do it that way,
To the left to the right, round and round and out of sight,
Moving back and forth, around and around, disappearing out of sight,
I'm not looking for trouble, I'm not not looking for fame,
I'm not searching for drama or attention,
To the left to the right, To the left to the right, To the left to the right
Moving back and forth, repeatedly,
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ANTHONY WRIGHT, IAN SHUTTLEWORTH, LEIGH MARKLEW, MARK YATES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind