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.
My House
Terrorvision Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I feel a surge of self pity,
In my house there's a place where I sit,
And watch the violence on the telly,
In my house there's a kitchen,
Where we eat, drink and cook,
And in my house there's an attic at the top,
where my sister and her boyfriend go.
My house, 'till your dad gets home,
My house, listen son there's a few rules you should know,
About living in My house, do as you're told,
My house, have you got that straight,
My house, if you wanna own it then you just better wait.
In My house, there's a bathroom,
It's a lovely shade of green,
In My house, there's a best room,
And mum keeps that real clean,
In My house, there's five bedrooms,
And there's only four of us,
In My house, there's an alley down the back,
And a hut that ain't up to much.
The song "My House" by Terrorvision details a description of a house and its elements from the perspective of its inhabitant. The house is portrayed as a haven and a source of comfort for the singer, where they can escape from the world and find solace in the different parts of their house. The first two lines of the lyrics indicate that the singer has a tendency to indulge in self-pity and sadness, but they have a safe haven in their house, which is where they can withdraw to regain their composure. The lines also suggest that while the persona is in the house, they can view a lot of violence on the television.
The subsequent lines of the song continue to illustrate the different elements of the house, including the kitchen, attic, stairs, and bathroom. There are also descriptions given of a few rooms within the house, such as the "best room," which the mother keeps clean. Overall, the song paints a compelling portrayal of a house that is also a haven for the singer amidst the boisterous and violent world outside. The chorus provides a caveat to any potential nosy or rebellious occupants: to "do as you're told" if you want to maintain a place within the household or own it.
Line by Line Meaning
In my house, there's a place I can hide,
I have a place of solace within my house, where I can conceal myself from the rest of the world and mourn for myself.
When I feel a surge of self pity,
I go to my hideaway when my emotions start overwhelming me with self-pity.
In my house there's a place where I sit,
I also have a comfortable corner in my house where I can sit and watch television.
And watch the violence on the telly,
I often view violence-infused content on television from that corner.
In my house there's a kitchen,
Another part of my house is the kitchen, where we prepare and consume food and drinks.
Where we eat, drink and cook,
The kitchen is our dining area as well as the place where we prepare food and beverages.
And in my house there's an attic at the top,
My house also has an attic situated upstairs.
where my sister and her boyfriend go.
My sister and her boyfriend are known to use the attic for their private time.
My house, get down the stairs,
I tell everyone to make their way down the stairs immediately.
My house, 'till your dad gets home,
I give this command for everyone to stay in the house till their dad arrives home.
My house, listen son there's a few rules you should know,
I have a set of rules that everyone should abide by while they are within my house.
About living in My house, do as you're told,
While you are living in my house, it is vital that you comply with the rules given to you.
My house, have you got that straight,
I make sure that everyone understands my rules for living in my house.
My house, if you wanna own it then you just better wait.
If you have intentions of becoming a homeowner of your own house, then you should wait for your time to come.
In My house, there's a bathroom,
There's a bathroom in my house with a beautiful green coloring.
It's a lovely shade of green,
The bathroom boasts a charming shade of green color.
In My house, there's a best room,
Another feature of my house is the impressive best room.
And mum keeps that real clean,
My mom always maintains the cleanliness of the best room.
In My house, there's five bedrooms,
My house is equipped with a total of five bedrooms.
And there's only four of us,
Surprisingly, we are just a family of four occupying the five bedrooms of our house.
In My house, there's an alley down the back,
There's an alley-way situated at the back of my house.
And a hut that ain't up to much.
The alleyway is adjoined by a run-down, unremarkable hut.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: PHIL KIERAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind