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.
Swings And Roundabouts
Terrorvision Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I get the feeling the whole world's yawning but I don't want to sleep no more,
And you won't see me around the town because I spent last night on a roundabout,
I wander round at night,
It's easy to think in the bright moon light,
When you're comfy in the darkness looking up at the stars,
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
It's easy like a Monday morning if I've been out the week before,
I usually phone you by Tuesday evening with the faintest hope you'll let me know the score,
Cos I just want to come round your house because I spent last week on a roundabout,
You won't see me hanging around, I spent my life on a roundabout,
I wander round at night,
It's easy to think in the bright moon light,
When you're comfy in the darkness looking up at the stars,
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
I light a candle, watch it drip down to the floor,
If it takes an hour it takes a minute who's keeping score,
I try to tell myself I gotta stop messing with the things I should ignore,
But I'm here again and you're somewhere else and my company's getting bored.
I wander round at night,
It's easy to think in the bright moon light,
When you're comfy in the darkness looking up at the stars,
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
I wander round at night,
It's easy to think in the bright moon light,
When you're comfy in the darkness looking up at the stars,
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
The song Swings and Roundabouts by Terrorvision seems to describe someone who enjoys staying up all night instead of sleeping. The lyrics talk about how the singer enjoys being awake in the early hours of the morning, particularly on a Sunday after a night out. The key phrase "spending time on a roundabout" is repeated throughout the song, suggesting that the singer spends their nights wandering around aimlessly.
The second verse describes the singer's thoughts and musings as they wander at night. They express a sense of wonder and curiosity about the universe, particularly whether or not there is intelligent life on Mars. The lyrics also include a reference to lighting a candle and watching it drip down, which could symbolize a feeling of time slipping away or a sense of restlessness.
In the final verse, the singer seems to express frustration with their current state of being, recognizing that they are "messing with the things [they] should ignore." They also mention feeling bored in their own company and longing for connection with someone else.
Overall, the lyrics to Swings and Roundabouts seem to capture a sense of restlessness and curiosity, with a touch of melancholy.
Line by Line Meaning
I like it on a Sunday morning if I've been out the night before,
I enjoy waking up on Sunday mornings after having gone out the previous night.
I get the feeling the whole world's yawning but I don't want to sleep no more,
Even though it seems like everyone else is tired, I don't want to go to sleep.
And you won't see me around the town because I spent last night on a roundabout,
I spent the night driving around in circles on a roundabout.
I wander round at night,
I spend my nights walking around aimlessly.
It's easy to think in the bright moon light,
I find it easy to think and contemplate when the moon is bright and full.
When you're comfy in the darkness looking up at the stars,
The darkness and stars make me feel comfortable.
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
I wonder if there is life on the planet Mars.
It's easy like a Monday morning if I've been out the week before,
If I went out during the previous week, waking up on Monday morning is easier.
I usually phone you by Tuesday evening with the faintest hope you'll let me know the score,
I usually call you by Tuesday evening hoping that you'll let me know what's going on.
Cos I just want to come round your house because I spent last week on a roundabout,
I want to come to your house because I spent the last week driving around a roundabout.
You won't see me hanging around, I spent my life on a roundabout,
I spent so much time driving around the roundabout that I don't hang out anywhere else.
I light a candle, watch it drip down to the floor,
I light a candle and watch the wax drip onto the floor.
If it takes an hour it takes a minute who's keeping score,
I don't care how long it takes for the candle to burn out.
I try to tell myself I gotta stop messing with the things I should ignore,
I know I need to stop wasting my time with things that don't matter.
But I'm here again and you're somewhere else and my company's getting bored.
I'm bored because I don't have anyone to spend time with.
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
I wonder if there is life on the planet Mars.
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
I wonder if there is life on the planet Mars.
I wander round at night,
I spend my nights walking around aimlessly.
It's easy to think in the bright moon light,
I find it easy to think and contemplate when the moon is bright and full.
When you're comfy in the darkness looking up at the stars,
The darkness and stars make me feel comfortable.
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
I wonder if there is life on the planet Mars.
Wondering if there is really life on Mars,
I wonder if there is life on the planet Mars.
Contributed by Nora S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.