They soon changed their name to The Adicts and became known for their distinctive Clockwork Orange 'Droog' image, which, along with their urgent, uptempo music and light-hearted lyrics, helped set them very much apart from the rest of the genre. Temporary 1980s name changes to ADX and FUN ADICTS, for a children's TV appearance, also occurred.
Their song "Viva La Revolution" was featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground.
The band still has all its original members, uncommon for a band with such longevity.
The music of The Adicts proves that punk music is a very broad genre, often featuring extra instruments and sound clips such as carousel music (How Sad), violin played by Derick Cook (Joker in the Pack), gongs and keyboard percussion by Anthony Boyd (Chinese Takeaway), and even completely different songs like the switch to Gain To Lose's Tune #24 at the end of G.I.R.L..
The look of the majority of the bandmates is that of the Droogs from the Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange based on the book by Anthony Burgess. All white with black combat boots and black bowler hats. The band says that the look appealed to them because of the teenage angst associated with A Clockwork Orange. Singer "Monkey" wears full joker make-up and his clothes are wild, patterned suits, flared trousers, colorful dress shirts, and other such things. His favorites seem to be checkerboard patterns, or polkadots. And of course, there's the obligatory bowler hat and gloves. Along with the look come stage antics involving streamers, confetti, playing cards, joker hats, toy instruments, and glitter just to name a few things.
members:
Keith 'Monkey' Warren - Vocals.
Mel (Spider)Ellis - Bass
Pete Dee Davison - Guitar
Michael 'Kid Dee' Davison - Drums
John 'Scruff' Ellis (Mel’s brother) - Guitar
Dan Gratziani - Violin,Piano,Mandolin
Daggers
The Adicts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looks can kill
There's no doubt
Looks can kill
She didn't have to break my heart
She didn't have to tear my emotions apart
I thought that I turned to stone
I felt my blood run so cold
Why did she give me the evil eye
Well I just found out
Looks can kill
There's no doubt
Looks can kill
She cut me down to size
Cut me with her steely eyes
The Adicts's song "Daggers" is a cautionary tale about the power of appearances. The song's opening lines state that "Looks can kill" and that there is no doubt about it. The singer's heart has been broken by a woman who didn't even have to use words to cause him pain. Her gaze was enough to cut him deeply.
The singer describes feeling as though he had turned to stone before the woman's piercing gaze caused his blood to run cold. He can't understand why she gave him "the evil eye," but he knows that it was enough to destroy him. The song's chorus repeats the warning that "Looks can kill" and there is no doubt about it.
Overall, the song is a reminder that appearances can be deceiving and that we should be careful about the judgments we make based on people's external appearances. The woman in the song may have seemed harmless, but her gaze was enough to cause real harm.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I just found out
The singer is realizing something important for the first time
Looks can kill
Physical appearance can have a powerful impact
There's no doubt
The singer is absolutely certain of what they are saying
She didn't have to break my heart
The person the artist is singing about hurt them deeply
She didn't have to tear my emotions apart
The person caused the artist intense emotional pain
I thought that I turned to stone
The singer believed they were unaffected emotionally
I felt my blood run so cold
The person's actions had a profound physical reaction on the singer
She did it but I don't know why
The artist is confused as to the person's motives
Why did she give me the evil eye
The person looked at the artist in a threatening or negative way
She cut me down to size
The person made the artist feel small or inferior
Cut me with her steely eyes
The person's gaze felt cold and sharp, causing the singer pain
Lyrics © Budde Music Publishing GmbH, THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC.
Written by: KEITH WARREN, PETE DAVISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind