History
The band was formed in 1979 by school friends Steven ('Steve') Kent (guitar), Michael Fitzsimons ('Micky Fitz') (vocals), Nicholas ('Nick') Cunningham (drums) and Martin Smith (bass).[2] They played their first gig in front of friends in February 1980, and after taking on Lol Pryor as manager, began performing more often. The band's first release was the song "Out in the Cold" on the A Sudden Surge of Sound compilation album.[2] They played their first Oi! concert in 1981, supporting The 4-Skins, and they became closely associated with the Oi! scene from then on.[2] While the Oi! movement was labelled as far right and racist (despite the fact that several Oi! bands played at Rock Against Racism concerts), The Business took a stance against political extremism with their Oi Against Racism and Political Extremism ...But Still Against The System tour.[3] Despite standing apart from the far-right, the band also criticized communists in songs like "Suburban Rebels." [4]
In November 1981, they released their debut single, "Harry May", which spent over three months in the UK Indie Chart, reaching No. 13. The initial line-up split up in late 1981, with Kent, Cunningham, and Smith forming Q-Bow, but Fitz carried on with Pryor, recruiting Graham Ball on guitar, Mark Brennan and Steve Whale from The Blackout, and John Fisher on drums.[2] The new line-up made their live debut in January 1982, after which Ball and Fisher departed, leaving the band as a four-piece, with Kev Boyce of The Blackout on drums.[2] The new line-up recorded the Smash the Discos EP, which was a No. 3 indie hit, and after a short tour, they recorded their debut album, which was to be called Loud, Proud, and Punk. The master tapes for the album went missing after disagreements between the band's label and the studio, forcing them to re-record the album, which was released as Suburban Rebels in May 1983.[2] The album was remixed by their label, Secret, without them knowing, and Secret's financial difficulties limited promotion of the album. Frustrated by this, the band split up, with The Business members forming short-lived bands Chapter and Sabre Dance.[2]
Pryor issued a retrospective album consisting of demos and live tracks on his Syndicate label, the success of which prompted the band to reform and record a what was to be marketed as a live album, Loud, Proud, and Punk. It was actually recorded in a studio, with crowd noise dubbed in later.[2] Pryor renamed his record label Wonderful World and issued several Business albums in late 1985, with the Drinking and Driving tour following. The name of the tour caused controversy, with tabloid journalists accusing the band of condoning drunk-driving, although the title was tongue-in-cheek.[2]
In late 1986, Brennan and Pryor founded Link Records, and with Brennan becoming increasingly busy running the label, the band split up again. In 1992, Fitz performed a few songs guesting with The Elite and he reformed the band to play a benefit concert for Bobby Moore, who had recently died of cancer. Brennan later started a new record label, Captain Oi! Records and did not join the reformed band. The band's line-up then became Micky Fitz (singer), Steve Whale (guitar), Lol Proctor (bass) and Micky Fairbairn (drums). The band released a new single "Anywhere But Here" and new album Keep The Faith in 1994. After a number of tours in Western Europe, the band played their first gigs in America in August 1994. In 1997 The Business released The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth which was produced by Lars Frederiksen from Rancid. In 2000, the band joined together with Dropkick Murphys to release Mob Mentality. The band's final studio album, No Mercy For You was released in 2001. Their biggest hit song in recent times, "England 5 - Germany 1", (based on the result of a World Cup Qualifying match in 2001), became a football anthem for England and even appeared in the 2004 teen comedy EuroTrip. Despite various line-up changes, the band's popularity continued to grow.
By 2006 Fitz had rebuilt his band after overcoming his alcoholism, this year saw the band take on a 2-month tour of the US with the line-up of Fitz (singer), Robin Guy (drums), Daniel (guitar) and what would become long serving Trots (bass). In September 2006, Fitz recruited long time friend Tosh (of Section 5) to play guitar, shortly followed by Bundie on drums. The band took to the studio in Berlin and recorded three covers, this session featured Mitch Harris of Napalm Death guesting to record the title track 'Mean Girl', originally by one of Fitz's favourite bands Status Quo. This was released by Bad Dog records as an EP, the B side being a live set recorded at the legendary Marquee Club in London from 1982.
Led by a reinvigorated Fitz, the band continued to tour incessantly and broke new ground as the first British Oi! band to play in Chile in 2008, they also visited Australia and New Zealand alongside extensive European and US tours. As well as their touring they also returned to the studio and put out a split 7" with Control. The Mean Girl recordings and Marquee Tapes were combined with the split and a recording from Full Force Festival to make the US mini album 'Doing The Business'
In 2010 Tosh departed the band and after a short stint with rocker Johny Skullknuckles the band's final line-up was completed with Fish (of The Skeptix, Discharge and Demon) taking over on six string duties. Around this time the band had taken to the studio to record what would be their last release, 'Back in The Day', it saw the studio return of original guitarist and principal songwriter Steve Kent who performed guitar and backing vocals on the recording. The 7" was eventually released on Randale Records and Sailors Grave Records in 2014.
The band continued on their way, returning to South America to play São Paulo, taking on a headline tour of Australia and New Zealand, (with visits to Singapore and Bangkok along the way) and made a triumphant return to Japan in 2014, with a quick visit to South Korea while they were in the area.
In the summer of 2015 Fitz was diagnosed with cancer, as with his life he met the challenge head on and refused to let the public know of his diagnosis until after he had completed the final run of shows. The band performed what would be their final show in October 2015 in Badalona, Spain.
In April 2019, some of the classic line up (Steve Whale, Steve Kent and Micky Fairbairn) joined by JJ Pearce on bass (the Last Resort) performed at the Punk and Disorderly festival in Berlin. Roi Pearce (The Last Resort) Sebi (Stomper 98) and Mike Brands (Arch Rivals) appeared as guest singers. This marked the first time former members of The Business had performed without Micky Fitz playing The Business songs. The same line up, joined by Beki Bondage (Vice Squad) performed at Rebellion 2019. A toast was raised to Fitz's memory at both shows
Always
The Business Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Always isn`t always" - that`s what you always say
"Always isn`t always" - tomorrow's another day
I thought your lying wouldn`t mean much to me
I thought your crying couldn`t ever get to me
Seems like I known you too long in an awful way
Sad to see go but glad your someone I use to know
[Chorus]
When I saw you on the south side of town
its been sometime now, since I saw you around
You didn`t have much to say, you never did anyway
Jack up - Smacked Up, loving that brown
It looks like your on your way down
[Chorus]
6 am on the south side of town
Smacked out, drugged out lying on the ground
I guess you couldn`t take anymore
Sad to see you go
but glad that your someone I use to know
[Chorus]
The lyrics of The Business's song "Always" seem to revolve around the idea of not wanting to be constantly lied to or associated with someone who constantly tells lies. The repetition of the phrase "Always isn't always" in the chorus gives the impression that the singer does not fully believe or trust what is being said. The use of the word "tomorrow" suggests that there may be another opportunity for the truth to be revealed, and that even if something wasn't true in the past, it may become true at a later time.
The second verse seems to be directed towards someone the singer knows who is struggling with addiction. The line "Jack up - Smacked Up, loving that brown" implies that the person is using drugs, and that their life may be spiraling out of control. The line "It looks like you're on your way down" suggests that the singer has lost hope in that person's ability to overcome their addiction.
The final verse portrays a bleak image of that person, delirious and lying on the ground. The line "Sad to see you go but glad that you're someone I used to know" implies that the singer has given up on this person, and that they are better off without their constant lies and drug addiction in their life.
Overall, the song "Always" seems to be a commentary on the importance of honesty and the danger of addiction.
Line by Line Meaning
"Always isn't always" - that's what you always say
You often say that the word 'always' is not always true and might not apply in certain situations.
"Always isn't always" - tomorrow's another day
You believe that the term 'always' cannot apply indefinitely, and that there's always a new day with new opportunities or circumstances.
I thought your lying wouldn't mean much to me
You initially believed that the person's lies wouldn't affect you much or have an impact on your life.
I thought your crying couldn't ever get to me
Initially, you didn't think that the person's crying could ever emotionally affect you, but now you realize it can.
Seems like I known you too long in an awful way
You've known the person for so long that it feels 'awful' in some way, perhaps because of past experiences or conflicts.
Sad to see go but glad your someone I use to know
You're sad the person is gone, but you're also somewhat relieved that they're no longer in your life.
When I saw you on the south side of town
You ran into the person by chance in an unfamiliar part of town.
its been sometime now, since I saw you around
It's been a while since you last saw the person.
You didn't have much to say, you never did anyway
The person didn't say much, but you never really expected them to talk much in the first place.
Jack up - Smacked Up, loving that brown
The person appears to be high on drugs and is enjoying the effects of heroin (brown).
It looks like your on your way down
It appears that the person's life is spiraling downwards.
6 am on the south side of town
It's early in the morning, and you're still on the south side of town where you saw the person earlier.
Smacked out, drugged out lying on the ground
The person is lying on the ground, having overdosed or passed out due to drug use.
I guess you couldn't take anymore
You assume that the person's drug use and other personal problems eventually became too much for them to handle.
Sad to see you go but glad that your someone I use to know
You're sad to see the person in such a state, but you're also glad that they're no longer a part of your life.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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