After signing to Arista in 1988, they saw their largest international success with the album Starfish and the American Top 40 hit "Under The Milky Way" which resurfaced on the soundtrack of the cult movie "Donnie Darko". Whilst the band remain feted by their peers, subsequent commercial success proved elusive: 1990s follow-up album "Gold Afternoon Fix" failed to capitalise on their success, and the band weathered several line-up changes after its release, first losing long-term drummer Richard Ploog, then Peter Koppes following 1992s "Priest = Aura". That album baffled and confused many fans upon its release as to what band The Church was considered to be, but is now considered a seminal album and one of the most revered by Church connoisseurs. The vacant drum-stool on Priest=Aura being occupied by Jay Dee Daugherty of Arista labelmate Patti Smiths group, and it was produced by Gavin MacKillop of Moose.
Reduced to a two-piece, Kilbey & Willson-Piper re-grouped with the assistance of drummer/producer Tim Powles to record 1994's "Sometime Anywhere", concluding their obligations to the Arista and Mushroom labels. The commercial decline, combined with the Church being ignored again by a music press more focused on the Nineties' music trends, could have brought about the demise of the band, had it not coincided with the breakthrough of the internet, thus enabling direct communication from the band to its passionate cult fanbase.
This brought about a new beginning for The Church, with Peter Koppes rejoining the band for recording 1996s "Magician Among The Spirits". The band (with Koppes back into the fold, and Powles now as the permanent drummer ), hit a re-newed creative surge and with regained selfconfidence, released "Hologram Of Baal" 2 years later, and toured Australia, the USA and Europe.
The first decade of the 21st century found the band releasing severeal highly critically acclaimed albums, like 2002's aptly named "After Everything Now this" and 2003's "Forget Yourself", the latter breaking new ground with bandmembers swapping instruments in the recording process. Live performances stray from high profile events like the 03 concerts at Sydney Opera House and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, to low-profile gigs for smaller audiences, often confusing old 80s fans, surprised to find the band still playing, wrongly assuming the band just being one in the never-ending string of reunion acts.
2009's album "Untitled#23" marked yet another highlight.. its essence represented in just 10 songs, and with a strong less-is-more approach, the albums core identity being on par with Starfish, it also finds Steve Kilbey breaking new ground as a vocalist.
2010 saw their 30th anniversary, with extensive touring in the US and Australia. Their unique position and importance in the australian music scene was recognized with an ARIA award.
Their album, "Further Deeper", was released in 2014, and "man woman life death infinity" in 2017.
Space Needle
The Church Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Need a space needle
Stick it straight through the crust
Suck up all the magma
Put it in a bag-ma
And blow it through your brains till you bust
Where oblivion is beckoning
Getting kinda famished with all this talk of famine
I could(?) survive on bread alone
Gimme me space needle so I don't wanna wheedle
I need these planets close to my bone
Where oblivion is beckoning
Where the fire furn(?) is reckoning
Getting kinda nervous the way ellipses curve us
It's a mystery to me we don't fall
Where's my space needle?
I wanna a little ??
I wanna wish good luck to you all
Where oblivion is beckoning
Where the fire furn(?) is reckoning
The lyrics of The Church's song "Space Needle" are full of evocative imagery and emotional depth, exploring themes of greed, survival, and the primal desire to connect with the cosmos. The repeated refrain of "Where oblivion is beckoning / Where the fire furn(?) is reckoning" suggests a sense of danger and inevitability, as if the singer is drawn towards a flame that will ultimately consume them.
The first verse seems to relate to the idea of harnessing the power of the Earth itself - the reference to the Space Needle, a iconic Seattle landmark, suggests a desire to reach for the stars, but the mention of magma and brains being "blown" suggests a darker, more destructive impulse at work. The second verse is more abstract, but still hints at a sense of desperation and hunger, with the reference to famine suggesting a need to survive at any cost. The line "I need these planets close to my bone" suggests a desire for something deeper and more profound than mere material sustenance.
The final verse is perhaps the most intriguing, with its reference to the "mystery" of the elliptical orbits that govern our universe. The singer seems to long for some kind of anchor or tool to help them make sense of this chaos, and the repeated plea for a "space needle" suggests that this object represents some kind of solution or salvation. Ultimately, the lyrics of "Space Needle" seem to suggest a restless, yearning spirit, driven by a desire for transcendence and escape from the limitations of the physical world.
Line by Line Meaning
Getting kinda greedy
Feeling a strong desire for something more
Need a space needle
Require a means to fulfill this desire, like a space needle
Stick it straight through the crust
Pierce the earth's surface to access what's below
Suck up all the magma
Siphon off the molten rock beneath the earth's crust
Put it in a bag-ma
Collect the magma and store it
And blow it through your brains till you bust
Experience such an intense sensation that it's overwhelming
Where oblivion is beckoning
In a place where total destruction is drawing near
Where the fire furn(?) is reckoning
In a place where the fiery reckoning is imminent
Getting kinda famished with all this talk of famine
Feeling drained due to a continuous discussion of scarcity and deprivation
I could(?) survive on bread alone
Just barely making it by with basic sustenance
Gimme me space needle so I don't wanna wheedle
Provide a means to satisfy the craving so complaining or bargaining won't occur
I need these planets close to my bone
Require the planets in close proximity to feel complete
Getting kinda nervous the way ellipses curve us
Feeling uneasy about the way events seem to form a pattern around us
It's a mystery to me we don't fall
Pondering the lack of gravity's pull given the context of the situation
Where's my space needle?
Wanting access to the solution or fulfillment of the desire
I wanna a little ??
Possibly indicating a wish for something more
I wanna wish good luck to you all
Expressing well wishes for everyone, despite personal desires or needs
Where oblivion is beckoning
In a place where total destruction is drawing near
Where the fire furn(?) is reckoning
In a place where the fiery reckoning is imminent
Contributed by Scarlett D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
BittersweetSymphony
on You're Still Beautiful
Sometimes I wonder if he is writing about himself