Tom, Kieran, 'Fish', Ben, Jon and Didz released 3 studio albums and a number of EPs and singles during their 9 year existence, of which 'Blind Pilots' was the most successful charting. with members going on to join Dirty Pretty Things, Rhysmix, and other projects.
The band first got together in 1998. Using a farmhouse turned into a studio on the outskirts of Wokingham, United Kingdom, it took the Cooper Temple Clause almost two years to record their debut album ‘See This Through And Leave’. An intense rock record, unafraid of challenging listeners and genres, it ignored scenes and fashion.
By the release of second album ‘Kick Up The Fire, Let The Flames Break Loose’ in 2003 - named after a Philip Larkin poem, again recorded reclusively in Reading, and with the minimum of record company interference - Team Cooper had become an army capable of breaking into the Top Twenty without the need for crossover radio support or heavy rotation videos. Gigs were riotous devotionals, particularly those on the UK tour with The Libertines. They played one triumphant US headline tour and a second set of arena dates in support of The Cure.
Then 2004 saw a shake-up at RCA leaving TCTC without an A&R man and with a new, unfamiliar set of faces and ears in charge who hadn’t grown up with, and therefore didn’t quite ‘get’, their isolationist methods and slash and burn musical direction. So, as the ‘Kick Up The Fire…’ campaign wound to a close there began a period of uncertainty and miscommunication between band and label. The Coopers once more holed up in their Reading pig farm to record demos for third album ‘Make This Your Own’ with long-term producer Dan Austin. After 12 uncertain months, eventually RCA re-signed the band and sent TCTC into the studio with ex-Adam & The Ants man Chris Hughes at the desk. He encouraged the band to return to their roots, when all six would swap instruments for each song and also share singing duties.
The final result 'Make This Your Own' was intended as both a commercial hit and a chance to bring ideas touched on in early B-sides and demos to fruition. Opening in familiar dancefloor rock territory with the anti-music industry rant ‘Damage’, it soon swerves into unmapped musical sectors often utterly unrecognisable as a Cooper Temple Clause record.
Gone was the majority of the electronic bells and whistles in the background, relegated to B-sides. There’s radio-friendly emo pop (mostly Fisher-sung songs ‘What Have You Gone And Done’ and ‘Waiting Game’), soulful Dears-gone-Erasure tunes (mostly Tom-sung tracks ‘Connect’ and ‘Isn’t It Strange’), Lilac Time cool folk (‘Take Comfort’), laptop blip-rock (‘Once More With Feeling’) and dark 80s krautonica (‘Head’) on here. Inevitably, many fans and indeed RCA were not quite sure what to make of the Nu Coopers realm. At the same time TCTC were still reeling from the unexpected departure of bassist, new dad and mental crowd-surfing nutjob Didz Hammond to join Carl Barât’s new band Dirty Pretty Things, whose contributions to 'Damage', 'Homo Sapiens', and 'Once More With Feeling' were still used 2 years after his departure.
After two years with no new material, the fanbase were enthusiastic for an internet-only release of ‘Damage’ in summer 2005. Some months later the band were signed to Sanctuary Records; 'Make This Your Own' finally appeared 2 years late in early 2007, preceded by Homo Sapiens and nearly a year after it had leaked to fans. The album and its singles flopped in comparison to the chart storming and arguably more challengingly creative KUTFALTFBL.
The band announced they would be going their separate ways on 24th April 2007, with Tom continuing his DJing side projects Rhysmix and Losers.
Tom Bellamy - Guitar, Bass, Synthesizer, Keyboard, Trumpet, Programming, Samples, Melodica, Harmonica, Percussion, Toy Piano, Bow, Decks, FX/Beats, Vocals & Lyrics.
Daniel Fisher - Guitar, Bass, Vocals & Lyrics.
Ben Gautrey - Guitar, Bass, Keyboards & Vocals.
Jon Harper - Drums, Gretsch Drums, DW Snares, Sabian Cymbals, Percussion & Backing vocals.
Kieran Mahon - Keyboard, Piano, Synthesizer, Organ, Hammond Organ, Farfisa, Guitar, Bass & Backing vocals.
Didz Hammond - Bass, Synthesizer, Samples, Vocoder, Guitar & Vocals. (Left 2005)
In Your Prime
The Cooper Temple Clause Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause when I dream
I'm with you
And you let me do things to you
That I would not normally do
You always play and you want me
You never leave my side
You'll always be in your prime girl
Lick my wounds
The lyrics of The Cooper Temple Clause's song "In Your Prime" are quite cryptic, yet profound at the same time. The song talks about the power of dreams to transport us to a different world, where we can be with the one we love, and do things that we would not normally do. The singer confesses that he likes to dream because it allows him to be with his lover, and she allows him to do things to her that he would not dare do in real life. The theme of indulgence and escapism runs throughout the song, as the singer finds solace in his dream world, where he can be in control and live out his fantasies.
The song's title, "In Your Prime," suggests that the singer is remembering a time when his lover was at her best, perhaps in her youth or her physical prime. The lyrics imply that the singer is feeling nostalgic and is longing to relive those moments once again. The line "Lick my wounds," suggests that the singer has been hurt and is looking for comfort, which he finds in his dreams where he can be with his lover.
Line by Line Meaning
Like to dream
I enjoy dreaming
'Cause when I dream
Because in my dreams
I'm with you
I am with someone I desire
And you let me do things to you
They allow me to do things to them
That I would not normally do
That I wouldn't do in real-life
You always play and you want me
They are always playful and have desire for me
You never leave my side
They are always by my side
You'll always be in your prime girl
They will always be at their best
Just how I remember you
This is exactly how I remember them
Lick my wounds
Help me heal my emotional pain
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BENEDICT MARTXEL GAUTRY, DANIEL FRANK FISHER, DAVID JONATHAN HAMMOND, JONATHAN DANIEL HARPER, KIERNAN JAMES MAHON, THOMAS RHYS BELLAMY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind