Named after the 1960 short story "The Day The Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl, The Icicle Works joined Liverpool's early 1980s 'neo-psychedelia' wave, which also propelled Echo & the Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes to stardom.
The band was founded in Liverpool by 18-year-old singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist and frontman Ian McNabb. In 1980, McNabb joined up with drummer Chris Sharrock (who had been playing with McNabb on and off since he was nine) and bassist Chris Layhe (who had been recruited though a classified ad), and they began playing as The Icicle Works. By the end of 1981, the trio had recorded a six-song independently released cassette, and in 1982 they released the independent single "Nirvana". The following year, The Icicle Works were signed to the Beggars Banquet label, who issued the single Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) on their subsidiary label Situation Two.
Later that year, The Icicle Works' would release their biggest UK hit, 1983's Love Is a Wonderful Colour. Their debut eponymous album (1984) would follow shortly thereafter, reaching number 24 on the UK charts, and also hitting the U.S. top 40. Also appearing on the U.S. top 40 singles charts at around the same time (and hitting the Canadian top twenty) was Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly), a retitled and very slightly remixed version of The Icicle Works' Situation Two release of 1983.
However, commercial success for The Icicle Works after this point was minimal. Their second album, The Small Price of a Bicycle (1985) spun off no hit singles, and wasn't even released outside the UK. Later albums If You Want to Defeat Your Enemy Sing His Song (1987), and Blind (1988) were both issued in the UK and North America, and even spun off minor hits. Nevertheless, no post-1984 Icicle Works single would chart higher than 52 in the UK, and after "Whisper To A Scream", the band never again made the US Hot 100.
Some have attributed this unfortunate commercial decline to The Icicle Works' change in sound over the years, from an initial 'new wave' feel to a more straight-ahead rock sound inspired by Neil Young, The Doors, and the Ramones, amongst others. But whatever the cause, despite critical acclaim the band was unable to consistently record hit singles. As well, by the late 1980s, tensions within the group were increasing allegedly due to McNabb's controlling ways. By 1988, in addition to writing virtually all of The Icicle Works' material, as well as singing and playing guitar, McNabb was also producing the group's records.
Accordingly, shortly after Blind was issued, drummer Chris Sharrock departed to The La's. Sharrock would later be a member of The Lightning Seeds and World Party, and would also drum for Robbie Williams, Del Amitri and Eurythmics. Around this same time, Layhe also departed, and Beggars Banquet dropped the group from their roster.
Undaunted, McNabb soldiered on under The Icicle Works banner for a while. Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, briefly occupied the drumstool, while various keyboardists, bassists, and guitarists passed through before the band released Permanent Damage (1990), recorded for Epic/Sony. By that time, the band's lineup was McNabb, bassist Roy Corkill, former 10cc and Jethro Tull drummer Paul Burgess, keyboardist Dave Baldwin, and backing vocalist Mark Revell.
This 'second-generation' version of The Icicle Works quietly broke up after Permanent Damage failed to chart, and Epic dropped the band. Ian McNabb's solo career officially began in 1991 with the release of the single Great Dreams of Heaven; for further details on McNabb's solo career, please see the entry for Ian McNabb.
In 1992, a compilation called The Best of The Icicle Works was released, containing the best of their work from the Beggars Banquet years. Two years later, a live recording of a 1987 concert was issued.
On December 31, 2005, after having been a solo act for 15 years, McNabb announced he was reviving "The Icicle Works" name in 2006 for a series of concerts and an album. However, this version of the band would contain no original members other than McNabb.
Assumed Sundown
The Icicle Works Lyrics
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A marching band is playing
Her long hair frames her features
Says this is the day for praying
We learn so much in little time
One thing they overlooked
Our textbooks made the fire
In which the missionary cooked
We believe the gospel wasn't holy
A picture house in every one-horse town
You can't disown the dream you only borrowed
Remember us to everyone you love
On the road into the assumed sundown
We'll be content to stroll
They'll tear the shirt right off your back
Then come back for your soul
Chorus
The Icicle Works's song "Assumed Sundown" is a thought-provoking commentary on the colonization of indigenous people and their forced conversion to Christianity. The lyrics describe a scene of a marching band playing on a road leading to an "assumed sundown," which could be interpreted as the end of a culture or a way of life. The singer describes a woman with long hair who says that this is a day for praying, perhaps indicating a religious ceremony or the forced conversion of the indigenous people. The lyrics then critique the education system that teaches a colonial version of history, one that overlooks the dark reality of how the colonizers treated the native people.
The line "Our textbooks made the fire in which the missionary cooked" is a powerful metaphor for the way the colonizing powers used education as a tool to perpetuate their dominance and erase native cultures. The following lines assert that the gospel, or Christianity, was not a holy message for the native people, but rather a tool for manipulation and control. The song seems to suggest that the natives were robbed of their own beliefs and forced to adopt a foreign religion that did not serve their best interests.
The song's chorus is a powerful reminder that the dreams and hopes of the colonized people cannot be taken away, even if their land, possessions, and beliefs are stripped from them. The closing lines "Remember us to everyone you love" could be interpreted as a plea for the colonizers to remember the native people they have wronged and to tell their loved ones about the injustice that has been committed.
Line by Line Meaning
On the road into the assumed sundown
We are traveling towards what we believe to be the end of the day, but this might not be true
A marching band is playing
The world is alive with noise and excitement
Her long hair frames her features
She appears beautiful because of her long hair
Says this is the day for praying
She believes this is the right day for asking a higher power for help
We learn so much in little time
We acquire knowledge quickly, but we may miss important things
One thing they overlooked
There is something that we haven't yet discovered or paid attention to
Our textbooks made the fire
Our education might have caused us to create something dangerous without realizing it
In which the missionary cooked
The fire led to the downfall of someone who was trying to help us
We believe the gospel wasn't holy
We doubt the authenticity of religious teachings
A picture house in every one-horse town
Entertainment is a common and welcome feature even in small and remote places
You can't disown the dream you only borrowed
We can't dissociate ourselves completely from dreams that are not truly our own
Remember us to everyone you love
Please pass our message to those who matter in your life
On the road into the assumed sundown
We are still uncertain about the direction we are taking and where it will lead us
We'll be content to stroll
We will be satisfied with a slow and leisurely pace of life
They'll tear the shirt right off your back
People who are ruthless and selfish can harm us seriously
Then come back for your soul
They will return to take advantage of our vulnerability and weakness
Contributed by Reagan I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Илья
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Nikita
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