The Living End got their first big break in 1995 when, after sending a t-shirt and a demo tape to Billie Joe Armstrong, they landed a support slot in Green Day's upcoming Australian tour. After the tour, the group went into the studio to record their debut EP Hellbound which received moderate support from community radio stations.
In November 1995, the band went back into the studio to record their second EP (It's for Your Own Good which they released several months later. This recording yielded their first major radio airplay with the song From Here On In, which was placed on high rotation on the youth radio network Triple J. Shortly after the release of the second EP, drummer Joe Piripitzi left the band and was replaced with Travis Dempsey who was soon playing with the band at major festivals such as Pushover and the Falls Festival. After a year touring Australia, The Living End again headed into the studio to record something new to sell at their now very popular shows. The result was the Second Solution / Prisoner of Society double single.
Prisoner of Society quickly became a national hit and the band signed on to Modular Recordings for the release of their debut self titled album, The Living End. The album was an instant hit with Australian audiences and resulted in six Australian singles (counting the "Second Solution" release as two because both songs received major airplay). The Living End became the second-highest-selling debut rock album in Australian music history, now five times platinum.
The Roll On album in 2000 was a more creative work, but did not manage to achieve the status of their earlier album. Cheney later stated that he was trying to prove to critics that The Living End were not a band simply defined by their hit Prisoner of Society, and the album showed this by displaying other influences, as well as their traditional fast-paced rockabilly music. The album even garnered comparison, by a few critics, to seminal punk band The Clash's creative breakthrough, London Calling.
The band hit a quiet period after that during which Chris Cheney had a tragic car accident on the Great Ocean Road, rendering him unable to play for a significant period of time. He had been on the road to the house of a member of fellow Australian band Bodyjar.
In 2003, after Chris's recovery and with new drummer Andy Strachan, the band made a comeback, releasing One Said to the Other, Who's Gonna Save Us? and getting air play once again. This was followed by heavy touring (including Big Day Out) and a release of Modern ARTillery.
In late 2004, the band has released a singles collection From Here on In: The Singles 1997-2004 as well as a DVD, which included all video clips and a "supergig", collections of the band's most famous songs performed in Australia, Japan and the USA. The DVD also features the band's history- documented in interviews and home footage.
Recently, Chris performed at the 2004 ARIA awards as part of the supergroup The Wrights, featuring members of many other Australian rock bands.
Chris Cheney and Scott Owen have won the Best Guitarist and Best Bassist awards for 2004 and 2005, in the Jack Awards.
The band performs regularly in Melbourne, one performance recently was for the Channel V Music Bus at Federation Square Melbourne, Australia (15th of December 2005) which saw a capacity crowd of between 4,500 and 5,000 people attend. The event saw many under 18's get the chance to see their idols for free, and for a lucky few, the chance to sing with Chris Cheney, unplanned of course.
The Living End's fourth album, titled State of Emergency, was released on February 4 2006 and was recorded in Byron Bay after they played in the Splendour in the Grass festival. They had finished the recording and the artwork for State of Emergency in mid December 2005. The single "What's on Your Radio was released on November 20, 2005, and debuted at #9 on the ARIA singles chart. The second single, "Wake Up" was released on February 19 and debuted at #5 on the ARIA singles chart. The group is currently signed to Adeline Records, owned and run by Billie Joe and Adrianne Armstrong.
In 2008 The Living End released their fifth studio album titled as White Noise, showing more hard rock influenced sound of The Living End. First single from the album was a double A-side single White Noise/How Do We Know which was released physically and digitally 5 July 2008. The second single Moment in the Sun was released 25 October 2008. The third single, Raise the Alarm, was released 22 December 2008. In 2009 The Living End started the Raise the Alarm Tour.
State of Emergency
The Living End Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We may never see, we may never see, we may never see it again
Red light!!!
This is an alarm stay where you are
State of emergency!
This is an alarm don't go too far
State of urgency!
This is not the end
State of urgency!
This is not the end
We may never know, we may never know, we may never know what's ahead
If you believe it then you will see it it's in front of you, you know it's true
Red light!
This is an alarm stay where you are
State of emergency!
This is an alarm don't go too far
State of urgency!
This is not the end
State of urgency!
This is not the end
From the things we hate to the love we send what goes around comes around again
Standing on the starting line , make a wish and make it the time
It's just begun, it's just begun, it's just begun to matter
It won't be done, it won't be done, it won't be done until the time has come
This is an alarm stay where you are
State of emergency!
This is an alarm don't go too far
State of urgency!
This is not the end
State of urgency!
This is not the end
The Living End's song State of Emergency is a call to action, urging people to stay put and take action in times of crisis. The repeated refrain "We will always be, we may never see it again" suggests that the band is aware that we are living in uncertain times, but the call to stay together is an invitation to come together and support each other. The chorus is a warning, a call to action that cannot be ignored: "This is an alarm, stay where you are, state of emergency!" The urgency of this message is emphasised through the repetition of "Red light!" This is a warning that cannot be ignored.
The second verse asks us to believe in our ability to change things: "If you believe it then you will see it it's in front of you, you know it's true". This is followed by another warning, "Red light!" and the repeated chorus: "This is not the end, state of urgency!" The idea of starting anew is conveyed in the lines "From the things we hate to the love we send what goes around comes around again, standing on the starting line, make a wish and make it the time". This suggests that we have the power to change our reality, to start anew and make things right. The repeated line "This is not the end" reinforces this message, urging the listener to keep moving forward and stay positive.
Line by Line Meaning
We will always be, we will always be, we will always be together
We'll stick together no matter what.
We may never see, we may never see, we may never see it again
We might not experience this again.
Red light!!!
Warning, pay attention!
This is an alarm stay where you are
State of emergency!
An emergency is happening, stay put.
This is an alarm don't go too far
State of urgency!
There's an urgent situation, be cautious.
This is not the end
State of urgency!
This is only the beginning of the urgent situation.
We may never know, we may never know, we may never know what's ahead
We can't predict the future.
If you believe it then you will see it it's in front of you, you know it's true
Red light!
If you have faith, it will become apparent to you. But still, be careful!
From the things we hate to the love we send what goes around comes around again
The energy we put out will come back to us.
Standing on the starting line, make a wish and make it the time
Now is the time to take action towards your dreams.
It's just begun, it's just begun, it's just begun to matter
Things are just starting to become significant.
It won't be done, it won't be done, it won't be done until the time has come
This isn't ending anytime soon.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY DOUGLAS STRACHAN, CHRISTOPHER JOHN CHENEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind