Their follow-up, You Make The Heat, released in 1982 through Portrait as well, had less success. However, the single "She Sheila" hit #48 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and had a popular MTV music video. The group headlined MTV's New Year's Rockin Eve in 1982.
Their 1985 album, Run For Your Life, ran through an indie label, and it was a commercial disappointment. The band signed with MCA Records and recorded what was to be their fourth album, Coelacanth, but they were dropped in 1989 pre-release. The group folded soon afterward. That album was finally released in 2001. Today, the group has a cult following among power pop fans.
There are others The Producers:
2) The Producers are also a blues band from Poole in Dorset. Featuring Harry Skinner on guitar and lead vocals and Dave Saunders on bass, they worked extensively on the British blues circuit during the '90's releasing anumber of CD's . In 2001, they took a break, but they have recently reformed (2009) and are now active again.
One of the most exciting and stylish new wave bands on the circuit, Bournemouth based The Producers are among the leaders of the the current Blues phenomenon topped by Joe Bonamassa and John Mayer.
The Producers are something really something special, playing the freshest live blues in Britain today. Concerned with feel and attitude rather than slavishly copying ‘hand me down’ American music, The Producers move effortlessly between their own well crafted material and seriously reinvigorated classics stamped with their own characteristic identity. By not treating the music as some kind of museum piece The Producers are likely to incur the displeasure of a section of the blues hierarchy, however, at the same time they are barnstorming across the country building a massive audience at sell-out club dates and developing an equally impressive reputation that no one can ignore.
Being invited to play prestigious Festival slots is always a sign of a band on its way, however receiving invitations to open concerts from luminaries like John Mayall, Taj Mahal, Dr John, Peter Green and Robert Cray has quickly led to The Producers becoming a major attraction in their own right. With seven acclaimed albums, air play and live appearances across Europe, the States, Australia and New Zealand, The Producers are now playing headline dates and rightfully assuming a prominent position on blues awards podiums.
THE PRODUCERS long awaited new CD and Vinyl record ‘London Blues’ will be the first album from the band since their ‘Live Blues’ CD was released in 2000, a gap of 11 years! consequently it is creating lots of excitement within the blues community and the music industry in general. The album features guests Paul Beavis (Go West, Low Riders) Andy Fairweather Low (Eric Clapton, Roger Waters) Ben Waters and 5 times blues award winner Paul Lamb on Piano and Harmonica respectively with all the material being self penned originals. .
Dave Saunders and Harry Skinner formed The Producers in 1990. They went on to be one the most popular blues outfit in the country at that time winning the ‘Blues Band of the Year’ award 4 times, releasing 7 CD albums one of which ‘Ain’t No Love in the World’ was nominated for the ‘Best Blues Album’ award..
They regularly sold out venues around the country and were among the first to feature an acoustic set in their show which led to Theatre and Art Centre bookings nationwide, the whole acoustic set became almost de rigueur and every band, blues or otherwise, followed The Producers lead.
Many festival headliners including Colne, Burnley, Stanley Blues, Dublin Templebar, Cork, Farnham, North Wales Blues Festival and many others were played. Belgium, Ireland, Holland and France played host to Producers tours and a month long tour of New Zealand was also undertaken, the band playing at the Tauranga Blues + Jazz Festival to great acclaim.
At the Cognac Blues Festival in France they were joined onstage by headliner Ray Charles’ brass section and, memorably, his ‘Raelets’ shimmying and dancing in front of them!
They were featured in session on the Paul Jones Blues Show on BBC Radio 2 and have been praised by both Johnnie Walker and Bob Harris. Playing at the Alexis Korner Memorial Concert at Buxton Opera House they were spotted by Peter Greens management during Peters first major gig and asked to support the Fleetwood Mac guitar legend on his first national tour for 25 years, The Producers also featured on the BBC documentary of the Buxton concert.
The Producers gave their last concert on New Years Eve 2001/2 after undertaking a 6 month farewell tour of the UK, needless to say it was a complete sell out.
And now they are back! Harry and Dave still front the band ably assisted by Ray Drury on Organ and Piano and Biff Smith on the sticks and percussion. New songs have been written and loyal fans will recognise some reworked stage favourites as they move on from but definitely not forget the past musical history of the band.
Official Website: The Producers
3) The Producers is also the name used by an improtu group formed from the following well-known artists and producers:
Lol Creme: guitars/vocals
(10cc, Godley & Creme, Kate Bush)
Trevor Horn: bass/vocals
(Buggles, Yes, Pet Shop Boys, tATu)
Stephen Lipson: guitars
(Rolling Stones, McCartney, Annie Lennox)
Chris Braide: keyboards/vocals (Will Young, Kylie Minogue)
Ash Soan: drums (Marianne Faithful, Faithless, Natasha Bedingfield)
http://www.myspace.com/producersofficial
The Producers started out playing a string of impromptu, secret gigs at venues like the Camden Barfly at the end of 2006, joined on stage by friends and collaborators like Will Young and Jamie Cullum. Since then, they've been holed up at Trevor Horn's infamous Sarm West studios recording their debut album and single, Barking Up The Right Tree
The Producers could also be referring to the soundtrack to the motion picture version of the Tony Award-winning musical, "The Producers" by Mel Brooks staring Matthew Broderick (as Leopold Bloom), Nathan Lane (as Max Bialystock) or the cast recording of the musical... but that is not a "band".
The band became just Producers as of 2011/12, Chris Braide is no longer in the band and they are finishing an album due 2012.
Betrayed
The Producers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"A postcard? From where?"
"Brazil"
"Brazil? Who do I know in Brazil?"
Dear Max, "Rio is everything you said it was and more
Ulla and I think of you every chance we get
In the morning, when we have breakfast on our terrace
When we samba together in the moonlight
Sorry, must run, Ulla's waiting, it's almost eleven"
"Wish you were here, Leo
Just like Cain and Abel, you pulled a sneak attack
I thought that we were brothers
Then you stabbed me in the back"
Betrayed! Oh boy, I'm so betrayed
Like Samson and Delilah, your love began to fade
I'm crying in the hoosegow, you're in Rio getting laid
Betrayed! Let's face it, I'm betrayed
Boy, have I been taken
Oy, I'm so forsaken
I should have seen what came to pass
I should have known to watch my ass
I feel like Othello, everything is lost
Leo is Iago, Max is double-crossed
I'm so dismayed, did I mention I'm betrayed?
I used to be the king but now I am the fool
A captain without a ship, a rabbi without a shul
Now I'm about to go to jail, there's no one who will pay my bail
I have no one who I can cry to, no one I can say goodbye to
I'm drowning, I'm drowning here, I'm going down for the last time
I, I, I see my whole life flashing before my eyes
I see a weathered old farmhouse with a white picket fence
I'm running through fields of alfalfa with my collie, Rex
And Rex, stop it and I see my mother standing on the back porch
In a worn but clean gingham gown and I hear her calling out to me
"Alvin, don't forget your chores, the wood needs a-cordin'
And the cows need a-milkin', Alvin, Alvin"
"Wait a minute, my name's not Alvin, that's not my life
I'm not a hillbilly, I grew up in the Bronx
Leo's taken everything, even my pasts
My past's a dying ember but wait, now I remember how did it begin?
He walked into my office with his cockamamie scheme
You can make more money with a flop than with a hit
"We can do it, we can do it"
"I can't do it"
"We can do it"
"I can't do it"
Goodbye Max
"Lord, I want that money"
"I'm back, Max"
"Come on, Leo, we can do it"
Step one, find the play
See it, swirl it, touch it, kiss it
Hello, Mister Liebkind
"Guten Tag, hop clop"
"Guten Tag, hop clop"
Adolf Elizabeth Hitler
"Guten Tag, hop clop"
"Guten Tag, hop clop"
Step two, hire the director
Keep it gay, keep it gay, keep it
Two-three, kick, turn, turn, turn, kick, turn
Ulla
Step three, raise the money
Along came Bialy
Intermission
Step four, hire all the actors
A wandering minstrel I
A think of shreds and
Next, the little wooden boy
Next, that's our Hitler
Opening night
Good luck, good luck, good luck
Break a leg, I broke my leg
"Springtime for Hitler and Germany"
A surprise smash
"Springtime for Hitler and Germany
It'll run for years
Where did we go right?
Where did we go right?
Gimme those books
Fat, fat, fatty
Gimme those books
Fat, fat, fatty
Books, fat
Books, fat
Books, fat
Books, fat
Lousy fruit, kill the actors, you ever eat with one
Then you ran to Rio and you're safely out of reach
I'm behind these bars, you're banging Ulla on the beach
Just like Julius Caesar was betrayed by Brutus
Who'd think an accountant would turn out to be my Judas
I'm so dismayed, is this how I'm repaid?
To be betrayed, betrayed
The Producers' song Betrayed tells a story of Max Bialystock being betrayed by his friend Leo, who has stolen his money and run off to Rio with Max's secretary Ulla. Max receives a postcard from them and when he reads it, he realizes the extent of the betrayal. The lyrics draw on biblical and literary references to heighten the emotion of betrayal that Max feels. The reference to Cain and Abel and Samson and Delilah shows how Max believed he had a close bond with Leo, only for that bond to be destroyed completely. The reference to Julius Caesar and Brutus is also significant, as Max feels like he has been backstabbed.
The lyrics then talk about Max's sense of loss and despair. He speaks about seeing his life flashing before his eyes, with memories of his childhood and his past. This highlights how Max feels like everything he once held dear has been taken away from him. He also speaks about his feelings of being drowned and going down for the last time, which is a metaphor for his sense of defeat and hopelessness. The song ends with Max feeling betrayed and abandoned, questioning how he is being repaid for all the hard work he put into creating a successful play.
Line by Line Meaning
Mail call! Here ya go, Bialystok, ya got a postcard
Max receives a postcard and wonders who could have sent it.
A postcard? From where?
Max shows surprise upon receiving a postcard from a place he doesn't expect.
Brazil? Who do I know in Brazil?
Max is confused upon learning that he has received a postcard from Brazil.
Dear Max, "Rio is everything you said it was and more..."
The postcard contains a message from someone in Rio, who is enjoying their time there.
"Wish you were here, Leo..."
Max remembers Leo and the betrayal he had experienced from him, comparing it to Cain and Abel's story in the Bible.
"Betrayed! Oh boy, I'm so betrayed"
Max expresses his feeling of betrayal coming from someone he had trusted and considered as family.
"Like Samson and Delilah, your love began to fade..."
Max recalls how Leo's loyalty slowly faded, while he was suffering from betrayal, crying in jail, knowing Leo is having fun in Rio.
"Betrayed! Let's face it, I'm betrayed"
Max firmly belives that he was betrayed and the one responsible for it is Leo, leaving him alone in this crisis.
"Boy, have I been taken..."
Realizing the extent of his loss and abandonment, Max feels forsaken.
"Oy, I'm so forsaken"
Max expresses his sadness towards how much he has been left alone.
"I should have seen what came to pass..."
Max admits to his mistakes for not being careful enough in the past and being left alone with no support.
"I feel like Othello, everything is lost..."
Max likens his lost state of mind to the tragic ending of the character Othello in the Shakespearean play.
"Leo is Iago, Max is double-crossed..."
Max realizes that Leo, who he thought was his friend, had been planning and orchestrating the whole thing all along, resulting in Max being left alone with no plan or support.
"I'm so dismayed, did I mention I'm betrayed?"
Max continues to express his feeling of betrayal and dismay to the loss he experienced due to someone he had trusted.
"I used to be the king but now I am the fool..."
Max has lost everything including his dignity, referencing the expression 'a captain without a ship, a rabbi without a shul'
"Now I'm about to go to jail, there's no one who will pay my bail..."
Max has lost his freedom and there's no one to help him get out of jail.
"I'm drowning, I'm drowning here, I'm going down for the last time..."
Max feels like he's drowning and is losing his breath and everything around him as he comes to terms with his failure
"I, I, I see my whole life flashing before my eyes..."
Max is lost in his thoughts, imagining his entire life in a few moments and recalling his past memories and desires.
"I see a weathered old farmhouse with a white picket fence..."
Max recalls a happier time in his childhood involving a house with a white picket fence and playing with his dog named Rex.
"My past's a dying ember but wait, now I remember how did it begin?..."
Max reminisces about the past and recalls the moment it all started, which involves Leo coming to his office with a crazy scheme to make money.
"Step one, find the play..."
Max recalls the various steps he was advised to follow while living with good times and stepping out of his comfort zone.
"Along came Bialy"
Max found someone who knew something about the play he wanted to produce.
"Where did we go right?..."
The play produced becomes an unexpectedly big hit and Max is overwhelmed, but wonders how it comes about.
"Lousy fruit, kill the actors, you ever eat with one..."
Max recalls the bad review the play received but makes jokes about it, and blames it on the food critic.
"Just like Julius Caesar was betrayed by Brutus..."
Max compares his betrayal to the historical story of Julius Ceaser and Brutus.
"I'm so dismayed, is this how I'm repaid?..."
Max can't believe how he was betrayed by someone he trusted.
"To be betrayed, betrayed"
Max repeats being betrayed as to emphasize how hard it is to come in terms with the betrayal.
Contributed by Ava Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.