The Records formed out of the ashes of the Kursaal Flyers, a pub rock group featuring drummer Will Birch. In 1977, John Wicks joined the band as a rhythm guitarist, and he and Birch quickly started writing songs together, Wicks as composer, Birch as lyricist. The Kursaal Flyers dissolved three months after Wicks joined, but he and Birch continued to write songs together with the hopes of starting a new four-piece group with Birch on drums and Wicks on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Birch soon came up with a name for the formative band: The Records. The group's line-up initially included bassist Phil Brown and lead guitarist Brian Alterman, whose guitar riffs have been compared to that of the Byrds. Alterman played on two early demos that were later included on the album Paying for the Summer of Love, before joining another band. Alterman was replaced by Huw Gower in 1978. Like Birch and Wicks, Gower and Brown were music veterans: Gower had played with a band called the Ratbites from Hell and Brown had been the bass player for the Janets.
The new group was heavily influenced both by British Invasion bands like The Beatles and The Kinks and early power pop groups such as Badfinger, Big Star, and Raspberries. Power pop was experiencing a renaissance on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks in large part to the burgeoning punk/new wave movement.
They were hired to back Stiff Records singer Rachel Sweet on the "Be Stiff Tour '78". The Records opened the shows with a set of their own. Birch and Wicks also wrote a song for Sweet's debut album entitled "Pin a Medal on Mary". The songwriting duo also penned "Hearts in Her Eyes" for the Searchers, who made an unexpected comeback with their power pop oriented album The Searchers in 1979.
Based on their demos (later released as Paying for the Summer of Love), the band was signed to Virgin Records in 1978. Their debut single, "Starry Eyes", was released in the UK that December and has since become their best-known song and an oft-covered power pop standard. Allmusic called it "a near-perfect song that defined British power pop in the '70s". Due in part to its clear influence by American power pop, the song was a bigger hit in the US than in the UK; it peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1979.
The group prepared their debut album with producers Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Tim Friese-Greene. Huw Gower produced "The Phone", which was added to the album in preference to one of Lange's efforts, a cover of Tim Moore's "Rock 'n' Roll Love Letter". The debut LP Shades in Bed yielded another single, "Teenarama", their second-best known song. The album was released in the US in July 1979 as The Records with different song sequencing and with the original single version of "Starry Eyes" replacing Lange's re-recording that appeared on the UK edition. The album was sufficiently well received to peak on the Billboard chart at No. 41. Gower also produced the bonus four track disc of cover tunes included in the album release, which also received FM airplay, notably the version of Spirit's "1984", which was strong enough to become short-listed by Virgin as the second single off the album.
That was the pinnacle of their success. Returning to the UK, Will Birch engaged the services of producer Craig Leon to record two new songs and to remix two tracks from Shades in Bed for a possible single release. Huw Gower acted as co-producer. After an aborted German tour with Robert Palmer, Gower left the band and relocated to New York, where he joined forces with New York Dolls lead singer David Johansen. Their collaboration led to the successful album Live It Up.
Jude Cole, a 19-year-old American, who had been in Moon Martin's backing group The Ravens, joined for the album Crashes (1980). The album was not a hit, and did not yield any successful singles, and record company support for the band dried up during the Crashes tour. Cole stayed in the US, while the core of Birch, Wicks and Brown returned home to England.
The trio expanded into a quintet with guitarist Dave Whelan and lead singer Chris Gent. Previously, most of the songs had been sung by Wicks, but with other members frequently taking lead vocals for individual songs. Birch has since declared that the decision to recruit a lead singer was made "perhaps unwisely". This line-up recorded a third album for Virgin, 1982's Music on Both Sides. Like its predecessor, the album was not a hit.
After this, the band effectively broke up. Birch turned to tour managing, running 'Rock Tours', a sightseeing London Bus venture, producing and writing. In 1990 the original band briefly reformed to contribute a track for the 1991 Brian Wilson tribute album, Smiles, Vibes & Harmony. Birch, Brown and Wicks cut the basic track for "Darlin'" in London; Gower added his parts and mixed it in New York. The same year also saw the US release of Paying for the Summer of Love. Both recordings received great press, but were not enough to outweigh unresolved past issues within the core membership, which effectively killed any possibility of restarting the group. Wicks relocated to the US in 1994 and was writing, recording and performing both solo and with a new incarnation of the band up until 2018.
John Wicks died on October 7, 2018 in Burbank, California.
1984
The Records Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How long can we stay apart?
You may get it maybe never
But it's coming from the heart.
Your life is full of indecision
You can't make up your mind.
We must get it in position
And move it on down the line.
I been on that road too long of a time
Yes the road is long, and it winds and winds
When I think of the love that I left behind.
Make me up a bed of roses
And hang them down from the vine
Of all my loves you've been the closest
That's ever been on my mind.
Please don't talk about tomorrow
I'm really not one to care
This world is filled with too much sorrow
That nobody's heart should bear.
'Cause the road is long, it's a long hard climb
I been on that road too long of a time
Yes the road is long, and it winds and winds
When I think of the love that I left behind.
Please, please give me indication
Stop and talk to me
Like a river that is flowing
My love will never cease to be.
You will always be my honey
No one could take your part
Our love can't be bought with money
'Cause it's coming from the heart.
'Cause the road is long, it's a long hard climb
I been on that road too long of a time
Yes the road is long, and it winds and winds
When I think of the love that I left behind.
The Records' song "1984" is a powerful ballad that speaks to the need for unity and love in a world full of indecision and sorrow. The opening lines, "We have got to come together/How long can we stay apart?" highlight the need for people to join forces and work towards a common goal. The song's message is that every individual has something to offer, and by working together, they can achieve greatness.
The lyrics also touch on the theme of love and lost love. The singer reminisces about the love that he left behind and cannot forget. He longs to make amends and be reunited with his love, as demonstrated in the lines, "Make me up a bed of roses/And hang them down from the vine/Of all my loves you've been the closest/That's ever been on my mind." The song's messaging is further emphasized by the call for action- the need to take steps to achieve success, "We must get it in position/And move it on down the line."
Line by Line Meaning
We have got to come together
It is important for us to unify as one
How long can we stay apart?
How much longer can we continue to be divided?
You may get it maybe never
You may understand it or perhaps never will
But it's coming from the heart.
But it is a genuine expression of emotions.
Your life is full of indecision
You struggle to make decisions in your life
You can't make up your mind.
You are unable to come to a decision.
We must get it in position
We need to get ourselves organized
And move it on down the line.
And continue moving forward towards our goal.
'Cause the road is long, it's a long hard climb
Achieving our goal will be a difficult journey.
I been on that road too long of a time
I have been on that journey for too long already.
Yes the road is long, and it winds and winds
The journey is long and full of twists and turns
When I think of the love that I left behind.
I sometimes reminisce about the love I lost in the past.
Make me up a bed of roses
Create a comfortable place for me to rest
And hang them down from the vine
And decorate it beautifully
Of all my loves you've been the closest
Out of all my past loving relationships, you are the one who has been the closest to me.
That's ever been on my mind.
I often think of you.
Please don't talk about tomorrow
Please don't bring up the future
I'm really not one to care
I don't really care about what's to come.
This world is filled with too much sorrow
The world is full of too much sadness
That nobody's heart should bear.
So much sadness and pain that nobody should have to endure.
Please, please give me indication
Please give me some sort of sign
Stop and talk to me
Stop and communicate with me.
Like a river that is flowing
Like a river that keeps on going.
My love will never cease to be.
My love for you will never end.
You will always be my honey
You will always be my sweetie
No one could take your part
Nobody could replace you in my heart.
Our love can't be bought with money
Our love can't be purchased with money.
'Cause it's coming from the heart.
Because it's a genuine expression of emotions.
Writer(s): GRANT BLACK, MARIE CLAIRE DUBALDO
Contributed by Kaylee K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@g9d9g9d9
best song by the records
@saculaguirre
This is a cover
@keithkeith6664
@@saculaguirre A cover of what?
@crowhillian58
@@keithkeith6664The original I presume.
@scottboundy1739
@@saculaguirreSpirit 1984