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.
All Messed Up And Ready To Go
The Records Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out into the night
I locked all the doors
And I turned out the light
I used the phone in the hall
I close my eyes
And I make the call
I told my mother
I'll only come home
If you won't run my affairs
The ticket that I got in my hand
Leads right downtown
To the promised land
I left a message for the milkman
Nothing today
Cause I ain't coming home
Never mind the letters
That require reply
Cause I'm
All messed up and ready
Cause I'm
All messed up and ready
Cause I'm
All messed up and ready to go
I hadn't had a lover for days
I've been saying to myself
As my patience fades
Now I got to find my delight
She's out there I know
And I'll need her tonight
I'm working out the things
That I'll say
And I know first
That she's gonna turn me away
The more she seems
Unwilling to please
She'll call me right back
And get down on her knees
Repeat Chorus
I'm
Cause I'm
Cause I'm
Cause I'm
All messed up and ready
Cause I'm (cause I'm)
All messed up and ready
Cause I'm (cause I'm)
All messed up and ready
Cause I'm (cause I'm)
All messed up and ready to go
The Records' song "All Messed Up And Ready To Go" is a nostalgic, upbeat tune about a person's decision to leave everything behind and start anew. From the very first few lines, it is clear that the singer of the song is taking a real risk: after letting the cat out into the night, they lock all the doors to their familiar life- quite literally closing the door on their past. They then use the phone to call their mother and inform her that they're leaving, making it clear that they're only coming back if she agrees not to interfere with their affairs anymore. The singer then heads out, holding a ticket that will take them to the promised land: downtown where they can start afresh.
The song's lively refrain is a testament to the singer's confidence- they are "all messed up and ready to go". They've left everything behind and are "working out the things that [they'll] say" when they meet someone they've been eyeing for a while. The singer is aware that the object of their affection may turn them away, but the more "unwilling she seems to please", the more determined they become to win her over. In the end, they know that she'll be the one calling them back- proving that they're not the only one feeling all messed up and ready for a change.
Line by Line Meaning
After letting the cat
After completing a task that must be done before leaving
Out into the night
Into the darkness where everything is unknown
I locked all the doors
Ensuring safety and security
And I turned out the light
Leaving behind everything that was familiar and comfortable
I used the phone in the hall
Contacting someone important
I close my eyes
Preparing mentally for what's to come
And I make the call
Taking action to move forward
I told my mother
Communicating with someone close
Not to despair
Assuring that everything will be okay
I'll only come home
Not planning on returning anytime soon
If you won't run my affairs
Asking for independence and control over one's own life
The ticket that I got in my hand
Possessing something that will take him where he wants to go
Leads right downtown
Going to the heart of the action
To the promised land
Heading towards something that he believes will bring fulfillment
I left a message for the milkman
Taking care of a responsibility before leaving
Nothing today
Not expecting to return anytime soon
Cause I ain't coming home
Choosing to stay away
Never mind the letters
Ignoring distractions
That require reply
Responsibilities that he can't or won't handle at the moment
Cause I'm
Explaining his current state of mind
All messed up and ready
Feeling confused and unprepared but still moving forward
Cause I'm
Reiterating his current state of mind
All messed up and ready
Acknowledging that he may not have it all together but is still determined
Cause I'm
Continuing his explanation
All messed up and ready to go
Ready to face the unknown despite feeling lost or uncertain
I hadn't had a lover for days
Not having someone to share intimacy with for some time
I've been saying to myself
Thinking about what he wants and needs
As my patience fades
Growing increasingly restless and eager
Now I got to find my delight
Searching for happiness and fulfillment
She's out there I know
Believing that what he's looking for is within reach
And I'll need her tonight
Desiring companionship and intimacy immediately
I'm working out the things
Figuring out what he wants to say or do
That I'll say
Planning what he wants to express to his potential partner
And I know first
Anticipating the outcome of his efforts
That she's gonna turn me away
Expecting rejection or disappointment
The more she seems
Observing and analyzing her behavior
Unwilling to please
Realizing that she may not be what he had hoped for
She'll call me right back
Being surprised by her response
And get down on her knees
Receiving a response that exceeds expectations
Repeat Chorus
Repeating his declaration of being all messed up and ready to go
Contributed by David H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Retro Baseball Junk Wax
Great songs from these guys! Awesome to get a chance to rediscover them. 1980 was a long time ago
wajobu
I saw them live Sept 1980–fabulous concert. They sounded great.
BG BASSMAN
Had that chorus stuck in my head today march 7/21. Looed at my 40+ year old album list book and finally got to the R's, then saw on my list...the records and googled. Great memories!
CONCEPCION ALLENDE SOMOANO
que voces y que guitarras
Jonathan Vernot
One-way ticket to the Promised Land indeed!