The Wonder Stuff are a band originally based in Stourbridge, in the Black C… Read Full Bio ↴The Wonder Stuff are a band originally based in Stourbridge, in the Black Country, West Midlands, UK.

The original line-up was Miles Hunt (whose uncle Bill Hunt was keyboard player with Wizzard), Malcolm Treece, Rob "The Bass Thing" Jones (d. 1993) and Martin Gilks (d. 2006). The group originated from an earlier collaboration with group members of Pop Will Eat Itself (aka PWEI), called From Eden, which had Miles Hunt on the drums.

In 1990, Martin Bell (aka, Fiddlie), an accomplished fiddle and banjo instrumentalist, joined the band and Paul Clifford replaced Rob Jones on the bass after Jones left the band.

The band initially split on July 14, 1994 at the Phoenix Festival near Stratford-on-Avon, with Miles Hunt forming Vent 414 and Malc Treece, Martin Gilks and Paul Clifford teaming up with ex-Eat frontman, Ange Dolittle, to form We Know Where You Live.

Following the split of Vent 414, Miles Hunt took to touring an acoustic solo show performing old favourites and new material. During this period, he toured and released an album under banner of The Miles Hunt Club, featuring Stuart Quinnel and Andres Karu (who would later featuring in subsequent line-ups of The Wonder Stuff) as well as Michael Ferentino fom the Amazing Meet Project.

The band later reformed for a few live tours from 2000 onwards including a sell out 5 night residency at The Forum, London. For this incarnation, Stuart Quinnel took over on bass from Paul Clifford.

Their first new album for over a decade, Escape From Rubbish Island, was released in September 2004. The line-up for this album was Hunt and Treece plus Andres Karu and Mark McCarthy (formally of Radical Dance Faction).

This line-up (plus Erica Nockalls on violin) continued into 2006 with the release of their new album Suspended By Stars.

Scheduled for 2011 is a tour supporting The Levellers for which the line up has changed again, with Andres Karu being replaced on drums by ex-Pop Will Eat Itself member Fuzz Townshend.

Cartoon Boyfriend
The Wonder Stuff Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

"There's a worm in my head and a fish in the bed," she said
Confused you will be
He's got the car on the lawn and he's using the horn again
Annoyed she will be

[Chorus]
Cartoon boyfriend when you gonna rub yourself out

"There's a girl at my door and she's begging for more," he said
"Abused you will be"
"If you touch a hair on my head then you'd be better off dead"
She said "Oh joking you must be"

[Chorus]

There were pieces of gold in his mouth when they met
And now there's just pieces of coal
There was a thought in his head the first time she said
And now there's just a gaping hole

(They call him the Crayola Kid, yeah look what he did with his crayons
And stuff but, that's not enough, Crayola Kid.)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Wonder Stuff's song Cartoon Boyfriend explores the complexity of relationships and how our perception of people can change over time. The first two lines of the song, "There's a worm in my head and a fish in the bed," introduces the idea that the singer's mind is plagued with conflicting thoughts and emotions. The use of the word "confused" suggests that the singer is struggling to navigate their feelings. Meanwhile, the second line, "He's got the car on the lawn, and he's using the horn again," reveals that there is a source of annoyance present in the singer's life, but it remains unclear as to who or what that source may be.

The chorus, "Cartoon boyfriend when you gonna rub yourself out," implies that the singer's feelings for their partner are fluctuating. The use of the word "cartoon" suggests that the singer's partner might not be real or authentic, and the word "rub" implies a desire to erase or forget this relationship. In the second verse, the roles are reversed, and the male narrator states that a girl is at his door, begging for more. The female narrator's response suggests that she is not taking his statement seriously and believes it to be a joke. The final verse plays with the idea of transformation, as the pieces of gold in the male narrator's mouth have turned to coal, and the thought he once had is now a gaping hole.

Line by Line Meaning

There's a worm in my head and a fish in the bed, she said
She is feeling confused and disoriented, as if her thoughts and reality are mixed up.

He's got the car on the lawn and he's using the horn again
She is becoming irritated by his behavior, which involves making loud noises that disturb the peace.

Cartoon boyfriend when you gonna rub yourself out
She is expressing her desire for him to disappear or be erased, as if he were a fictional character or cartoon.

There's a girl at my door and she's begging for more, he said
He is bragging about his sexual conquests, suggesting that his relationships are purely physical and exploitative.

If you touch a hair on my head then you'd be better off dead
She is threatening him with violence or harm if he tries to control or hurt her in any way.

There were pieces of gold in his mouth when they met
He seemed wealthy and successful at the start of their relationship, but now he has lost everything and become poor.

And now there's just pieces of coal
He is now worth very little or nothing, as if his former success has turned into failure.

There was a thought in his head the first time she said
He had an idea or plan when they first met, but it has now been forgotten or abandoned.

And now there's just a gaping hole
He has lost something important or valuable, leaving behind only emptiness or confusion.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MALCOLM ROY TREECE, MARTIN RICHARD GILKS, MILES STEPHEN HUNT, ROBERT JONES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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