The band has a cult following in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, although the eclectic and unique sound Tindersticks possesses never made significant inroads in the mainstream.
Personnel
* Stuart Ashton Staples, born 14 November 1965 - Lead voice, guitar, melodica
* Dickon James Hinchliffe, born 9 July 1967 - violin, guitar, voice, piano, string and brass arrangements
* Neil Timothy Fraser, - born 22 November 1962 - lead guitar, vibraphone
* David Leonard Boulter, born 27 February 1965 - keyboards, percussion
* Alasdair Robert De Villeneuve Macaulay, born 2 August 1965 - drums, percussion, trumpet
* Mark Andrew Colwill, born 12 May 1960 - bass guitar
The band formed in late 1991, Staples, Boulter, Frazer, Macauley and Hinchcliffe having previously been members of Asphalt Ribbons. The final band line-up for the "old horse" mini-LP (1991) was: Stuart Staples (vocals) Dave Boulter (organ & accordion) Neil Fraser (guitar) Dickon Hinchliffe (Guitar & strings) Al Macauley (percussion & drums) John Thompson (bass). Mark Colwill was recruited when John Thompson left the Asphalt Ribbons, but it is not sure if he played any gigs under the Asphalt Ribbons name. Then they changed their name to Tindersticks after Stuart A. Staples discovered a box of German matches on a Greek beach.
Tindersticks started recording demo tapes in 1992, and were signed by Tippy Toe Records who released their first single, "Patchwork".
Their self-titled first and second albums established their signature sound and received widespread critical acclaim. Their live performances, often augmented by large string sections and even, on occasion, a full orchestra, were rapturously received. (The live album Bloomsbury Theatre 12.3.95 is a recording of one such concert.) By the time of the third album, Curtains, however, it was clear that a change of direction was called for. There was a certain ennui to the songs, and the lengthy "Ballad of Tindersticks" was a weary swipe at the pressures of being a touring band.
The fourth album, Simple Pleasure, lived up to its title with a series of snappy, direct songs influenced by soul music. The female backing vocals on several tracks, and the respectful cover of Odyssey's "If You're Looking For A Way Out", signalled the band's wish to move towards lighter, more soulful material. However, the inner sleeve's documentation of the number of takes each track went through was evidence that the band continued to adopt a painstaking approach to recording.
The fifth album, Can Our Love, continued the band's soulful direction, in particular evidence on the tender "Sweet Release" and in the nod to the Chi-Lites in the title of "Chilitetime".
The sixth and most recent album, Waiting For The Moon, was more stripped down and introspective in nature, particularly on the harrowing "4.48 Psychosis" (based on the play of the same name by the British playwright Sarah Kane) and "Sometimes It Hurts". Only the bouncy "Just A Dog" lightened the otherwise melancholy mood of the album.
In 2005 Staples embarked on a solo career and there was resultant speculation that the band had split. Staples has so far produced two solo albums, Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04 and Leaving Songs. The title of the second album, and Staples' notes on it, indicate that Tindersticks may indeed be at an end: "These are songs written on the verge of leaving the things I loved and stepping into a new unknown life, both musically and personally. I was always aware that these songs were the end of something, a kind of closing a circle of a way of writing that I started so long ago and I knew I had to move on from."
In September 2006, the band played a one-off concert at London's Barbican Centre, performing their second album in full with a nine-member string section and two brass players, including former collaborator Terry Edwards on trumpet. This concert brought the band's members back together. A new recording process in 2007 resulted in a new album, The Hungry Saw, which was released on April 28th 2008.
In the meantime, in July 2007, Island Records had released The BBC Sessions, a double CD compilation of the band's sessions for BBC radio programmes. Also in 2007, a stripped-down line-up of three of the original band, Staples, Boulter and Fraser, spent time writing and recording in a newly-equipped studio in Limousin, France. They were joined by Thomas Belhom on drums and Dan McKinna on bass, with Ian Caple engineering. The resulting album, The Hungry Saw, was released on Beggars Banquet in April 2008. Tindersticks played a number of other European dates during the summer festival season and also announced a winter 2008 European tour.
In 2010, the eighth album Falling Down a Mountain was released on 4AD / Constellation Records with a changed band line-up, with Earl Harvin replacing Belhom on drums and David Kitt, a solo artist in his own right, joining the band on guitar and vocals.
The group's ninth album The Something Rain was released in February 2012.
As well as their nine studio albums, the band has produced the soundtracks for four films by the French director Claire Denis: Nenette et Boni,Trouble Every Day, 35 Rhums and White Material
They recorded a cover of the Four Tops song, "What Is A Man", for the theme to the British TV series The Sins.
The Tindersticks song Tiny Tears was featured prominently in the Series 1 episode "Isabella" of HBO's The Sopranos. Additionally, a version of "Running Wild" was played during the ending credits of the penultimate episode of the series, "The Blue Comet". In the Season One Finale of Brotherhood, "El Diablo En El Ojo" is used twice.
* Tindersticks (aka First Album) (This Way Up, 1993)
* Tindersticks (aka Second Album) (This Way Up, 1995)
* Curtains (This Way Up, 1997)
* Simple Pleasure (Island, 1999)
* Can Our Love... (Beggar's Banquet, 2001)
* Waiting for the Moon (Beggar's Banquet, 2003)
* BBC Sessions (2007)
On 17th October 2014, Tindersticks released the commissioned soundscapes from the In Flanders Fields WW1 museum in Ypres, Belgium.
See the band's site at www.tindersticks.co.uk.
City Sickness
Tindersticks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The centre of things from where everything stems
Is not where I belong
I have the city sickness, growing inside me
So this is where I ran for freedom
Where I may not be free
I have these hands beating with love for you
Sent you away, what else can I do
When I need something that much?
Oh I'm hurting babe
In the city there's no place for love
It's just used to make people feel better
That's not like us
I got this sickness
As I got off the train
Now it chafes away at my heart
Until nothing remains
I have these hands beating with love for you
And you're not here to touch
Sent you away, what else can I do
When I need something that much?
That much
I'm okay afterwards
Afterwards lasts for minutes only
I'm okay during
You kind of fill up my mind
It's just that before may last forever
It's just that before may just fuck my mind
I have these hands beating with love for you
And you're not here to touch
Sent you away, what else can I do
When I need something that much?
That much
The song "City Sickness" by Tindersticks is a portrait of a person who is struggling to find their place in the world, specifically in the city. The singer feels lost and out of place, and the lyrics capture their sense of unease and loneliness. They describe themselves as "crawling," unsure of where they're going or where they've come from. They feel disconnected from the "centre of things," which they describe as the place where everything originates. Instead of feeling at home in the city, the singer feels ill: they have "the city sickness," which is growing inside of them.
The singer seeks freedom in the city, but they're not finding it. They're hurting and lonely, with strong feelings of love for someone who's not there. They've sent this person away, and now they're left with nothing but their own longing. The city offers no relief: it's a place where love is just a shallow comfort, not the deep connection the singer is seeking.
The song captures the sense of dislocation and dissatisfaction that can come with living in a big city. It's a poignant portrait of a person who's struggling to find themselves and their place in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm crawling, I don't know where to or from
I am aimlessly wandering, unsure of where I came from or where I am headed.
The centre of things from where everything stems / Is not where I belong
I feel disconnected from the heart of the city, where everything originates and radiates outwards.
I have the city sickness, growing inside me / So this is where I ran for freedom / Where I may not be free
I have become entrenched in the frenetic pace of urban life, seeking solace in its distractions even though I know they won't provide true freedom.
I have these hands beating with love for you / And you're not here to touch / Sent you away, what else can I do / When I need something that much?
I am desperately in love with someone who is not physically present, and I am at a loss for what else to do without them.
Oh I'm hurting babe / In the city there's no place for love / It's just used to make people feel better / That's not like us
I am in pain, as the city is not a conducive place for fostering love, just a superficial tool for comforting us in times of stress or loneliness, unlike our true love.
I got this sickness / As I got off the train / Now it chafes away at my heart / Until nothing remains
The city sickness took hold of me the moment I arrived from the train, and it has eroded my heart to the point of emptiness.
I'm okay afterwards / Afterwards lasts for minutes only / I'm okay during / You kind of fill up my mind / It's just that before may last forever / It's just that before may just fuck my mind
I may feel okay after the fact, but those moments are fleeting, as I am only truly at peace when I am distracted by thoughts of you. But the period before your return could last an eternity, and it threatens to drive me insane.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Alasdair Macaulay, David Boulter, Dickon James Hinchliffe, Mark Anthony Stephen Colwill, Neil Timothy Fraser, Stuart Ashton Staples
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MarcosVieiraVideos
This music is very Special to me! Great song... beautiful mandolins... Violins... and perfect voice... Tindersticks Forever!
@duridas4645
Heard this for the first time in "The End of the Tour". Great song. Scary how much music you can listen to and still miss such great stuff..
@piemanpie2424
Alex Duridas Jason Segel not being nominated for an Oscar still pisses me off.
@soktornulvidigal2405
Sad but true..
@terryoneil7128
LOVE THIS!!! Had this on vinyl when it came out. Haven't heard in years. So good.
@enirx
It left such a huge impression on me when it first came out. Magical....
@patriciathewisher2315
Wow. Stuart’s voice reminds me of Ian Curtis and Elvis Presley and maybe someone else. Great song. Off first album. I saw them first in a tiny little venue at Highbury and Islington must’ve been 93 with Nick who introduced me to them. Saw them then a number of times. Maybe 2008 I got free tickets and an invite to the after party at Royal Festival Hall gig. Me and Irene as Tony couldn’t go. Met Romeo of The Magic Numbers outside where he scrounged cigarettes off me. Later he told me there was no point in going to the after party as the band had gone and there was no booze. We checked and yeah, he was tellin the truth. Romeo was a new fan. Was gobsmacked I’d seen them from the beginning. X
@Xjoyce80
@ohgimemo I saw them for the first time in 1997 and 2 days later I owned their first 4 CDs. I never regret it!! Also their live performances are so emotional and for me is a lifetime experience every single time!
@SuperGrumpyDaddy
Can across this playing in a record shop in Plymouth, asked the guy behind the counter what it was, bought the album there and then - their last copy. So glad I bought it, great album.
@MTCPORTUGAL
Great, great band! Saw you again, 13 years after the last time in Porto. Always better as time goes by...City sickness: I agree...sometimes. Cheers!