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.
My Sister
Tindersticks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How many mistakes did she make with those never blinking eyes?
I couldn't work it out.
I swear she could read your mind,
Your life, the depths of your soul at one glance.
Maybe she was stripping herself
Away, saying
I am yours and everything about me, everything you see,
If only you look hard enough
I never could.
Our life was a pillow-fight.
We'd stand there on the quilt,
Our hands clenched ready.
Her with her milky teeth,
So late for her age,
And a Stanley knife in her hand.
She sliced the tires on my bike and I couldn't forgive her.
She went blind at the age of five.
We'd stand at the bedroom window and she'd
Get me to tell her what I saw.
I'd describe the houses opposite, the little
Patch of grass next to the path,
The gate with its rotten hinges forever wedged
Open that Dad was always going to fix.
She'd stand there quiet for a moment.
I thought she was trying to develop the images in her own head.
Then she'd say
I can see little twinkly stars,
Like Christmas tree lights in faraway windows.
Rings of brightly colored rocks
Floating around orange and mustard planets.
I can see huge tiger striped fishes
Chasing tiny blue and yellow dashes,
All tails and fins and bubbles.
I'd look at the gray house opposite, and close the curtains.
She burned down the house when she was ten.
I was away camping with the scouts.
The fireman said she'd been smoking in bed
The old story, I thought.
The cat and our mum died in the flames,
So Dad took us to stay with our Aunt in the country.
He went back to London to find us a new house.
We never saw him again.
On her thirteenth birthday she fell down the well in our
Aunt's garden and broke her head.
She'd been drinking heavily.
On her recovery her sight
Returned, a fluke of nature everyone said.
That's when she said she'd never blink again.
I would tell her when she started at me,
With her eyes wide and watery,
That they reminded me of the well she fell into.
She liked this, it made her laugh.
She moved in with a gym teacher when she was fifteen,
All muscles he was.
He lost his job when it all came out,
And couldn't get another one.
Not in that kind of small town.
Everybody knew everyone else's business.
My sister would hold her head high, though.
She said she was in love.
They were together for five years until one day he lost his temper.
He hit over the back of the neck with his bullworker.
She lost the use of the right side of her body.
He got three years and was out in fifteen months.
We saw him a while later,
He was coaching a non-league football team in a Cornwall seaside town.
I don't think he recognized her.
My sister had put on a lot of weight from being in a chair all the time.
She'd get me to stick pins
And stub out cigarettes in her right
Hand. She'd laugh like mad
Because it didn't hurt.
Her left hand was pretty
Good though. We'd have arm wrestling matches,
I'd have to use both arms and
She'd still beat me.
We buried her when she was 32.
Me and my Aunt, the vicar, and the man who dug the hole.
She said she didn't want to be cremated
And wanted a cheap coffin so the worms could get to her quickly.
She said she liked the idea of it,
Though I thought it was because of what happened to the cat, and our mum.
The lyrics of Tindersticks' song "My Sister" paint a vivid picture of the life of the singer and his sister. The song begins with the singer asking, "Do you remember my sister?", and proceeds to describe his sister's life and her struggles. The lyrics highlight the deep connection between the siblings, despite their differences and past conflicts.
Through the lyrics, we learn that the sister was blind at a young age but regained her sight years later. Her lifetime was marked by a tumultuous series of events, from burning down their house to being paralyzed by her abusive boyfriend. Despite her challenges, she maintained a dark sense of humor and an unbreakable spirit.
The singer describes his inability to understand his sister fully, expressing his regret at never being able to "look hard enough" to see who she truly was. The song ends with the singer and his aunt burying his sister, who had requested a cheap coffin so that the worms could reach her body quickly. The haunting melody and poignant lyrics of "My Sister" capture the complexity and beauty of sibling relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you remember my sister?
The singer is asking the listener if they remember his sister.
How many mistakes did she make with those never blinking eyes?
The singer is questioning how many mistakes his sister made with her eyes that never blinked.
I couldn't work it out.
The singer couldn't understand his sister's behavior.
I swear she could read your mind,
The artist believes that his sister had the ability to read people's minds.
Your life, the depths of your soul at one glance.
The artist believes his sister could see right through people and understand their lives and souls in one glance.
Maybe she was stripping herself Away, saying
The singer suggests that his sister was revealing her true self to the world.
Here I am, this is me I am yours and everything about me, everything you see,
The singer is saying that his sister was showing her true self to the world and everything about her was there to be seen.
If only you look hard enough I never could.
The artist admits that he could never see his sister's true self.
Our life was a pillow-fight.
The artist is describing his life with his sister as playful.
We'd stand there on the quilt, Our hands clenched ready.
The artist describes a scene where he and his sister are standing on a quilt with their hands clenched, ready for a pillow fight.
Her with her milky teeth, So late for her age, And a Stanley knife in her hand.
The singer is describing his sister's physical appearance with her late milk teeth and a Stanley knife in her hand.
She sliced the tires on my bike and I couldn't forgive her.
The artist is recalling a time when his sister sliced the tires on his bike and he couldn't forgive her for it.
She went blind at the age of five.
The singer is describing his sister's blindness at the age of five.
We'd stand at the bedroom window and she'd Get me to tell her what I saw.
The singer is describing a scene where he and his sister are standing at the bedroom window and his sister would ask him to describe what he saw.
I'd describe the houses opposite, the little Patch of grass next to the path,
The singer is describing what he would see outside the bedroom window.
The gate with its rotten hinges forever wedged Open that Dad was always going to fix.
The artist is describing a gate with broken hinges that their father was always going to fix.
She'd stand there quiet for a moment.
The artist is describing a moment where his sister would be quiet for a while.
I thought she was trying to develop the images in her own head.
The singer thought his sister was trying to create images in her head.
Then she'd say
The singer is describing what his sister would say after being quiet for a while.
I can see little twinkly stars, Like Christmas tree lights in faraway windows.
The artist is describing what his sister could see in her mind.
Rings of brightly colored rocks Floating around orange and mustard planets.
The artist is describing more of what his sister could see in her mind.
I can see huge tiger striped fishes Chasing tiny blue and yellow dashes, All tails and fins and bubbles.
The artist is describing even more of what his sister could see in her mind.
I'd look at the gray house opposite, and close the curtains.
The singer describes how he would react to hearing what his sister was seeing.
She burned down the house when she was ten.
The artist is saying his sister burned down a house when she was ten years old.
I was away camping with the scouts.
The singer was not home when his sister burned down the house.
The fireman said she'd been smoking in bed.
The singer is revealing how his sister caused the house fire.
The old story, I thought.
The singer thought that the story of his sister smoking in bed was a typical story.
The cat and our mum died in the flames, So Dad took us to stay with our Aunt in the country.
The artist's mother and cat died in the fire, so their father took them to live with their aunt in the country.
He went back to London to find us a new house.
The artist's father went back to London to find them a new home.
We never saw him again.
The singer and his sister never saw their father again.
On her thirteenth birthday she fell down the well in our Aunt's garden and broke her head.
The singer is saying that on his sister's thirteenth birthday, she fell down a well in their Aunt's garden and hurt herself.
She'd been drinking heavily.
The artist is saying that his sister had been drinking heavily before she fell down the well.
On her recovery her sight Returned, a fluke of nature everyone said.
The artist is saying that after his sister's recovery, her sight returned, which everyone thought was a fluke of nature.
That's when she said she'd never blink again.
The artist is saying that is when his sister decided she would never blink again.
I would tell her when she started at me, With her eyes wide and watery,
The singer is saying that when his sister looked at him with her wide and watery eyes, he would remind her of the well she fell in.
That they reminded me of the well she fell into.
The artist is saying his sister's eyes reminded him of the well she fell into.
She liked this, it made her laugh.
The singer is saying that his sister found his joke about her eyes making her laugh.
She moved in with a gym teacher when she was fifteen,
The singer is saying his sister went to live with a gym teacher when she was fifteen years old.
All muscles he was.
The singer is describing the gym teacher as muscular.
He lost his job when it all came out,
The artist is saying the gym teacher lost his job when something was discovered.
And couldn't get another one.
The gym teacher could not find another job.
Not in that kind of small town.
The singer is saying it is not possible to find a similar job in a small town.
Everybody knew everyone else's business.
The singer is saying that everyone knew about each other's affairs.
My sister would hold her head high, though.
The artist is saying that his sister would not be ashamed of her affair with the gym teacher.
She said she was in love.
The artist's sister said she was in love with the gym teacher.
They were together for five years until one day he lost his temper.
The artist is saying that the gym teacher and his sister were together for five years, but one day he lost his temper.
He hit over the back of the neck with his bullworker.
The singer is describing how the gym teacher hit his sister in the back of the neck with his exercise equipment.
She lost the use of the right side of her body.
The artist is saying that his sister was paralyzed on the right side of her body.
He got three years and was out in fifteen months.
The singer is saying that the gym teacher was sentenced to three years, but only served fifteen months.
We saw him a while later,
The singer and his sister saw the gym teacher later.
He was coaching a non-league football team in a Cornwall seaside town.
The singer is saying that the gym teacher was a coach for a non-league football team in a seaside town in Cornwall.
I don't think he recognized her.
The artist thinks that the gym teacher did not recognize his sister.
My sister had put on a lot of weight from being in a chair all the time.
The artist is saying that his sister gained weight from being in a chair all the time after being paralyzed.
She'd get me to stick pins And stub out cigarettes in her right Hand.
The singer's sister would ask him to stick pins and stub out cigarettes on her right hand.
She'd laugh like mad Because it didn't hurt.
The singer is saying that his sister would laugh hysterically because it did not hurt.
Her left hand was pretty Good though.
The artist is describing his sister's left hand.
We'd have arm wrestling matches,
The artist and his sister would have arm wrestling matches.
I'd have to use both arms and She'd still beat me.
The artist is revealing that his sister would still win arm wrestling matches even if he used both arms.
We buried her when she was 32.
The singer's sister was buried when she was 32 years old.
Me and my Aunt, the vicar, and the man who dug the hole.
The artist, his aunt, and the vicar were present at his sister's funeral along with the man who dug the hole.
She said she didn't want to be cremated And wanted a cheap coffin so the worms could get to her quickly.
The singer is saying that his sister did not want to be cremated and wanted a cheap coffin so the worms could reach her quickly.
She said she liked the idea of it,
The singer's sister liked the idea of the worms reaching her quickly.
Though I thought it was because of what happened to the cat, and our mum.
The singer thought his sister's desire for a cheap coffin was related to the incidents involving their cat and mother.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DAVID BOULTER, DICKON JAMES HINCHLIFFE, STUART ASHTON STAPLES, NEIL TIMOTHY FRASER, MARK ANTHONY STEPHEN COLWILL, ALASDAIR MACAULAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Blixa Rollins
Do you remember my sister?
How many mistakes did she make with those never blinking eyes?
I couldn't work it out.
I swear she could read your mind,
Your life, the depths of your soul at one glance.
Maybe she was stripping herself
Away, saying
Here I am, this is me
I am yours and everything about me, everything you see,
If only you look hard enough
I never could.
Our life was a pillow-fight.
We'd stand there on the quilt,
Our hands clenched ready.
Her with her milky teeth,
So late for her age,
And a Stanley knife in her hand.
She sliced the tires on my bike and I couldn't forgive her.
She went blind at the age of five.
We'd stand at the bedroom window and she'd
Get me to tell her what I saw.
I'd describe the houses opposite, the little
Patch of grass next to the path,
The gate with its rotten hinges forever wedged
Open that Dad was always going to fix.
She'd stand there quiet for a moment.
I thought she was trying to develop the images in her own head.
Then she'd say
I can see little twinkly stars,
Like Christmas tree lights in faraway windows.
Rings of brightly colored rocks
Floating around orange and mustard planets.
I can see huge tiger striped fishes
Chasing tiny blue and yellow dashes,
All tails and fins and bubbles.
I'd look at the gray house opposite, and close the curtains.
She burned down the house when she was ten.
I was away camping with the scouts.
The fireman said she'd been smoking in bed
The old story, I thought.
The cat and our mum died in the flames,
So Dad took us to stay with our Aunt in the country.
He went back to London to find us a new house.
We never saw him again.
On her thirteenth birthday she fell down the well in our
Aunt's garden and broke her head.
She'd been drinking heavily.
On her recovery her sight
Returned, a fluke of nature everyone said.
That's when she said she'd never blink again.
I would tell her when she started at me,
With her eyes wide and watery,
That they reminded me of the well she fell into.
She liked this, it made her laugh.
She moved in with a gym teacher when she was fifteen,
All muscles he was.
He lost his job when it all came out,
And couldn't get another one.
Not in that kind of small town.
Everybody knew everyone else's business.
My sister would hold her head high, though.
She said she was in love.
They were together for five years until one day he lost his temper.
He hit over the back of the neck with his bullworker.
She lost the use of the right side of her body.
He got three years and was out in fifteen months.
We saw him a while later,
He was coaching a non-league football team in a Cornwall seaside town.
I don't think he recognized her.
My sister had put on a lot of weight from being in a chair all the time.
She'd get me to stick pins
And stub out cigarettes in her right
Hand. She'd laugh like mad
Because it didn't hurt.
Her left hand was pretty
Good though. We'd have arm wrestling matches,
I'd have to use both arms and
She'd still beat me.
We buried her when she was 32.
Me and my Aunt, the vicar, and the man who dug the hole.
She said she didn't want to be cremated
And wanted a cheap coffin so the worms could get to her quickly.
She said she liked the idea of it,
Though I thought it was because of what happened to the cat, and our mum.
George Iscooking.
Favorite song of all time.
Blixa Rollins
Do you remember my sister?
How many mistakes did she make with those never blinking eyes?
I couldn't work it out.
I swear she could read your mind,
Your life, the depths of your soul at one glance.
Maybe she was stripping herself
Away, saying
Here I am, this is me
I am yours and everything about me, everything you see,
If only you look hard enough
I never could.
Our life was a pillow-fight.
We'd stand there on the quilt,
Our hands clenched ready.
Her with her milky teeth,
So late for her age,
And a Stanley knife in her hand.
She sliced the tires on my bike and I couldn't forgive her.
She went blind at the age of five.
We'd stand at the bedroom window and she'd
Get me to tell her what I saw.
I'd describe the houses opposite, the little
Patch of grass next to the path,
The gate with its rotten hinges forever wedged
Open that Dad was always going to fix.
She'd stand there quiet for a moment.
I thought she was trying to develop the images in her own head.
Then she'd say
I can see little twinkly stars,
Like Christmas tree lights in faraway windows.
Rings of brightly colored rocks
Floating around orange and mustard planets.
I can see huge tiger striped fishes
Chasing tiny blue and yellow dashes,
All tails and fins and bubbles.
I'd look at the gray house opposite, and close the curtains.
She burned down the house when she was ten.
I was away camping with the scouts.
The fireman said she'd been smoking in bed
The old story, I thought.
The cat and our mum died in the flames,
So Dad took us to stay with our Aunt in the country.
He went back to London to find us a new house.
We never saw him again.
On her thirteenth birthday she fell down the well in our
Aunt's garden and broke her head.
She'd been drinking heavily.
On her recovery her sight
Returned, a fluke of nature everyone said.
That's when she said she'd never blink again.
I would tell her when she started at me,
With her eyes wide and watery,
That they reminded me of the well she fell into.
She liked this, it made her laugh.
She moved in with a gym teacher when she was fifteen,
All muscles he was.
He lost his job when it all came out,
And couldn't get another one.
Not in that kind of small town.
Everybody knew everyone else's business.
My sister would hold her head high, though.
She said she was in love.
They were together for five years until one day he lost his temper.
He hit over the back of the neck with his bullworker.
She lost the use of the right side of her body.
He got three years and was out in fifteen months.
We saw him a while later,
He was coaching a non-league football team in a Cornwall seaside town.
I don't think he recognized her.
My sister had put on a lot of weight from being in a chair all the time.
She'd get me to stick pins
And stub out cigarettes in her right
Hand. She'd laugh like mad
Because it didn't hurt.
Her left hand was pretty
Good though. We'd have arm wrestling matches,
I'd have to use both arms and
She'd still beat me.
We buried her when she was 32.
Me and my Aunt, the vicar, and the man who dug the hole.
She said she didn't want to be cremated
And wanted a cheap coffin so the worms could get to her quickly.
She said she liked the idea of it,
Though I thought it was because of what happened to the cat, and our mum.
Muso4001S
Great record, great band!
Dave Daints
"hit her over the back of the neck with his bullworker"
the lyrics for this are fantastic.
CJ Green
"The cat and our mam died in the flames." Potent lyrics :)
Matija Perčec
This song.. it creates such a mood, it's like I've seen a movie of this. Or better yet, it's like I lived through it.
Camilla Watson
LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
lovewalruss
Music and lyrics are terrific.
GuyLiguili
Stunning !
Firework Art
The first time I ever heard this, on BBC R1, back in the 90s, so many people contacted the station before the end of the show they decided to play it again at the end. I can't remember the DJ but I do remember hearing it for the second time and thinking wow. Yes. Just yes.
The only other time I remember this happening was when the superb British Sea Power version of 'I am a Cider Drinker' was aired. That got a second outing too due to people contacting the show.