Antoinette "Toni" Halliday (born July 1964 in Parsons Green, Fulham) is an… Read Full Bio ↴Antoinette "Toni" Halliday (born July 1964 in Parsons Green, Fulham) is an English musician best known as the lead vocalist, lyricist, and occasional guitarist of the band Curve.

Halliday officially left Curve on 31 January 2005, having served as the group's lead singer since 1991. In Curve, she had worked with multi-instrumentalist Dean Garcia; their collaboration had spawned a number of singles, EPs, and full-length albums. The latter include the following: Doppelgänger (1992), Cuckoo (1993), Come Clean (1998), Open Day at the Hate Fest (2001), Gift (2001), The New Adventures of Curve (2002), and the compilation The Way of Curve (2004).

Toni Halliday's style of singing — influenced at the same time by the warm tone of The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, the more exotic warble of the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser and the deep voices of Nico and Siouxsie — could be argued to have been an influence on Shirley Manson, vocalist of post-grunge pop-rockers Garbage. It has been claimed that in their music, Garbage appropriated large portions of Curve's musical template, and constructed from it more 'mainstream' material, albeit with a certain 'edge' remaining. Curve and Halliday, meanwhile, never found the same degree of commercial success - perhaps as a result of their unwillingness to adapt their sound to the demands of musical trends.
The first commercially-released recording to feature Toni Halliday was the Bonk single "The Smile and the Kiss" (1983), on which she performed uncredited backing vocals. The following year, Halliday's first band The Uncles released the single "What's the Use of Pretending"; the singer then returned to performing backing vocals for other artists, and was featured on the Robert Plant album Shaken 'n' Stirred (1985), and its follow-up Now and Zen (1988).

In 1985, Halliday and Dean Garcia formed the band State Of Play together with Garcia's wife and Eurythmics drummer Olle Romö. The following year, State Of Play released an LP on Virgin Records titled "Balancing the Scales" - a non-hit album that spawned two non-hit singles: "Natural Colour" and "Rock-a-bye Baby".

After the subsequent demise of State Of Play, Halliday launched an only marginally more successful solo career. Her album "Hearts And Handshakes" (produced by the singer with Alan Moulder) was released in 1989, and four singles were taken from it: "Weekday", "Love Attaction", "Time Turns Around", and "Woman In Mind". Dean Garcia also played on the album, even though he and Halliday were not on speaking terms during this period.

Following the emergence of Curve in 1991, Halliday co-wrote and performed vocals on two songs for the 1992 Recoil album Bloodline, and also put in guest appearances on The Future Sound of London's Lifeforms (1994) and Leftfield's Leftism (1995). Other artists with whom Halliday has collaborated include Paul van Dyk, DJ? Acucrack, Acid Android, and Freaky Chakra.

In 1995, a year after the first, temporary dissolution of Curve, Halliday formed the band Scylla. The group's only recording to have been officially released is "Helen's Face", which can be found on the soundtrack album for the film Showgirls. Another Scylla song, "Get A Helmet", appears in the Gregg Araki film Nowhere.

Original
Toni Halliday Lyrics

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Sonically we're in control
We're the diamond in your soul
Images come thick and fast
From the future, from the past

The film starts, the film ends,
Nothing is said in between.
Just sudden moments from someone else's story,

Will it ever be the same again?
Hours filled with conversation, no attention paid.
Too distracting convention, no need for friends.
Will it ever be the same again?
Will it ever be the same again?

You're original, with your own path
You're original, got your own way (x2)

Will it ever be the same again? (x2)
I need to hear that again
Because a dream starts, and a dream must end.

My mother told me, don't ever change
You're original, in your own way
My mother told me, don't ever change
You're original, got your own path

You're original (x2)
Will it ever be the same again? (x2)
I need to hear that again
Because a dream starts, and a dream must end.

You're original (x5)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Toni Halliday's song "Original" primarily speak about individuality and the concept of being true to oneself. The opening lines "Sonically we're in control, we're the diamond in your soul" suggest a certain level of confidence and self-assuredness about the singer's role in the world. The following lines "Images come thick and fast, from the future, from the past" appear to speak to the idea that the singer is someone who sees the world in a unique way and possesses a different perspective than the norm.

The next lines "The film starts, the film ends, nothing is said in between, just sudden moments from someone else's story" are particularly interesting because they suggest a sense of detachment from the world around the singer. They seem to imply that the singer is an observer rather than a participant, watching life unfold without feeling particularly attached to any particular moment or experience.

The chorus of the song, "You're original, with your own path, you're original, got your own way" reiterates the idea of individuality and the importance of staying true to oneself. The singer looks to their mother as a source of guidance and support, with the repeated lines "My mother told me, don't ever change, you're original, in your own way" emphasizing the idea that the singer's individuality is a valuable and necessary component of who they are.

Line by Line Meaning

Sonically we're in control
We have the ability to control the sound and music we produce.

We're the diamond in your soul
Our music is precious and valuable to your inner being.

Images come thick and fast
Visuals come at us quickly and intensely.

From the future, from the past
These visuals may come from things that already happened or things that have not yet happened.

The film starts, the film ends,
Movies have a clear beginning and a clear end.

Nothing is said in between.
There may not be any clear message or story conveyed in the movie.

Just sudden moments from someone else's story,
The movie may only show brief moments from another person's life or perspective.

Will it ever be the same again?
Will things stay the same or will they change?

Hours filled with conversation, no attention paid.
Conversations may happen, but they may not actually be given any real attention or significance.

Too distracting convention, no need for friends.
Conformity or traditional ideas may be too distracting or unnecessary, making friendship unnecessary as well.

You're original, with your own path
You are unique and have your own journey to follow.

You're original, got your own way (x2)
You have your own methods and approach to life.

I need to hear that again
I need to hear that message or idea again.

Because a dream starts, and a dream must end.
Dreams have a clear beginning and clear end, like movies.

My mother told me, don't ever change
My mother instructed me to remain true to myself and not change for anyone else.

You're original (x2)
You are truly unique.

I need to hear that again
I need to be reminded of my individuality.

Will it ever be the same again? (x2)
Will things remain constant or change in the future?

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: NEIL JOHN BARNES, PAUL TERENCE DALEY, TONI HALLIDAY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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