Charlie and Gordon have wide-ranging tastes in popular music and a fondness for something just that bit different. Paul Hardcastle’s 19 was one of their earlier successes. Having worked together on the Dreamcatcher project, the trio conceived a new concept based around largely instrumental jazz-based tunes with an ‘economical’ use of lyrics — quite unconventional by today’s chart standards.
Influences for the project ranged from The Champs’ Tequila and Mongo Santamaria’s Watermelon Man to Louis Armstrong’s Dippermouth Blues. Within a few days, Dave had put together Would You…? using a sampled vocal clip and trumpet jazz licks played by James Lynch, over a Latin rhythm.
Released in October 1998, Would You…? reached number 3 in the UK charts, remained in the top ten for a month and subsequently became a hit all over Europe and many other parts of the world. The single sold half a million copies worldwide, and was included on literally hundreds of compilations whose total sales exceed ten million copies.
Touch And Go’s album, I Find You Very Attractive followed up the success of Would You…? and included three more singles Straight To Number One, So Hot, and Tango In Harlem, all of which are widely played on radio throughout Europe, especially in Eastern Europe where Touch and Go is one of the UK’s best-known acts.
About The Performers
Vanessa Lancaster, Vocalist
Vanessa Lancaster began ballet classes at the age of 4, gaining success in exams at the Royal Academy of Ballet in London. Shortly afterwards she began drama lessons in her free time and auditioned successfully for the Corona Stage School in London where she was educated until the age of 16. Vanessa completed her education at the Lucy Clayton Finishing School in London which was followed by 8 months working in the USA.
In London, Vanessa has worked as a voice-over artist for numerous UK TV commercials and has modelled both on the catwalk and for beauty products. Her other television credits include Emu’s World for ITV and the James Bond movie Octopussy.
Vanessa began singing professionally at the age of 15 when she teamed up with brother Shaz to form a band called Boys Behaving Badly whose drummer later became a member of Jamiroquai. Vanessa was, of course, the only girl member of the group! Once her vocal talents were discovered, Vanessa became a much in-demand singer on the London recording session scene, which led to a world tour with Urban Species.
Having sung on numerous jingles for producer and songwriter David Lowe, Vanessa was invited to collaborate on a new project Dave was working on which became Touch And Go, whose records have now become hits all over the world. Vanessa co-wrote the Touch And Go songs Straight To Number One, Big Beat and So Hot.
James Lynch, , Trumpet
London-based trumpeter James Lynch was educated at the City Of Leeds College of Music where he gained a first-class degree in Jazz & Contemporary Music and won prizes for Outstanding Performance, Brass and Arranging. As a former member of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, Jim won the Newman Cup at the age of 17 for Most Improved Player.
On moving to London he joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Great Britain eventually becoming their lead trumpet player. Jim began his professional career with society dance bands in London’s Mayfair district before moving into the freelance areas of work such as musical theatre and recording. He has played in many of London’s West End musicals including Chicago, Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar, Saturday Night Fever, and My Fair Lady.
In the world of pop music Jim has played in the big bands of Robbie Williams and for Babybird, Embrace, The Freestylers, Beverly Knight and also Missy Elliot. He has also played for Shirley Bassey and Michael Ball. Jim was brass arranger and first trumpet for the Spice Girls on their last UK tour, which was broadcast live on Sky TV from London’s Earls Court Arena. Recent clients include the Matthew Herbert Big Band, London rapper Dizzy Rascal, Engelbert Humperdink and opera singer Lesley Garrett.
Jim has played on many TV shows in the UK and abroad and his trumpet can be heard on many theme tunes and TV commercials too. Recently he played on the soundtrack and wrote four arrangements for the Kevin Spacey film Beyond The Sea. He has worked with composer and producer David Lowe for a number of years and can still be heard on the theme for BBC's Cash In The Attic. He was invited by Dave to collaborate on a new project, which eventually became Touch And Go. James co-wrote the Touch And Go songs Would You…?, So Hot and Life’s A Beach.
www.touch-and-go.net
Life's a Beach
Touch and Go Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A wave goodbye
The way we live
The way we die
Life's a beach
Life's a beach
The way we live
The way we die
A wave hello
A wave goodbye
Life's a beach
Life's a beach
A wave hello (hello, hello, hello)
A wave goodbye
Life's a beach
Life's a beach
Do do do do do dooo
Da da da da da daaa
La lala la la laaa
Do do do do do dooo
Da da da da da daaa
The lyrics to Touch and Go's song Life's a Beach are trying to convey a simple yet profound message about life. The waves crashing are a representation of the ups and downs that we experience throughout life. The opening lines, "A wave hello, a wave goodbye," seem to suggest that everything in life comes and goes, nothing is permanent.
The repetition of "the way we live, the way we die" emphasizes that our actions shape our lives and our ultimate fate. Life is a beach, meaning it is beautiful and relaxing, but also unpredictable and ever-changing. The final lines, "Do do do do do dooo, Da da da da da daaa, La lala la la laaa," seem to be almost an afterthought, like the waves and melodic patterns are carrying on long after the message was initially delivered.
The lyrics to "Life's A Beach" by Touch and Go may be short and simple, but they carry a very important message. The song is telling us to enjoy life because it is beautiful, but also to be prepared for its unpredictable nature. It reminds us to make the most of everyday because we never know when it will be our last.
Line by Line Meaning
A wave hello
A greeting, an introduction to the endless cycle of life and death
A wave goodbye
A farewell, a representation of the inevitability of death
The way we live
Our lifestyle, an indication of our thoughts, beliefs, and values
The way we die
Our eventual end, a reflection of our choices and actions during life
Life's a beach
Life is like a day at the beach, both enjoyable and unpredictable, with moments of fun and moments of turmoil
A wave hello
Another iteration of greeting, representing a new beginning and the continuation of the cycle
A wave goodbye
A continuation of the representation of death, reminding us that everything must come to an end
Life's a beach
Another iteration of the comparison of life to a day at the beach, emphasizing the fact that we must take the good with the bad
A wave hello (hello, hello, hello)
A repetition of the opening line, highlighting the cyclical nature of life
A wave goodbye
Continuing to emphasize the inevitability of death, prompting us to cherish every moment of life
Life's a beach
Once again, comparing life to a day at the beach, emphasizing the importance of enjoying every moment we have
Do do do do do dooo
A nonsensical vocalization, perhaps representing the randomness and unpredictability of life
Da da da da da daaa
Another nonsensical vocalization, further representing the chaotic nature of life
La lala la la laaa
Yet another nonsensical vocalization, emphasizing the idea that life can be full of inexplicable moments and sounds
Do do do do do dooo
Repeating the previous line, perhaps indicating that life can be both predictable and unpredictable simultaneously
Da da da da da daaa
Once again, emphasizing the chaos and unpredictability of life
Contributed by Brayden V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@djacroamatic
Lyrics:
A wave hello
A wave goodbye
The way we live
The way we die
Life's a beach
Life's a beach
The way we live
The way we die
A wave hello
A wave goodbye
Life's a beach
Life's a beach
A wave hello (hello, hello, hello)
A wave goodbye
Life's a beach
Life's a beach
🧡🧡🧡
@djacroamatic
Lyrics:
A wave hello
A wave goodbye
The way we live
The way we die
Life's a beach
Life's a beach
The way we live
The way we die
A wave hello
A wave goodbye
Life's a beach
Life's a beach
A wave hello (hello, hello, hello)
A wave goodbye
Life's a beach
Life's a beach
🧡🧡🧡
@TomitoCapdevila
The way we live..
The way we DIE ❤
@soniatarumarezendepimenta8744
💚💛
@andreveluna
Simply magnific!
@tymmac007
This song is amazing!
@santiagopedro547
I love Touch and go - Life's a beach!
@aiandgi
This is sick!
Touch and go must be making some more new music, they rock!
@pacogatica777
A melhor música!!❤❤❤❤❤❤
@paulwest7846
The whole of this CD is brilliant
@preparantus
This song make me cry.