Together with Dave Parsons and Anthony Doughty (AKA Tex Axile) made up the the band's four permanent members. Additional members Pol Burton, James Piper and Martin Hallett were musicians engaged to play during live concerts: Burton, then later Hallett (AKA Mallet), on drums, and Piper on guitar.
The band was signed by MCA and released a cover single of the Holly and the Italians song "Tell That Girl To Shut Up" in April 1988 . A month later the follow-up single "I Want Your Love", with its pop/punk crossover appeal, entered the Top 5 in the United Kingdom. The band went on to release the hit album Pop Art in October.
1989 was the band's most successful year, with the number 3 hit single "Baby I Don't Care" and hit album Velveteen.
In 1990 MCA refused to release Transvision Vamp's third album Little Magnets Versus The Bubble Of Babble in the UK, reportedly disliking the mellower direction of the music. Wendy James has stated "...it came out in America and did better than the other two albums in America. But then we decided to split up, during which time the English record label had said they weren't convinced about this record, we're going to hold off on it and see how well it does in other countries first. By the time they were ready to release it, we'd already decided to split up, and so it never came out". The band formally split early in 1991. Tex Axile left to Join Max with John Reynolds, Kevin Mooney and Mathew Ashman formerly of Sinead O'connor, Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow. Dave Parsons Joined Gavin Rossdale and formed Bush.
James went on to a solo career and in 2004 formed the band Racine.
www.transvisionvamp.com
Down On You
Transvision Vamp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything I don't need
You give me everything
Oh that ain't for me
And when I'm feeling high
You bring me down
And when you're coming by
That's when I leave town
And I ain't got a care
I'm down but I'm not blue
Just down on you
Like all the dead-end pricks
You get your critical kicks
With anything that sticks
But you just leave me sick
And every empty can I see
In the gutter of a dead-end street
And everything that just ain't true
Reminds me of you
I'm down on you
And I ain't got a care
I'm down but I'm not blue
Just down on you
Down on you
Down on you
Down on you
Oh I'm down on you
I listened to my heart
It tells me the truth
And this is what it said...
I'm down on you
And I ain't got a care
I'm down on you
I'm down on you
I'm down on you
I'm down on you
The lyrics to Transvision Vamp's song Down on You are a clear expression of disappointment and frustration with a toxic relationship. The song is a bitter indictment of a partner who consistently fails to meet one's needs and only ends up bringing one down. The opening lines "You give me everything, Everything I don't need, You give me everything, Oh that ain't for me" seem to suggest that despite the partner's efforts to please, they are not giving what the singer wants or needs. The chorus then follows with the repetition of the phrase "I'm down on you," which serves as a metaphorical expression of being weighed down by the relationship and the person.
The song further explores the idea of being let down by the partner through lines such as "You bring me down" and "That's when I leave town." In the following verse, the singer compares the partner's behavior to "dead-end pricks" who get their kicks by being critical and negative towards others. The imagery of "every empty can I see/In the gutter of a dead-end street" serves as a metaphor for the feeling of emptiness and despair that the relationship brings. The singer then affirms that she is "down on you" and does not care anymore, indicating a decision to leave the toxic relationship behind for good.
Overall, the lyrics to Down on You are a powerful and relatable expression of the pain and frustration that comes with being in a negative relationship. The song conveys the message that it is important to listen to one's heart and not settle for relationships that only bring one down.
Line by Line Meaning
You give me everything
You tend to offer me more than I need
Everything I don't need
You give me things that don't benefit me
Oh that ain't for me
I don't need that kind of generosity
And when I'm feeling high
When I'm happy and content
You bring me down
You ruin my state of happiness
And when you're coming by
When you're around me
That's when I leave town
I try to keep a distance from you
I'm down on you
I dislike and disrespect you
And I ain't got a care
I'm not concerned about my negative feelings for you
I'm down but I'm not blue
My negative feelings for you don't make me sad
Just down on you
I'm only negative towards you
Like all the dead-end pricks
Similar to those who lead unproductive lives
You get your critical kicks
You enjoy criticizing and humiliating others
With anything that sticks
Using any opportunity to put others down
But you just leave me sick
Your actions towards me make me feel ill
And every empty can I see
Every piece of trash I come across
In the gutter of a dead-end street
Located in an area where there's no progress
And everything that just ain't true
Anything false or deceitful
Reminds me of you
I associate you with anything that's not genuine
Oh I'm down on you
I have negative feelings towards you
I listened to my heart
I followed my instinct
It tells me the truth
It revealed the unpleasant reality to me
And this is what it said...
And this was the message
I'm down on you
I have negative feelings towards you
Contributed by Zachary L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.