After Clive MITTEN joined in 1979, TWELFTH NIGHT as a band were born and got straight down to the work of recording. A live LP followed several tapes and experiments with other musicians, including one Electra McLEOD who performed vocals for one tape only. A vocalist was needed - but where to get one? Many were auditioned - including Geoff, who also performed a gig or two with the band and wrote some words for "Sequences".
A successful series of gigs was followed by the band being booked for the Reading Festival - the first local Reading band to have achieved this in the history of the festival. After much deliberating, Geoff MANN, the backdrop painter became Geoff MANN the poet, lyricist and vocalist.
It's important to consider the musical, social and political climate of the late 1970s - early 1980s to get a handle on what TWELFTH NIGHT were about; The roots of the music lie mainly in Andy Revell's HACKETT/HILLAGE guitar sound, but GENESIS, early PINK FLOYD and WISHBONE ASH are the most obvious influences. It has been said that there is a punk element to TN, and while there is a certain amount of aggression, that energy comes more directly from NWOBHM than punk. MANN's vocal style and lyrics may be laced with anarchism, but they run a whole lot deeper than that - Geoff was a deep thinker and poet, and later became ordained. His words attack the idle non-thinking majority in a cajoling way, they attack the governments at a grass-roots level and they attack the nonsense of war - but also support the positive aspects of life, like love. After MANN left (amicably) to join the church in 1983, a new era of TN started with Andy SEARS as vocalist, co-writer.
With Andy SEARS on board, the band began a very successful period. An accomplished vocalist and musician, Andy brought a more melodic edge to TWELFTH NIGHT. Andy's lyrics also dealt with compassion, whilst attacking authority and ignorance in a vitriolic way, touching on themes that are still very much issues today. SEARS preferred a more succinct lyrical style to MANN's. Less than two months after joining the band, TWELFTH NIGHT were invited to record a live MARQUEE show for European transmission. By the time the acclaimed album Art & Illusion was released, the last for Music For Nations, the band were signed to no other than HIT & RUN MANAGEMENT, home to GENESIS and PETER GABRIEL. Art & Illusion itself entered the National Charts at no 83, the only Twelfth Night album to accomplish this. An extraordinary feat given that the album received no hype of promotion whatsoever. The band embarked on their most successful tour, included two sell out shows at London's Dominion Theatre. TWELFTH NIGHT signed a 10 album deal with VIRGIN RECORDS on the back of the new SEARS line-up, recording their eponymously titled album (affectionately known as XII or the Virgin Album). The album was a very brave move away from more traditional progressive rock, and an attempt to move progressive rock onwards. As such, it is TWELFTH NIGHT's most polemic album to date. Between HIT & RUN and VIRGIN RECORDS the band were badly handled, and in 1986, disillusioned by this, SEARS left, closely followed by MITTEN.
In 2007, SEARS and MITTEN reformed the band for a series of acclaimed sell out shows. TWELFTH NIGHT are still making music in one form or another - but it tends to be fitted around the day jobs. Sadly, Geoff died of cancer in 1993, though his legacy lives on, predominantly through the Fact and Fiction album.
The more narrow-minded critics tend to make puerile comparisons between MANN and SEARS, but in truth both the "MANN-era" and the "SEARS-era" were successful periods in Twelfth Night's musical journey, showing the versatility of a band that dared to make changes where many others were still following old formulas and outdated trends. MANN and SEARS were in fact good friends and would often appear together for encore numbers!
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Shame
Twelfth Night Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
pray--
dream breaker
faith healer--
shame--who can excuse you
shame--we don't include you
shame--and if we choose to
shame--we will accuse you
when it comes to the day--
who'll rise to save you
shame--when you try to explain
who'll entertain you
when it comes to the day--
shame will reject you
doctor reports of a social disease--
"it can't afford all the caring it needs",--
cover yourself with emotional sham
shame made your bed
now you live and lie--
live a lie
when you fall in shame
who'll understand you
when it comes to the day--
who will respect you--
I'll be there
when you fall
when you fall in shame!
--shame
when you fall in shame!
I'll be there
--shame
when you fall
when you fall in shame!
I'll be there
--shame
when you fall
when you fall in shame!
--shame
--shame
==================================================================
The lyrics to Twelfth Night's song Shame are a powerful commentary on the nature of shame and how it affects our lives. The song starts with the lines "Pray--dream breaker, Faith healer--Shame--who can excuse you," which sets the tone for the rest of the song. The lyrics describe the feeling of shame as something that is difficult to recover from, and that can follow us for the rest of our lives.
The chorus repeats the word "shame" over and over again, with variations on the theme of being rejected and accused when we are in a state of shame. The lyrics also reference a "social disease" that cannot be cured through caring, implying that shame is an uncontrollable force that cannot be easily overcome.
Overall, the song is a compelling commentary on the painful and isolating experience of shame, and how it can affect our relationships and self-worth. Through powerful and emotionally charged lyrics, Twelfth Night makes a strong case for the need to empathize with and support those who are struggling with feelings of shame.
Line by Line Meaning
pray--
Appeal to a higher power--
dream breaker
Someone who destroys your hopes and aspirations--
faith healer--
Someone who restores your hope and faith--
shame--who can excuse you
Feeling ashamed and searching for forgiveness--
shame--we don't include you
Exclusion from a group due to past actions--
shame--and if we choose to
The threat of being accused and judged for one's mistakes--
shame--we will accuse you
Exacerbating one's feelings of shame and guilt--
shame--who'll understand you
Yearning for empathy and understanding--
when it comes to the day--
When the truth is revealed--
who'll rise to save you
Looking for a hero or savior to redeem oneself--
shame--when you try to explain
Difficulty expressing oneself and being misunderstood--
who'll entertain you
Desiring distraction from one's troubles--
when it comes to the day--
When the consequences are unavoidable--
shame will reject you
Fear of being ostracized and rejected--
doctor reports of a social disease--
Societal issues that infect and affect the individual--
"it can't afford all the caring it needs",--
A lack of resources to provide adequate care and support--
cover yourself with emotional sham
Trying to hide one's vulnerability and true feelings--
shame made your bed
Consequences of one's actions--
now you live and lie--
Living with the aftermath of one's mistakes--
live a lie
Being inauthentic and hiding one's true self--
when you fall in shame
The inevitability of making mistakes and feeling ashamed--
who'll understand you
Yearning for empathy and understanding--
when it comes to the day--
When the truth is revealed--
who will respect you--
Hope for redemption and respect--
I'll be there
Offering support and companionship--
when you fall
When one makes a mistake or experiences a setback--
when you fall in shame!
The intense feeling of shame and guilt--
--shame
The overriding emotion and theme of the song--
Contributed by Adeline P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Charm Hewitt
Nightshame love your videos you are a awesome person