Before Underworld, Hyde and Smith started out in 1979 on The Screen Gemz band while working together in a diner in the city of Cardiff, where both had been studying. In 1983 they recorded two albums for CBS Records with a new wave synthpop band whose name was a graphic squiggle, later entitled Freur.
In 1986 Hyde and Smith formed Underworld, after disbanding of Freur. They tried a more guitar-oriented funky electropop sound on their two albums released on Sire Records: Underneath the Radar (1987) and Change the Weather (1989). This initial lineup (also called Underworld Mk1) consisted of Karl Hyde, Rick Smith, Alfie Thomas, Bryn Burrows, Baz Allen and Pascal Consoli before sinking back into obscurity and disbanding in 1990.
British DJ Darren Emerson hooked up with Hyde and Smith in 1992 and helped them refine their sound into something more sleek and beat-oriented, yet still shot through with tinges of blues, rock and spoken-word streams of consciousness. After several releases on Junior Boy's Own as Lemon Interupt, the trio re-adopted the Underworld name in 1992. Two songs from this era are Rez and Spikee.
In addition to their music, Hyde and Smith are members of Tomato, a graphic design company which has done high-profile work for clients around the world as well as art for all of Underworld's releases. Hyde, along with former Freur keyboardist John Warwicker, has also published two typographic journals, Mmm... Skyscraper, I Love You (1994) and In The Belly Of Saint Paul (2003).
Their first full-length, dubnobasswithmyheadman, was released in 1994 to rave reviews and is still considered a landmark. It spawned several hit singles (Dark & Long, Cowgirl, Dirty Epic) and was followed a couple years later by the Born Slippy single.
The sophomore album Second Toughest in the Infants was released in 1996. This album showed Underworld maturing as a trio, mixing elements of techno, house, drum and bass and pop music to spectacular effect. The first track Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream of Love (three parts) is one of the longest songs recorded by Underworld, with a length of over 16 minutes.
In the same year they issued an EP Pearl's Girl, containing various mixes of the song Pearl's Girl and five new tracks (one of them is Cherry Pie, an early version of Rowla). Underworld's much-praised remixography also grew, including Björk, Saint Etienne, Simply Red, Massive Attack and Leftfield.
After licensing out a remix of Born Slippy (entitled Born Slippy .NUXX) for the 1996 cult classic film Trainspotting, Underworld gained instant worldwide fame and found themselves touring the world. Their fame continued to run high into the release of Beaucoup Fish in 1999. Five singles were released: Moaner, Push Upstairs, Jumbo, King of Snake, and Bruce Lee.
Underworld issued a live set and a DVD named Everything, Everything in 2000, after which Emerson left the group to concentrate more on his DJ career. The mellower album A Hundred Days Off followed in 2002. It was promoted by two singles: Two Months Off and Dinosaur Adventure 3D.
In 2003 Underworld released a 2 CD compilation entitled 1992-2002, comprising some of their best songs. Also since 2003 the group has been trickling out new music on their official website www.underworldlive.com via a series of downloadable mp3s dubbed "The Riverrun Project". Each mp3 bundle features 25-or-so-minute of mixed new material, hundreds of photographs and traditional album art.
In 2005 the band issued another live album, Live in Tokyo 25th November 2005, a recording of Underworld's live performance at the Electraglide festival in Tokyo on 25 November 2005. There were apparently only 7000 copies of the album made.
Oblivion with Bells, their fifth studio album was released in October 2007, the first with additional collaboration with Darren Price who joined the band's live setup in 2005. It spawned four singles: Crocodile, Boy, Boy, Boy, Beautiful Burnout, and Ring Road.
On 13 May 2010, Underworld released a new single Scribble (Radio Edit), available for free download on their official site. This single was followed by a new album later that year, called Barking, which is still in the process of releasing singles, beginning with the aforementioned Scribble, Always Loved a Film and finally Diamond Jigsaw. Also released on a beatport remix contest was Bird 1 where amateur producers were able to put their take on Underworld's collaboration with Dubfire. As of 2011, the duo can also attach to their resumes soundtracking a live stage play. Frankenstein, produced and directed by Danny Boyle, starring both Johnny Lee Miller & Benedict Cumberbatch who are, on alternating nights, both Frankenstein, or the Creature. The Soundtrack is available through Underworld's Website.
January 2016 saw the release of I Exhale, in advance of Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future, released in March 2016.
In April 2018, Underworld released a standalone single, Brilliant Yes That Would Be, an ambient piece with its accompanying video inspired by the Icelandic landscape and their first performance in Reykjavík since 1994.
In May 2018, Underworld unveiled the World of Underworld project, which focuses on reflecting and re-imagining their nearly 30 year body of work. It also serves as an outlet for experimentation, new releases and spontaneous creativity. Brilliant Yes That Would Be was the first track to be released through the World of Underworld, which was recorded and mixed just days before it was released.
Later in that same month, Underworld debuted a new collaboration with Iggy Pop titled Bells & Circles, live at the BBC Biggest Weekend 2018. Shortly after, a four-track collaborative EP with the two artists was released, Teatime Dub Encounters.
On November 1st, 2018, Underworld announced the Drift project, an ongoing music-and-video experiment that publishes new Underworld material on their official website every week. The first instalment began with Another Silent Way, also released on the same day.
On November 1st, 2019, Underworld released Drift Series 1, their tenth studio album. It is the conclusion of the first year of the band's year-long music-and-video experiment Drift. Underworld announced the Drift project will continue on for another year. The now-renamed Drift Series 1, was released exactly one year after the launch of the series, as a box set featuring 7 CDs, a Blu-ray, and an 80-page book documenting the creative process around Drift. A single-disc Drift Series 1 Sampler Edition was also released simultaneously.
Glory! Glory!
Underworld Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can see my fate
Yes I see my fate
Hey when that look is in your eyes
I can see my fate
Yes I see my fate
Hey got the sun up in the sky
Yes it comes too late
I'm like a dog
When I come crawlin' back-to-you
Crawlin' back-to-you
You want to play God
I can see it in your eyes
See it in your eyes
Huh! Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! GLORY!
Hey I bring you joy - I bring you love
But you walk away
Always walk away
Hey you look down on me from above
And I see my fate
And I'm not enough
But - like a dog, I come crawlin' back to you
Crawlin' back to you
You want to play God
I can see it in your eyes
See it in your eyes
Huh! Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! GLORY!
Take it from the rich
And give it to the poor
Oh yeah you want to take it from the rich
And give it to the poor
Take it from the rich and somehow
Give it to the poor
Ha! But you want - Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory!
Well you got - Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory!
Ch-ch-ch-woo-hoo!
Take it from the rich
Give it to the poor
All you want is glory
From the boy next door!
The lyrics to Underworld's song "Glory! Glory!" speak to feelings of helplessness, frustration, and desperation in a relationship. The repetition of "hey when that look is in your eyes, I can see my fate" highlights the singer's sense of being trapped in a cycle of love and abandonment. The line "I'm like a dog, when I come crawling back to you" represents the singer's lack of agency and feelings of being unable to resist the pull of the relationship. The chorus, which repeatedly exclaims "Glory! Glory!" with increasing intensity, speaks to a desire for recognition and validation from the other person in the relationship. The bridge's lyrics, which speak to taking from the rich to give to the poor and the constant quest for glory, add an air of social commentary to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey when that look is in your eyes I can see my fate Yes I see my fate
When you look at me with that certain expression, I already know what kind of future we'll have.
Hey got the sun up in the sky But it comes too late Yes it comes too late
Although the sun is already up, I feel like I missed out on something important.
I'm like a dog When I come crawlin' back-to-you Crawlin' back-to-you You want to play God I can see it in your eyes See it in your eyes Huh! Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! GLORY!
I always return to you, just like a dog. But I can't help but notice how much you enjoy having the upper hand in our relationship. Your lust for power is evident in your eyes, and you revel in the praise and attention that come with it.
Hey I bring you joy - I bring you love But you walk away Always walk away Hey you look down on me from above And I see my fate And I'm not enough
Even though I try my best to bring happiness and love to our relationship, you never seem satisfied. You always look down on me, like I'm beneath you. I know that I'll never be enough for you.
Take it from the rich And give it to the poor Oh yeah you want to take it from the rich And give it to the poor Take it from the rich and somehow Give it to the poor Ha! But you want - Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! Well you got - Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory! Ch-ch-ch-woo-hoo!
You claim that you want to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor, but I sense that you're only doing it for your own glory and recognition. However, your plan might not be as straightforward as it seems due to the inherent difficulty of giving wealth to people in need. Nevertheless, you crave the fanfare that comes with making such a bold statement.
Take it from the rich Give it to the poor All you want is glory From the boy next door!
You'll do whatever it takes to get the recognition and admiration that you crave, including taking from the wealthy and giving it to the less fortunate. You don't care who you hurt or who you help, as long as you can play the hero and be seen as a savior. You only care about people's opinions of you, especially your neighbors'.
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: KARL HYDE, RICK SMITH, ALFIE THOMAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stevetici2668
Hard to believe they transformed from a funk/synthpop band with this song & underneath the radar to hard techno/trance within 5 years or so
@theoriginalbluey
Loved them since Doot Doot, which is still wonderful So many incredible songs. A really fascinating career to beat most!
@Rhythmattica
This is Funk, wrapped up into top 40, served with a lot of awesomeness.
One of the best albums ... Ever. Yes .. EVA !
@PaisleyGreene63
I fell in love with this song listening to college radio during the 90’s. It’s on my playlist to this day and I still crank it up and sing along whenever I hear it.
@Tattooedbiker64
Wow,haven't heard this song since 88.I forgot how much this song rocks,thanks for sharing.
@slynch1208
ONE OF MY TOP 5 BANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@jayzeta1
OMG!!!!!!! I LOVE THIS BAND!!!!!!
@jeffmurray4627
I saw this group open for the Eurythmics in 1990 at the Universal Amphitheatre here in Los Angeles. So awesome.
@bostonbenben
The single version didn't have that slow beginning...it just jumped right into the meaty parts. Very fun to hear again.
@womblissimo6666
Although they became a lot more popular and well known when they morphed into a techno-pop band - I prefer this album of theirs - which I consider to be an EPIC of the late 80's and a favorite of my childhood.