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.
The God Song
Underworld Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another visionary slick solution
Strap on a gun, start a revolution
Another brilliant master plan
In from the street, mouth sat in a seat (No-no!)
He point the finger at the whole world out there
Beat the drum - for Mr Accusation
Sing hallelujah o-e-o
Sing hallelujah yea-yea-yea-yea
The man got a plan, got a plan, got a plan yea
He call love
The man got a plan, got a plan, got a plan yea
He call L-O-V-E
Catch the beat out-o-on the street (Oh no-no!)
I hear political resolutions
Cast the vote - launch another scape goat
Into the bosom of the promised land
Stand and fight, kill for what is right (Oh no-no!)
Justify another execution
Try me on build another big one
And we can celebrate the final plan
Sing hallelujah o-e-o
Sing hallelujah yea-yea-yea-yea
The man got a plan, got a plan, got a plan yea
He call love
The man got a plan, got a plan, got a plan yea
He call L-O-V-E
Sing hallelujah o-e-o
Sing hallelujah yea-yea-yea-yea
The man got a plan, got a plan, got a plan yea
He call love
The man got a plan, got a plan yea
He call L-O-V-E
The God Song by Underworld is a song that contains lyrics that are quite difficult to interpret. It speaks about the idea of a man who has a grand plan ("The man got a plan, got a plan, got a plan yea, He call love") and wants to change everything through it. However, the lyrics are sardonic in tone and make it clear that there is some kind of cynicism or detachment from this grand plan. The idea of "another visionary slick solution" and "another brilliant master plan" suggests that the singer believes that such grandiose plans are superficial and may not be effective in bringing about change.
The song also mentions political resolutions, scapegoats, and executions, which only heighten the sense of cynicism towards this grand plan. The line "Kill for what is right (Oh no-no!)" suggests that the singer is questioning the morality of this plan and what it asks of its followers. Even though the song seems to be ambivalent towards the grand plan, it still ends on a hopeful note as it repeatedly sings "Sing hallelujah," implying that there is still some hope for change and redemption, even if it comes from a grand plan.
Line by Line Meaning
Catch the beat out-o-on the street (Oh no-no!)
Feeling the rhythm of the city, but with a sense of danger
Another visionary slick solution
They have an idea but it may be too good to be true
Strap on a gun, start a revolution
Violence is a means to bring about change
Another brilliant master plan
They believe they have a foolproof strategy
In from the street, mouth sat in a seat (No-no!)
Someone with an opinion who doesn't understand the reality of the situation
He point the finger at the whole world out there
Blaming others for the problems he sees
Beat the drum - for Mr Accusation
Promoting a message of finger-pointing, accusing, and blaming
The hypocritical superman
Someone who claims to be exceptional but is actually a liar or fraud
Sing hallelujah o-e-o
Rejoice, we'll overcome
Sing hallelujah yea-yea-yea-yea
Celebrate, we've succeeded
The man got a plan, got a plan, got a plan yea
They have an answer, a solution
He call love
His plan involves using love to solve the problem
Catch the beat out-o-on the street (Oh no-no!)
Still feeling the rhythm of the city, but with more skepticism
I hear political resolutions
Political solutions are being proposed, but not necessarily followed through with
Cast the vote - launch another scape goat
Blaming others for a problem is not a real solution
Into the bosom of the promised land
The solution will be great and satisfy everyone
Stand and fight, kill for what is right (Oh no-no!)
Believing that violence is necessary to achieve justice
Justify another execution
Explaining away another violent act as necessary
Try me on build another big one
Suggesting building something great to solve the problem
And we can celebrate the final plan
The solution they have designed will be the end-all, be-all
The man got a plan, got a plan, got a plan yea
They have the plan to end all plans
He call love
Their plan is to use love to solve the problem
The man got a plan, got a plan yea
They believe they have a plan for success
He call L-O-V-E
Love is a key component of their solution
Sing hallelujah o-e-o
We will overcome with joy in our hearts
Sing hallelujah yea-yea-yea-yea
We will succeed and celebrate together
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: KARL HYDE, RICK SMITH, ALFIE THOMAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind