Wire's debut album, Pink Flag (1977), contains songs which are diverse in mood and style, but most use a minimalist punk approach, unorthodox structures, and several songs are under a minute in length; "Field Day For The Sundays" is only 28 seconds long.
Chairs Missing followed in 1978, and found Wire stepping back from the stark minimalism of Pink Flag, with longer, more atmospheric songs and synthesizer parts added by producer Mike Thorne. The experimentation was even more prominent on 154 (1979). Many of the songs had bassist Graham Lewis on lead vocals.
In 1979, creative differences pulled the band in different directions, leading to the Document and Eyewitness LP (1981), a recording of a performance that featured, almost exclusively, new material. The LP came packaged with an EP of a different performance of more new material. Some of these songs, along with others performed but not included on the album, were included on Colin Newman's post-Wire solo albums ("5/10", "We Meet Under Tables"), while others were released by Gilbert and Lewis' primary post-Wire outlet Dome ("And Then...", "Ritual View"). The band disbanded for the first time in 1980
Between 1981-85 Wire ceased recording and performing in favour of solo and non-Wire collaborative projects such as Dome, Cupol, Duet Emmo, and several Colin Newman solo efforts. In 1985, the group reformed as a "beat combo" (a joking reference to early 1960s beat music or even possibly beatniks), with greater use of electronic musical instruments. It released It's Beginning To And Back Again (IBTABA) in 1989, a "live" album of mostly re-worked versions of songs from The Ideal Copy and A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck, heavily re-arranged, edited, and remixed. A new song from the album, "Eardrum Buzz", became the band's biggest charting single.
Gotobed left the band in 1990, after the release of the album Manscape. After his departure, the band dropped one letter from its name, becoming "Wir" (still pronounced "wire"), and released The First Letter in 1991. Once again, the band disbanded in 1992 There followed a further period of solo recordings, during which Newman founded the Swim ~ label, and later Githead with his wife (ex-Minimal Compact bassist Malka Spigel), while Wire remained an occasional collaboration. It was not until 1999 that Wire again became a full-time entity.
With Gotobed back in the line-up (now using his birth name, Robert Grey), the group initially reworked much of their back catalogue for a performance at Royal Festival Hall on 26 February 2000. Wire's reception during a short tour of the US, and a number of UK gigs, convinced the band to continue. Two EPs and an album Send (2003) followed, as well as collaborations with stage designer Es Devlin and artists Jake and Dinos Chapman. In 2004 the band split once more.
In 2006, Wire's 1970s albums were re-released with original vinyl track listings. Rumours abounded of a renewal of activity to mark the 30th anniversary of the band's debut as a 4 piece and the re-release of Pink Flag in 2007. A third Read & Burn EP was released in November, 2007.
A full-length album of new material entitled Object 47 was released in July 2008. Bruce Gilbert was not involved in this recording, although according to Colin Newman, he did feature in a minimal capacity on the third Read and Burn EP. 2011 saw the release of the band's twelfth studio album Red Barked Tree.
The Other Window
Wire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He thought it pleasant to travel again
Mindful of the journey's end
He read again the letter from his friend
Time passed as it often does
The seat was hard, the carriage fetid
He was dressed for summer, but still he sweat ed
It was better than being home
Time passed slowly
Around him people spoke in French
Despite schooldays it made no sense
Occasional stares caught his eye
He was tempted to smile, but
Being shy, time passed
When he looked through the window
For the thousandth time
He saw a black horse fighting for its life
In a barbed wire fence
Fatally tangled
The more it struggled
The more it was strangled
Time sped up
He turned away
There was nothing he could do
The other window
Had a nicer view
Time passed painfully
The Other Window by Wire tells the story of a man travelling on a foreign train, reading a letter from his friend and contemplating the journey ahead. As time passes, he sweats in his summer clothes, endures the fetid carriage, and listens to the French-speaking people around him. He is shy and thinks about smiling at the occasional stare, but time passes by. As he looks out of the window for the thousandth time, he sees a black horse fighting for its life in a barbed wire fence. Despite its struggle, the horse becomes more tangled, and with each jolt, it draws closer to a fatal outcome. Time speeds up, and the man turns away, realizing there was nothing he could do to save the horse. The other window offered a prettier view while time passed painfully.
The song explores the theme of alienation and the reality of helplessness. The man is a stranger in a foreign place, surrounded by people he cannot comprehend because of the language barrier, and forced to witness the agony of a helpless animal. The image of the horse caught in the fence reflects the man's situation, trapped and unable to free himself from his feelings of isolation.
Line by Line Meaning
He took his seat on the foreign train
The singer boarded a train in an unknown location.
He thought it pleasant to travel again
The singer was happy to be traveling once more.
Mindful of the journey's end
The singer was aware of his final destination.
He read again the letter from his friend
The artist reread a letter from his friend.
Time passed as it often does
Time passed in the same manner it usually does.
The seat was hard, the carriage fetid
The singer's seat was uncomfortable and the carriage had a bad odor.
He was dressed for summer, but still he sweat ed
The singer was dressed for warm weather, yet still perspired.
It was better than being home
The artist preferred being on the train to being at home.
Feeling the cold, and living alone
Being cold and living alone was less desirable than traveling on the train.
Time passed slowly
Time went by at a slow pace.
Around him people spoke in French
The people around the singer spoke French.
Despite schooldays it made no sense
Although he had learned French in school, he couldn't understand it.
Occasional stares caught his eye
He noticed people looking at him from time to time.
He was tempted to smile, but
Being shy, time passed
The singer thought about smiling, but due to his shyness, he did nothing and time continued on.
When he looked through the window
For the thousandth time
The singer looked out the window for the umpteenth time.
He saw a black horse fighting for its life
In a barbed wire fence
The artist saw a black horse struggling to free itself from barbed wire.
Fatally tangled
The more it struggled
The more it was strangled
The horse became more entangled the more it fought to free itself.
Time sped up
Time passed more quickly.
He turned away
There was nothing he could do
The singer turned his attention away from the struggling horse, knowing there was nothing he could do to help.
The other window
Had a nicer view
The other window had a better sight to behold.
Time passed painfully
The passing of time became difficult.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLIN JOHN NEWMAN, GRAHAM LEWIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pierre Clary
on Champs
i believe this song is about amphetamine abuse, endemic on the punk scene...Speed, "more speed than before ,less time than before (tolerance build up)........
Pierre Clary
on Champs
The song "Champs" by Wire is an intense and fast-paced track that addresses themes of competitiveness, the desire for success, and the sacrifices one must make in order to achieve their goals. The repeated phrases "The taste of champions, the pace, the pace, the speed, the need, the need to seed, the chance to die" suggest that the speaker is wholly dedicated to winning and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The subsequent line "Another dead don't cry" implies that the speaker has seen others perish in their pursuit of victory and is not phased by it. The stanza "You've still got speed, you'll maybe bleed, there's less time" highlights the idea that time is running out and that one must act quickly if they wish to be successful.
The next stanza begins with the phrase "More speed than before, you've done it before, there is no for, what are you doing it for?" which suggests that the speaker is no longer satisfied with their previous achievements and is compelled to push themselves even harder. The line "Want more, want more" is a clear indication that the speaker is never satisfied with what they have and will always strive for more. The repetition of "Another dead don't cry" throughout the song serves as a haunting reminder that the pursuit of success often has a cost, and that cost can be the lives of others.i think this so,
Pierre Clary
on Champs
YOU'RE RICH NOT POOR