& Song Index
Here is a detailed listing of all known Europeans and How We Live songs (including unreleased tracks), with comments and observations from me, and band members. Most have links to illustrated lyrics, which have been scanned from the Vocabulary and Recurring Dreams LP inserts. The others lyrics I have transcribed (with varied success) from the recordings
(Click
on the titles for link to lyric page)
(From Recurring Dreams, and edited version on b-side of Acid Rain )
Fading up with a strong riff, this marks the start of the second Europeans studio album. Immediately, the performance sounds much more mature and polished, with a better production value than the raw Vocabulary tracks. All the elements are here: Ferg's vocals and solid bass playing, tight drumming, nice keyboard work and a lush guitar sound. (particularly on the last refrain). The edited 'free single' version is simply the first verse and chorus.
(From Dry Land )
The closing track on Dry Land, this is a fairly straight forward How We Live number, complete with synth-horns, solid bass line, crisp Woore guitar, and Hogarth lyric, containing his favourite theme of city alienation.
(From Recurring Dreams , and also an edited single version)
Probably the best track on the 'Recurring Dreams' album, this is a simple and well played ballad, addressing the destruction of the world and wider consequences of environmental pollution. It works well, due to the atmosphere laid down by heavy keyboards, the slow pounding percussion and the perfectly matched vocals (Hogarth high, Harper low). The lyrics are inspiring and beautifully sung, particularly the last wordless refrain. The title track of the 1989 Marillion album 'Season's End' dealt with similar themes. Although the lyric written by John Helmer, Hogarth then explained "...for my own part, I wrote a song called 'Acid Rain' when I was still in the Europeans, about four or five years ago. I've been a member of Greenpeace for about four years, so this isn't me waking up to something as the wagon rolls by..." The edited 'free single' version misses out verse three and fades early. As the track fades out, you can Hogarth quietly sing the lines "The sun is out, the sky is blue, There's not a cloud to spoil the view, But it's raining..." from Buddy Holly's "Raining in My Heart." Also occasionally played by How We Live on tour in 1986, and nearly played by Steve's h-band project in 2001!
(From Vocabulary , released as a single, an extended version 'Alphabet Soup', and also on Live )
Another early Europeans track, I gather that many people find the title repetition rather annoying. The lyrics tackle themes of non-communication and language barriers, and sometimes sound a bit clever for their own good. I quite like Dugmore's off-beat drum fills, and the tight driving riff at the back. The vocal shadowing on the chorus is very effective, Hogarth's vocals particularly complementing Harper's lead. The 12" extended mix "Alphabet Soup" is the best of the Europeans remixes, adding funky slap bass pops on the intro, and cutting up the song structure. Toni Childs sings backing vocals on this track. Hogarth would later return the favour, singing on her 1988 album "Union." Geoff Dugmore elaborates: "We were searching for something to sing as a backing vocal in the verses. There was a Fish & Chip shop opposite where we lived with a sign 'Fish Bar Restaurant', so we jokingly started singing 'fish-bar-restaurant.' It became that, only heavily disguised."
(From Dry Land , also an edited single version, and extended 'I don't mind if you don't mind' mix) Download MP3 ( 6:15 min) 2.63MB
Described by Hogarth as "not nearly as self-serious and doom-laden" as some of the other Dry Land tracks, this is probably the most overly commercial sounding cut on the album. The solid bass line and synth-horns sound very 'eighties' today, but Woore's strong guitar refrains are instantly recognizable. The 12" mix features a new intro, a longer guitar solo, and an extended middle section, emphasizing the female backing vocals, "nothing hurts forever..." Released as a single twice. Geoff Dugmore remembers "playing and maybe demoing it as the Euros, at a rehearsal studio called 'Easyhire' at one of the last times we rehearsed together."
(From Vocabulary , and also performed on Live ) Download MP3 ( 3:26 min) 1.45 MB
One of the better Vocabulary tracks, with a catchy chorus and tight arrangement. The lyrics are fairly obvious! Hogarth describes it as "a perfectly simple lyric that describes the Americanisation taking place in Great Britain." The horn sounds in the middle section were replaced with some nice keyboard-guitar interplay when played live. Drummer / writer Dugmore explains that the Europeans recorded a "great version" of this track with Trevor Vallis that never made the Vocabulary album, and also tried recording it with Tony Visconti ("a laugh") Perhaps either is the version released on the American "Recognition" EP ? It does sound like a new recording or an alternative take, and contains an extra verse (We see it everywhere / It's taking over here / London like New York, All people the same / Everyone famous except with no name.)
At the
End of the Day
(no lyric page)
An unheard song used as an occasional encore during How we Live's 1986 UK Tour. Some of the lyrics were later used in the 1989 Marillion song 'The Release', the b-side of Easter (another HWL tune!)
(From Steve Hogarth's 1997 'Ice Cream Genius' album)
At the 2001 H Band Dingwalls shows, Ferg Harper told me that he recognised these lyrics from years ago. Steve Hogarth elaborates: "I actually started with the lyrics for that song after I'd been to Los Angeles the first time, which was about 1982 when I was with the Europeans. I first started wanting to write a song about L.A., about my impressions on the way that people function, and that feeling of being "in" or "out" of "the business" and the lengths people go to in order to realise the big dream. And how they become victim to it whether or not they succeed. I eventually settled on this version of it which is almost entirely voice and strings." He further elaborated: "Better Dreams is a very lyric driven song which is essentially a poem which has taken me eight or nine years to put together. I first started writing it when I went to Los Angeles while touring with the Europeans back in the mid-80's. My first impressions of LA, which is a town which I didn't think I'd like, were fantastic and proved all my prejudices wrong. The USA is one of those countries where you can form an opinion from afar only to go there and realize how wrong you are...Someone once said that everything good or bad that's ever been said about America is probably true. It's such a vast country...it's a true spectrum."
Breathless
(no lyric page)
Ferg Harper remembers this as "another good one we had for the third album, that never saw the light of day." (Incorrectly identified as 'Reckless' in previous versions of this page!)
(From Recurring Dreams , and also an edited version on b-side of Acid Rain )
One of my favourite Europeans tracks. This opens with thumping percussion from Geoff, soon layered with keyboard effects and a noticeably stronger Hogarth lead vocal. The first instrumental passage plays a nice off-beat rhythm, building into another chorus and repeated vocal line "I'm holding your heart..." The production is top class, peaking at the end, with the full band and vocal harmonies. Hogarth has since hinted that the lyric referred to someone who has since become "very famous" (Whatever that means!) The edited 'free single' version splices the first chorus with the end "Burning Inside You" chorus.
(B-side of non-album Europeans single 'Listen' , featuring an extended mix on the 12" single)
The best Europeans B-side, this is an exciting jammed riff, kept strong by effortless drumming and guitar playing. Woore takes the lead vocals, sounding confident, and I think, uncannily like Hogarth! The vocal chant "Pull me up" is so much better than the yodelling on Vocabulary. The extended version is over two minutes longer, and gives each member a longer solo spot. Dugmore's drum solo is particularly impressive. Geoff Dugmore: 'That was the first time I'd ever done anything in 9/4 time which was kind of where my head was at the time. It was a real shock too when Colin came up singing it. We recorded it at a studio in Hoxton Square called 'Wave', where we used to do our demos."
Don't
Cry
(No lyric page)
Colin Woore and Ferg Harper told me at the Dingwalls 2001 H Band shows that an early song of theirs called 'Don't Cry' had been covered by an artist in Japan, and was getting airplay. The song is apparently pre-Hogarth (therefore 'Motion Pictures' I guess) written by Geoff, Ferg, Colin and their previous keyboard player Alan Dalgleish !
Don't Give Your Heart To
Anybody
(From Recurring Dreams)
Proof of Hogarth's developing writing style, this starts out as a piano and vocal ballad, dropping the name of the album in passing ("I think about when I was small, recurring dreams that scared me stiff") The band comes in half way through, seamlessly with a rising chord structure. The lead break with pounding drums and delayed-guitar always reminds me of the band Big Country. This sounds a world away from "The Animal Song" or "Recognition" !
Drink
Pink Zinc
(no lyric page. From the 'Snoopies Album')
A 4 track recording from the 1981 'Snoopies Album', an LP of tracks chosen from demo tapes sent to the Richmond Music Venue 'Snoopies.' The track has a punky / ska / reggae feel to it, but is unmistakably Europeans, particularly the middle eight. Geoff Dugmore explains "That was one of the first songs that I ever wrote with Ferg. It came from a batch of songs all with equally bizarre names like 'Norman Normal.' We had played at Snoopies a few times and the guy there, Ralph.E.Boy said that he wanted to put this track on the 'Snoopies' album so we all said 'great, fine, no problem'. And that was it! I don't think we ever saw any money from it. Not that we expected to!"
(From Dry Land and later on Holidays in Eden by Marillion)
This one is perhaps the best known How We Live song, as it was 'covered' by Marillion in 1991. Hogarth explained then: "The title song from the album by my previous band How We Live. It was written in 1984 (I think...) by guitarist Colin Woore and myself. Chris Neil [the producer] heard it one day in '90 by mistake (the only way any one got to hear a HWL Song...) and felt it would make a great album track for 'Holidays In Eden'. I played the song to the chaps down at Stanbridge Farm and everyone in the band wanted to give it a try. When we sat down to play it, it felt completely natural and honest. I see ghosts when I sing it." The How We Live original sounds like an embryonic try-out of Marillion's version whenever I hear it. The backing strings are more prominent and the chorus lines slightly different. Hogarth himself admits: "The chorus involves some serious vocal acrobatics and I have to be in good shape to pull off the high notes, so I rarely pluck up the courage to do it when we're touring." Dry Land" (then called 'You are an Island) was demoed by Europeans, and played at the last Euros concert at the Shaw Theatre in Euston.
Easter
(No lyric page)
Hogarth started writing this song in early 1988 after his first visit to Belfast (perhaps with How We Live?). "Inspired by the spirit of the Irish - North and South, and with a nod of appreciation to Yeats, Easter is essentially a love song to a country. It set out to be for Ireland, what 'The Skye Boat Song' is to Scotland." When Marillion adapted it for their "Season's End" album in 1989, "it was already a song in so much as there were two verses, a chorus and the tinkly instrumental section... It became longer and more wonderful after the boys got their hands on it."
Emotional
(No lyric page)
One of "over 20 songs that weren't used" on the How We Live album, according to Woore.
Emotional
Warfare
(No lyric page)
One of a bunch of new Europeans songs recorded at 'The Music Works' studio towards the end of the band's life. Colin Woore came up with the riff, which Dugmore considered "really good." Ferg Harper remembers it as "one of the ones we were gonna do for the third album. We'd demoed it, and it was a good one." (Possibly the same as "Emotional" above ? )
(Non-album b-side of How We Live's 'Working Girl' 12" single) Download MP3 ( 3:27 min) 1.47 MB
A very upbeat and optimistic track, this is as good as the Dry Land tracks, and would have provided a good contrast on the album. Not so lyrically heavy, it contrasts English winter and summers weather images. The 'steel drum' keyboard sounds, upbeat rhythm and multi-tracked vocals make this a great How We Live track. Steve tells the story behind the song: "It was about a tramp bringing hope and optimism and that the track had to start off in a cold wintry village and end up in the choruses like the Notting Hill Carnival."
(From Vocabulary, and also Live )
A rather bland 'Vocabulary' number. Harper's lead vocal is played flat and low, and the backing and chorus refrain quickly becomes repetitive and dull. Only the raw guitar sound is memorable. The bass line was played on Hogarth's keyboard on "Live", leaving Harper to wander the stage bass-guitar less.
Feels Like Saturday
(No lyric page)
An unreleased How We Live track. It is not clear how complete these unseen tracks are, or whether they were even recorded.
Freedom
(No lyric page)
An unreleased, post-'Recurring Dreams' Europeans song
played live 1984-5. Also used by How We Live on tour in
1986.
(From Dry Land , and later released as a single)
"One of the best and most personal songs I ever wrote" says Hogarth. Starting with a soulful piano and vocal, this descends into a strong rocker with a full instrumental layering. I like the quiet middle, followed by the re-introduction of the main riff . The lyrics describe the exploits of one of Steve's best friends who was stationed in Germany in the army, and died tragically in the middle east. The line "Baseball diamond for the Europeans" always sounds like a band in-joke to me when I hear it! The Europeans worked on this song (then called 'Playing Games in Germany') in 1985 at 'John Henrys' studio in London, along with 'Dry Land.'
(From Live, and studio version appears on b-side of 'American People' )
One of the few slow early Europeans tracks, this appears on "Live" and a studio version on the b-side of American People. The lyrics are easy to work out, showing Hogarth's obsession with work, impersonality, non-communication and the frustration of monotony. The studio version on the 7" and 12" is listed as "Long Version" and is identical in each case. Perhaps the short version was meant to be put on the 7" ? Geoff Dugmore remembers this as "totally Steve's. He came with it when he joined the band."
(From Recurring Dreams, and edited version on b-side of Acid Rain )
I must admit that this one has grown on me. I originally described it on this site as "an average Europeans effort...frustratingly slow and long." I have since revised my opinion and rate it as one of the best tracks on the album! The choruses are a great multi-vocal harmony affair, backed with strong piano chords, and a strong soul-full feel. Geoff Dugmore: "In my opinion, one of the best songs we ever wrote. Fantastic lyrics, very deeply felt."
(From Dry Land , also the b-side of 'Working Town' & 'Games in Germany')
Another keyboard based love song, about the simplicity and purity of an Indian girl's life within the very modern city. The lyrical contrasts are highly effective, particularly "Jade and Jasmine breathes life into my carbon monoxide" and "Silk and Saffron soul against my polythene life."
(From Vocabulary , and also on Live )
A raw, powerful Vocabulary album track. Harper introduced this as "a song for the children, for everyone really. A song about innocence" (Obviously) The sound of Dugmore rattling his sticks round his drumkit is followed by the opening riff. The bass in particular sounds great. The "don't give me problems" bridge uses odd, jarring off-chords, but amazingly works very well. The instrumental play off before the last chorus is tight, and, as shown on "Live", was a good performance number.
In
Between the Lines
(No lyric Page)
An unreleased How We Live song. A "rocker" says Hogarth.
(From Dry Land , also the b-side of 'Working Girl' )
Another song commenting on city life and alienation, this has a smooth jazz rhythm and guitar touches. The guitar harmonics by Woore are very similar to his 'Europeans' style of playing.
In The
Middle of the Night
(No lyric Page)
Another unused How We Live track.
Joining
Dots
(No lyric page) (From Live )
Another track only released in its live version. After a slow keyboard start, this turns into a rocker, with lead vocal by Hogarth. The lyrics are very hard to decipher, partly due to his diction, and the fact that he's jumping, running around and throwing the microphone all over the place. It's a fairly straightforward song, with nice keyboard work and generally well played. "Joining Dots" was recorded in the studio with Trevor Vallis at the same time as "Animal Song," (and an early 'American People') but remains unreleased.
Khmer
Rouge
(No lyric page)
An unreleased Europeans track, demoed in 1985.
(From Vocabulary )
The sole Hogarth lead vocal on the first album, this sounds like a completely different group. For a start, this is the slowest of the tracks on a mainly upbeat LP, and it's not hard to see why it was chosen as the final cut. The vocals, if not perhaps a little underplayed, are excellent, and the lyrics, dealing with a more serious issue (the inequality and injustice of capitalism) have a different feel. The flanged bass line, minimal but strong drumming, and delay-effected guitar on the chorus make this a great Europeans track, showcasing a style that Hogarth would develop with success, on to the second album, in How We Live, and later for Marillion
(A-side of non-album Europeans single) Download MP3 ( 3:51 min) 1.62 MB
A non-album single, bridging the gap between the first and second studio albums. This Hogarth penned track has an upbeat, optimistic outlook imploring us to communicate, and is much better than Hogarth's lead vocal numbers on "Live." The middle-eight variation is a favourite of mine. Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy) co-produced the song, which was recorded at 'Battery Studios.' Geoff Dugmore : "It was the one and only time we really went out of our way to try and write a pop single. I think we missed the mark by quite a long way. I don't think that having a guy who had just done Judas Priest necessarily helped!"
(From Dry Land, also b-side of 'All the Time in the World')
The Hogarth/Woore/Dugmore/Harper writing credit shows that that this was an old Europeans track, re-recorded for the How We Live album. Indeed, many of the album tracks could well have been intended for a third Europeans studio album before they split. (Dugmore recalls demo-ing "Lost at Sea" as the Euros!) This song builds on a quiet piano and vocal (similar to "Don't Give Your Heart To Anybody" from 'Recurring Dreams'), then slides in to the full band with a cool feel. The saxophone solo sounds very AOR. Not the strongest of tracks, but still very listenable.
(From Recurring Dreams )
"This is a song for the heart. One about Love" says Harper. A great rocking opening flows in to a Harper vocal reminiscent of the Vocabulary album. The shared lead vocals are refreshing, and the uplifting choruses are well produced. Geoff Dugmore: "That was probably the closest to what I thought was a single from the 'Recurring Dreams' album."
(From Vocabulary)
A real throw away album filler I think, this one. The words are just terrible ("We live in modern homes, architectural for this modest world") and the riff is unmemorable, with the exception of perhaps the last instrumental before the chorus which has a nice keyboard fill. This is many of the band members' favourite track from the Vocabulary album! (sorry guys :-)
(Non-album Europeans track, b-side of 'Recognition' and 'American People )
Opening with Woore's out-of-tune guitar phrase, this doesn't get much better. The lyric is heavy and clumsy, and delivered in an uncharasmatic manner. Again, the yodelling shouts are quickly annoying
No
Point
(No lyric page)
Another unheard, post 'Recurring Dreams' Europeans track. Geoff Dugmore remembers it as "quite a little punky song"
Norman
Normal
(No lyric page)
One of the first songs written by Geoff and Ferg, along with 'Drink Pink Zinc'!
(From Steve Hogarth's 1997 'Ice Cream Genius' album)
This track appears on the 'H' album, but was apparently sketched by How We Live way back in 1988. Steve Hogarth explains : "We used to live near Heathrow and I used to watch the 747s climbing over my house. I wondered where they were going. I often thought it must be somewhere warmer and more exciting than rainy old England. I wrote this lyric back then."
Nothing To Hide
(no lyric page)
In the liner notes for his 2002 'Live Spirit : Live Body' album, Steve Hogarth suggested that this "unrecorded old How We Live song" could maybe go in the set, "if I can find the demo!" Perhaps he had lost it!
Promises
(No lyric page)
How We Live keyboard player Raine Shine notes that Steve played a song called 'Promises' (solo) at their first gig in June 1986. This was an alternative name for the song "We Don't Need to be Lovers' (qv)
(From Dry Land )
The 'rockiest' track on Dry Land, based around a very Europeans-style heavy guitar riff. The vocal is played flat and low, with the occasional higher harmony vocal. I particularly like the "With the value printed..." lines, backed with the chugging guitar line. The drums at the beginning sound very machine-produced, but this doesn't spoil the song.
(From Vocabulary, also a single, including two extended remixes)
I never really liked this one, I must admit. The verses are listenable, but the chorus is forgettable. This was remixed many times (original, album, american, european) emphasizing the 'dance-beat' backing. Carol Kenyon, Sylvia Butt and Kiki Dee provide backing vocals.
(From Dry Land 2000 re-issue, and 12" version available from Web Fan Club website)
A song by How We Live, about the TV series "The Saint". This (along with 'You Don't Need Anyone') was probably recorded in 1988 after the 'Dry Land' album. It has a much fuller, rawer sound than the previous HWL material, with a strong pulsing beat, samples, and truly killer guitar sounds. The lyrics were later transplanted into the verse of Marillion's "Cover My Eyes" on their "Holidays in Eden" album in 1991. Colin Woore elaborates on the samples : "The 'mercy' is, I think, courtesy of Roy Orbison, 'All you gotta do' is Dusty Springfield ('more than Dusty's eyes'), 'big as a jumbo jet' from TV news or documentary, 'No, I don't think I'm a revolutionary artist' I think is Andy Warhol, and there's a couple of seconds of flute near the end of the song from 'Fool On The Hill' by The Beatles. We just brought some CDs and video tapes from home of anything that might be relevant to the 60's icons mentioned in the song. Steve and Colin apparently hired an identical car (Simon Templar's 60's Volvo classic sports car) for a photo shoot when they were considering putting it out as a single at the time.
So Far Away
(No lyric page)
An unreleased Europeans number written by Woore and Hogarth. The melody line was used for the verse of "The Space," the closing track on Hogarth's first Marillion album, "Season's End" in 1989. Since 1994, the Marillion writing credit has been amended with "/ Woore / Dugmore / Harper" presumably for legal reasons. In 1996, Hogarth explained that "many of the lyrics and melodies were stolen from previously unreleased ideas I'd had as far back as the Europeans. A few of you out there might hear distant bells ringing..."
(Non-album Europeans track, b-side of 'The Animal Song and American People )
The b-side of the Animal Song single, this is a weak track. The opening piano piece sounds like it's from a cheap old horror film, and the 'song' when it comes in is poor, overdone with yodels and a low, manic Harper vocal. The track was recorded at 'Spaceward Studios' near Cambridge.
(From Vocabulary, and also performed on 'Live')
A political rant, saved by another driving Europeans riff. The lyrics cover all the angles, praising the success and strengths of the modern youth. A good live number.
Sun Shines In Your Eyes
(No lyric page)
An unheard & unrecorded How We Live track played during their 1986 tour. (Also known as 'Sunshine')
(From Vocabulary, released as a single, an extended 'Cross country version', and also on Live)
The first Europeans single, and album opener from Vocabulary, born out of a jam at rehearsal. This was a minor hit in America in the early 80s. It is typical of the early Europeans material, with a solid rhythm, raw guitar, and low vocals. The shouted backing vocals sound like a bad yodel, and their repetition gets quite frustrating. The original 7" single mix was produced by Trevor Vallis, and is a slightly shorter edit, starting with jungle sounds. The 12" "Cross country mix" sounds very dated now, with an extended solo drum middle and electronic sound effects. The extended live version worked much better, with a jammed up, rawer middle section. (See the September 1982 "article" for more in-depth discussion about the song)
This Town
(No lyric page)
A missing How We Live track. Colin Woore explained that the title started out as 'This Town', then changed to "This Time" and then again to "This Girl." Steve changed it back to "This Town" and recorded it on Marillion's 1991 "Holidays in Eden" LP.
Tokyo
(No lyric page)
Another Europeans number played live in the early days but not released in any form. "It came back from when we had the other keyboard player" says Ferg Harper. "It had a big building melodic chorus, but I think the verses were a bit strange" It was described as a "beautifully constructed little pop shiner" by the Melody Maker in September 1982.
(From Live ) Download MP3 ( 4:08 min) 1.70 MB
Hogarth introduces this live with "This is a song all about the people who used to run the country. It's also a song all about the people that are running the country. And It's about the people that are unfortunately are going to run the country in the future." He then sprayed the audience with a fire extinguisher!! The lyrics and introduction suggest that this is a rant against the powers-that-be, but the vocals are not clearly sung, so it is difficult to tell what his point is! (I've since got a handwritten copy of Steve's Lyrics and I'm still confused!) Nevertheless, this is a good upbeat, punky rocker, with a exciting improvised middle section. Unlikely to have been recorded in the studio.
(From Live, also a promotional single)
The first thing that struck me is how good the 'Live' recording sounds: crisp, clear and confident. This was one of the 3 tracks on Live that was not released in studio form. I don't think that a studio recording would have added much to this. The lyrics aren't particularly magnificent, but the performance is solid. You can hear Ferg shout "Hello" at the beginning of the track. Ferg and Geoff had apparently "done a little demo (in a jingle studio) of 'Typical' , 'Falling' and 'Voice on the Telephone' that sounded like Depeche Mode"
Uniform
(No lyric page)
An early Europeans track, written about the same time as 'Someone's Changing.' Not recorded in the studio.
Victoria Station
(No lyric page)
A song written by Steve Hogarth for the Europeans, but never recorded. It features on the h-natural dvd. Steve: "I wrote a song called Victoria Station which we never recorded. Maggie Thatcher said to the people up here (Sheffield) that if they wanted work they should get on their bike and find it. A little song about a girl getting on her bike!"
(From Vocabulary, and b-side of A.E.I.O.U )
A mediocre track, again lyrically dealing with the themes of communication and impersonality. This was originally the b-side of AEIOU, and contained extra bass overdubs on the second verse
We Don't Need to Be Lovers
(No lyric page) Download MP3 ( 3:40 min) 1.56 MB
A How We Live track,
demoed, but not recorded for the Dry Land album. This may also have been demoed by the
Euros. Also
known as "Promises"
Why Did You Have To Go to School
(No lyric page)
One of four Europeans tracks
included on an early demo (the other tracks being Tokyo, Trend on Trend &
Drink Pink Zinc). Lead vocal (and
probably written by) Steve Hogarth,
this sounds like it may well have been a song performed in his previous band
Harlow.
(From Dry Land, and a remixed version released as a single)
One of my favourite How We Live tracks, this is a love song with a great building chorus and tight arrangement. The opening track on Dry Land, this introduces Hogarth's recurring lyrical theme of 'work' and 'city life.' The song was apparently inspired by a letter Steve and Colin received from a German female taxi-driver who drove her cab through the night. She wrote, describing how she was much out of phase with reality, and the relief she experienced when, driving home, she would watch the traffic, jamming the city-bound roads, queuing to start the working day. The version released on the single, remixed by Warne Livesey, replaces the string opening with percussion, and has a crisper sound. Woore plays bass on this track, and "All the Time in the World." This was another How We Live number that was played and rehearsed by Europeans before they split.
(From Dry Land, and released as a single)
A sparsely arranged song (guitar,
bass, keys, vocals), chosen as the first How We Live single release.
The descending guitar phrase is strong throughout, and Hogarth gives a
heartfelt vocal performance. The lyrics deal with the effects of the
de-industrialisation and urban decay of Northern England towns, particularly Hogarth's home town,
Doncaster. "I tried to avoid blaming anybody or saying 'everybody's on the
dole', you know, 'this is so-and-so's fault'. I just wanted to try and write a
song about how sad it was. Just in human terms rather than in political
terms" (See the 1986 HWL interview for more details)
Wrap Me In the Flag
(No lyric page)
A lost Europeans track, the chorus of which became the "Everybody in the whole of the world..." end section of "The Space" on Marillion's 1989 album "Season's End." The song was also occasionally played by How We Live on tour in 1986
(From Recurring Dreams )
This opens with an effect sounding like the music is being played through a mono AM radio, making the moment when the full band sound comes in very powerful. Dugmore's characteristic 'tribal' tom-tom drum rhythm is as solid as ever, backed with an exciting bass line, while Hogarth and Harper's vocals play so well off each other. The lyric deals with the music press and reviewers. Hogarth says "the band as a whole has opened fire upon the British Pop magazines... We make it clear that pop journalists write because they have to..." Dugmore on the other hand was "always dubious about the lyrical content of the song, because it was going to alienate us even more from the music press."
(From Dry Land 2000 re-issue, and 12" version available from Web Fan Club website)
It was well known that this track was demoed by Marillion for their "Holidays in Eden" album in 1991, but "fell by the wayside" says Hogarth. In an interview for GWR in 1991, he described the song as "a sort of How We Live track we didn't really record." So, it was a bit of a shock when a fully recorded version the song turned up on the 2000 re-issue of the 'Dry Land' album! The song was available for a long time on the 'Low Fat Yoghurts' bootleg, recorded live at the Moles Club in Bath) An official Marillion studio version of the song was officially released on the 'Holidays in Eden' remaster CD in 1998. Colin Woore recalls that the "laugh on the You Don't Need Anyone 12" was Penelope Keith from TV."
You Don't Want
Me (In Your Life)
(From Recurring Dreams , and remixed promotional single version)
Another Hogarth fronted number, this is a characteristic, mature late-Europeans number. Hogarth's vocals sound so much more controlled and confident on the Recurring Dreams album. A remixed version was released for promotional purposes in 1984, with extended drumming and percussion at the beginning, and the instruments individually brought to the forefront of the mix. Dugmore "We had a cassette mix of 'You Don't Want Me (In Your Life) with no fade. The tape was left running and we kept playing for hours! This version just went on and on, with all sorts of weird and wacky things going on!"
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