faq
do you want fries with that?
Section 1.0 - The Band
1.1
- Who are in Delirious?
1.2
- Where did the band's name come from?
1.3
- How and when did the band start?
1.4
- Who are the band's influences?
1.5
- What were the band members doing before Delirious?
1.6
- What is the 'Cutting Edge Band'?
Section 2.0 - The Music
2.1
- What record labels are Delirious signed to?
2.2
- What albums have Delirious released?
2.3
- Why don't I hear Delirious very much on the radio?
2.4
- What videos have Delirious released?
2.5
- What are the songs about?
2.6
- Where can I find the song "Touch"?
2.7
- What's this album called 'Have You Heard?' about and where can I get it?
Section 3.0 - Various Questions
3.1
- Do they have families?
3.2
- Are any members related?
3.3
- What's their relationship with Neil Morrissey?
3.4
- What equipment do they use?
3.5
- What does Mezzamorphis mean?
3.6
- Why is their a question mark at the end of Delirious?
3.7
- What's the deal with the '5' in the name?
3.8
- What's all the talk about the band selling-out?
3.9
- Why is their a picture of Elvis Presley being walked on at the end of the
"See the Star" video?
Section 4.0 - Correspondence Info
4.1
- Is there a snail mail fan club?
4.2
- Is there an Internet Delirious? mailing list?
4.3
- Is there a Usenet newsgroup?
4.4
- Where can I get Delirious? merchandise?
4.5
- What web sites are there for Delirious?
4.6
- How can I contact Delirious?
Information on this page has been taken from various articles, discussion
on the newsgroup and discussion list, and the 'Purepop' Delirious? biography.
Updated in August '99 by:
Ian Barker: dheaven@ecministries.com
Contributors to this FAQ are:
Scooby: info@spaceman.org
Ben Gidley: bgg102@york.ac.uk
P.H. Tucker: pht@eng.cam.ac.uk
James Stewart: james.stewart@charis.co.uk
Adam Evans: adam@cje.co.uk
1
- The Band
1.1 - Who are in Delirious?
Martin Smith - Lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitars
Stu Garrard - Electric guitars, bg vocals
Jonson Thatcher - Bass Guitar
Stewart Smith - Drums and percussion
Tim Jupp - keyboards, hammond organ, programming
Tony Patoto - Manager
1.2 - Where did the band's name
come from?
The idea for the name Delirious came when they stumbled across the word in the
dictionary. They thought that it summed up how they were feeling at the time
and their relationship with God.
1.3
- How and when did the band start?
The band went full-time as Delirious? in April of 1996. Before this time, they
had existed as the Cutting Edge Band beginning in 1992. Martin was involved
in a serious car crash with his wife, Anna, and Jonson which landed him in the
hospital for a couple of weeks. During this time, he was faced with the reality
of death and preciousness of life and was faced with what he wanted to do with
his life. He decided that he was to go full-time with the Cutting Edge Band
and to raise the flag high for Jesus Christ.
1.4 - Who are the band's influences?
The band's influences are diverse. Martin is into bands like U2, Radiohead,
The Manic Street Preachers, and The Verve. Stu is into those bands as well as
being interested in Reggae music. Jonson listened to all kinds of punk music
while growing up and is now into bands like the Beastie Boys and DJ Shadow.
1.5 - What were the band members
doing before Delirious?
Martin was a producer and engineer at a recording studio he helped to run with
Tim. Stu was an electrician in London before moving to Littlehampton. Jonson
was a first year university student studying art. Stew was a graphic designer
running his own business. And Tim ran a recording studio which produced many
albums.
1.6 - What is the 'Cutting Edge
Band'?
The Cutting Edge Band was a worship band at Arun Community Church in Littlehampton,
England. Cutting Edge was a monthly meeting that was geared towards young people.
It was an event put together to draw young people to the church and to give
them something to do. Martin was in charge of the music and led on his guitar.
Stewart and Tim backed him along with various other people. Stu became their
lead guitarist at the end of 1994. During this time, Martin had written many
songs. Over the course of 2 years, they recorded these songs on 4 separate mini-albums.
These cassettes were usually sold-out within 2 weeks of the first run. As this
was going on, the band received many offers to do gigs all around England. The
band had to fit in the gigs on the weekends so that they could work. In 1995,
Jonson became the band's full-time bass player. By 1996, the band had quit their
jobs, changed their name to Delirious?, and the rest is history.
2 - The Music
2.1 - What record labels are
Delirious signed to?
Delirious? are on their own label called Furious? Records. They formed this
label back in the Cutting Edge days when they were selling the Cutting Edge
tapes. All album and single releases in the UK are handled by Furious? Records.
The band also have licensing deals with Sparrow Records and Virgin Records in
the States. Sparrow Records promote the band in the Christian music market and
Virgin Records promote the band in the secular market.
2.2 - What albums have Delirious
released?
UK album releases
Cutting Edge One, cassette, 1993
Cutting Edge Two, cassette, 1994
Cutting Edge Three: The Red Tape, cassette, 1995
Have You Heard (By Stuart Garrard), cassette, 1995
Cutting Edge Fore, cassette, 1996
Live and in the Can, 1996
King Of Fools, 1997, Charted at 13 in UK album chart.
singles:
White Ribbon Day
Deeper
Promise
deEPer
D:tour 1997 Live, 1998
Mezzamorphis, 1999
singles:
See the Star
The
Cutting Edge albums have subsequently been released as two CDs. One featuring
Cutting Edge 1 and 2, and the other 3 and 4.
US album releases
Cutting Edge, 1998 (double album)
King of Fools, 1998
Live and in the Can, 1998
Mezzamorphis, 1999
2.3 - Why don't I hear Delirious very
much on the radio?
Most of the singles did receive a little airplay. See The Star was covered by
Radio 1's "The Net" entertainment news show and Deeper even got to number six
in their most wanted chart. But in the premier radio station in the UK, Radio
1, has never played any of the singles. Many people believe that there is a
conspiracy against Delirious? because of their faith. The other reason could
be they are a new band and Radio 1 have a lot of other new songs. Also some
people though the number of people e-mailing and phoning requests stink of a
fix so they do not play them. You can hear Delirious? songs on Christian radio
in the US and occasionally on College radio.
2.4 - What videos have Delirious released?
Delirious? have filmed videos for 'Deeper', 'Promise', and 'See the Star'. These
were shown on music video stations in the UK. They also released a tour documentary
in 1998 called "A View From the Terraces". The live album d:tour Live 1997 was
released as a soundtrack to this video. A video for 'Gravity' was also filmed
but has yet to be released in the UK. But Christian stations aired it in the
US.
2.5 - What are the songs about?
All of the songs are centered around God. Determination, confusion, frustration
and simplicity are the themes they write about the most. They all have to do
with living for God.
KING OF FOOLS
"King Of Fools" is apparently inspired by a scene in Disney's The Hunchback
Of Notre Dame where Quasimodo is crowned 'King Of Fools'. This was linked to
1 Corinthians 3 verse 18 "If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards
of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. There are
web sites that go into more detail.
WHITE RIBBON DAY
This song is a prayer of peace for Northern Ireland. Before it was released
in early 1997 Furious sent white ribbons to everyone on the mailing list. The
idea was that could be a ribbon campaign for world peace, rather like the red
ribbons for AIDS. Copies of the single were also given to the leaders of both
sides of the Northern Ireland peace process.
AUGUST 30TH
On August 30th 1996 Martin and Jonson from the band were involved in a serious
car accident. After this Martin felt that he had been given a second chance,
and it was this that inspired him to go full time with the band. The song thanks
God for allowing him to live again. Pip, to whom the song is dedicated, is Martin's
brother's wife who was also involved in a serious accident about the same time.
SUMMER OF LOVE
This song was a B-side to the second release of Deeper in late 1997. It was
written after Stew's wife, Sarah, had miscarried while on holiday in the summer.
It tells of the pain of their family and the rest of the band in what they had
expected to be the "Summer of Love".
IT'S OK
There has been a controversy over the meaning of the lyric "she's as pretty
as hell". Although there are many opinions of what it means, most believe that
the lyric is describing someone who seems to have everything figured out, but
inside she is hurting and is in need of a Saviour.
BLISS
Stu, "It's a statement that we're not backing down. We know exactly where we
want to go. We want to take our music to the world and have it recognized as
being as good as anything that's out there. But we're not going to compromise
or back away from our integrity as Christians." This song deals with questions
that are asked by people who don't believe in God. It asks the question "what
if I'm wrong about my beliefs?". But Martin counters with attitude of, "well,
at least I lived a life full of peace and happiness." The song ends with an
undeniable statement of faith and belief.
2.6 - Where can I find the song "Touch"?
The song "Touch" is a b-side off of the deeper single. It also features the
song "Summer of Love". Another b-side, "Absolutely Absolute", is on the White
Ribbon Day single. Places to order these singles from are listed on the d:heaven
site under stuff>rarities.
2.7 - What's this album called
'Have You Heard?' about and where can I get it?
This album is Stu G's solo album that he did in 1995. It has six songs on it
and was released only on cassette. Unfortunately, it is no longer being produced
which makes it extremely hard to find. The d:song "Come Like You Promise" was
recorded for that album.
3 - Various Questions
3.1
- Do they have families?
Yes. They are all married and all have children except for Jonson.
Martin is married to Anna, and they have a little girl called Eli and a boy
named Noah. Tim is married to Becca, they have three kids Rosie, Harry and Milly.
Stewart is Married to Sarah, and they have 2 girls named Abigail and Jemimah.
Jonson is recently married to Kristen. Lastly, Stu G is married to Karen, and
have two daughters Katlyn and Eden.
3.2 - Are any members related?
David Thatcher is an Elder at Arun Community Church, and is married to Heather.
They have five children. Becca, Sarah, Anna, Jon and Ben. Jon is the Jonson
that we know and love while Becca, Sarah, and Anna are the wives of Tim, Stew,
and Martin. This makes four of them brother-in-laws which I'm sure makes the
holiday season very interesting. Stu is the only one who is not related to the
other members.
3.3 - What's their relationship
with Neil Morrissey?
Neil Morrissey, the British television star of the show 'Men Behaving Badly'.
is a friend of the band's. Martin and Stu met him on the beach in California
in early 1999. They invited him to a Virgin Records party and he's been friends
with the been band ever since. He doesn't have the same beliefs as the band
but does dig the music.
3.4 - What equipment do they
use?
Martin Smith
Yamaha Acoustic, Gretch Hollowbody electric
Vox AC30 amp
PEDALS: Mxr Dyna Comp, Boss Digital reverb, TS9 Tubescreamer, Boss DD3 delay,
and a Boss EQ Pedal
Stu G
Les Paul Classic
Vox AC30 & Mesa Tremoverb
Pedals: Digitech Wammy Pedal; 2 Bionic Expandora's (1 with "fuzz" written on
it); TS9 tubescreamer; MXR phase 90; Tremolo pedal; Boss DD3 delay
Jonson
Fender Jazz Bass
Ampeg SVT Classic Head & 8/10 Head
Pedals: Electro harmonics ELECTRIC MISTRESS; Q-Tron; Boss Octave; and a Roger
Meyer VOODOO BASS pedal
Tim
Roland JP 8000
Roland RD 500
Hammond B3 organ
2 digital Multitrackers
and a whole rack-0-stuff
Stewart
Premier Drums
Zildian Cymbals
Thanks to James Duke. Specs taken in July '99.
3.5 - What does Mezzamorphis
mean?
The title of the album, Mezzamorphis, is a mixture of words. It's from two cuts
on the album. "Metamorphis," which is a play on the word metamorphosis, reflects
the theme of the album: change. "The Mezzanine Floor" is about being between
floors. It's not the first floor or the ground floor, but it's somewhere in
between. The band feel that they are changing all the time and have come musically
since the Cutting Edge albums but aren't where they want to be yet either.
3.6 - Why is their a question
mark at the end of Delirious?
The question mark
is there because of the path that they have taken both as a band and individually.
The band have some uncertainties as to where they are headed. Every step is
a journey and nobody knows where God will take them.
3.7 - What's the deal with the '5' in
the name?
In the early days, the logo spelled Delirious with a 5 like this: deliriou5?.
But the 5 has been taken from the logo and name so it is simply(?) Delirious?.
Why the 5 in the first place? According to Stew, the original designer, "There
wasn't a 's' on the keyboard" and "it's just a design thing".
3.8 - What's all the talk about the band
selling-out?
When the album Mezzamorphis was released, their was a lot of discussion about
the lack of "Christian" lyric on the album. People perceived that the band had
become too soft in expressing their Christianity in an attempt to break into
the mainstream and the radio. Particular focus was on the word "hell" in 'It's
OK'. Their were many heated discussions upon this topic. Some thought the album
to be very mature and to be very fulfilling spiritually, some just liked it
for the music and the freshness, but others were very angry that Delirious?
had lost sight of what they were doing it for. Many opinions were written but
the most thoughtful of all those was Martin Smith's himself. He posted a letter
on the Official website in response to all of the sold-out letters. It is a
very good letter and would encourage you to read it.
3.9 - Why is their a picture
of Elvis Presley being walked on at the end of the "See the Star" video?
Nobody knows for sure but can only guess that it is symbolic for lost childhood
dreams as people grow. The video and song are about living life even though
it can be hard and even depressing at times.
4
- Correspondence Info
4.1 - Is there a snail mail fan club?
A newsletter called 'SmallTalk' is put out by Furious? Records and Delirious?.
This publication is only available to UK residents and you can subscribe by
e-mailing Furious? Records, signing up on their website, or writing them.
4.2 - Is there an Internet Delirious?
mailing list?
Their is a Delirious? fan mailing list which is quite
active. To join, just send this e-mail.
4.3 - Is there a Usenet newsgroup?
Yes, the address is alt.music.delirious.
4.4 - Where can I get Delirious?
merchandise?
You can buy Delirious? merchandise at their shows and
off of the official website. You can also request a catalogue from Furious?
Records.
4.5 - What web sites are there for
Delirious?
Delirious? fans are plugged into the internet and thier are over 250 websites
on Delirious?, supposedly. While nobody has found them all, we do know of a
few good ones.
--the Official UK Delirious? web page at http://www.delirious.co.uk/
(Shockwave only)
--the official US Delirious? web page at http://www.delirious.net/
--Spurious? - the
home of delirious? fans on the web (http://www.spurious.org/)
--d:heaven - the US Delirious? fansite (http://www.ecministries.com/dheaven/)
--the Spurious? deliRINGous (http://www.spurious.org/dring/)
4.6 - How can I contact Delirious?
Furious? Records
PO Box 3038
Littlehampton
West Sussex
BN17 5SZ
e-mail: info@furiousrecords.co.uk