Ninety Nine

Album: Are You Satisfied? (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Drummer Isaac Holman explained the song's meaning to NME: "It's about how everybody just lives in their hands at the moment," he said. "You see couples in restaurants staring at phones. The lyric is '99% of the time, she lives in her hands. I can't understand why.'"
  • "Ninety Nine" is a track on Are You Satisfied?, the first album by the duo of Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent. Their name at the time was Slaves, a very provocative moniker that didn't seem to hold them back: Their first three albums all reached the Top 10 in the UK. In 2022 they had a change of heart and rebranded as Soft Play. "When we called our band Slaves, it was intended solely as a reference to the grind of day-to-day life," they explained. "As younger men, we responded to criticism of the name from a place of fear and defensiveness."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.

AC/DC

AC/DCFact or Fiction

Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

Adam Young of Owl City

Adam Young of Owl CitySongwriter Interviews

Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.