I had just started listening to the radio when this came out, so I don't really remember a time when I didn't know it. Listening to it as a much older adult, I find that it is trying to be profound but not really succeeding. And its lyrics start out with this:
Everywhere is freaks and hairies
Dykes and fairies, tell me, where is sanity?
This, sadly, suggests that the band isn't exactly progressive about certain things.
Ten Years After were from Nottingham in England. The core of the band formed in 1960 and were called Ivan Jay and the Jaycats, then later the Jaybirds, and later still the Jaymen. The band renamed itself Ten Years After in 1966, as it had been ten years since Elvis had become famous.
Ten Years After played blues rock and featured guitarist and vocalist Alvin Lee. They became famous after performing "I'm Going Home" at Woodstock, which featured Lee absolutely shredding on lead guitar. In 1971, they moved towards a more commercial pop sound with their album A Space In Time; "I'd Love To Change The World" was a track from that album. It reached #10 nationally in Canada but only made it to #40 on the Billboard Hot 100; this was the best that they would do on the pop charts.
Ten Years After split up in 1974, reformed for one concert in 1983, and then played together from 1988 to 2003 without recording new material. Alvin Lee passed away in 2013 following complications from surgery. A new version of the band was put together in 2025 featuring long-time drummer Ric Lee (no relation to Alvin) and three new members.
Created October 1, 2026.