Echo & the Bunnymen
Encyclopedia
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk
band, formed in Liverpool
in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch
, guitarist Will Sergeant
and bass player
Les Pattinson
, supplemented by a drum machine
. By 1980, Pete de Freitas
had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut album, Crocodiles
, met with critical acclaim and made the UK Top 20
. Their second album, Heaven Up Here
(1981), again found favour with the critics and reached number 10 in the UK Album chart. The band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the mid-1980s, as they scored a UK Top 10
hit with "The Cutter
", and the attendant album, Porcupine
(1983), reached number 2 in the UK. Their next release, Ocean Rain
(1984), continued the band's UK chart success, and has since been regarded as their landmark release, spawning the hit singles "The Killing Moon
", "Silver
" and "Seven Seas
". One more studio album, Echo & the Bunnymen
(1987), was released before McCulloch left the band to pursue a solo career in 1988. The following year, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident, and the band re-emerged with a new line-up. Original members Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson were joined by Noel Burke
as lead singer, Damon Reece
on drums and Jake Brockman
on keyboards. This new incarnation of the band released Reverberation
in 1990, but the disappointing critical and commercial reaction it received culminated with a complete split in 1993.
After working together as Electrafixion
, McCulloch and Sergeant regrouped with Pattinson in 1997 and returned as Echo & the Bunnymen with the UK Top 10 hit "Nothing Lasts Forever
". An album of new material, Evergreen, was greeted enthusiastically by critics and the band made a successful return to the live arena. Though Pattinson left the group for a second time, McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to issue new material as Echo & the Bunnymen, including the albums What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?
(1999), Flowers (2001), Siberia
(2005) and The Fountain
(2009).
began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three
, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope
and Pete Wylie
. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It In Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope sacked McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes
, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine
, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been refuted by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club
, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes.
Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall
" was released on Bill Drummond
& David Balfe
's Zoo Records
in May 1979, the B-side
being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has subsequently denied that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song on more than one occasion.
By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles
, the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas
. The lead single, "Rescue
", climbed to UK No.62 and the album broke into the Top 20 at #17, following critical acclaim. Their next album, Heaven Up Here
(1981), was an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (#10), although a single lifted from the album, "A Promise
", could only reach UK #49.
" (#19). This was followed in early 1983 with their first Top 10, the more radio-friendly "The Cutter
", which climbed to #8. The parent album, Porcupine
, hit No.2 in the album chart. Now firmly established as a chart act, further hits followed with a one-off single, "Never Stop" (#15), and "The Killing Moon
", a preview from the new album featuring a dramatic McCulloch vocal, which became the band's second UK Top 10 single at #9.
Following a PR campaign
which proclaimed it "the greatest album ever made", 1984's Ocean Rain
reached #4, and today is widely regarded as the band's masterpiece. Single extracts "Silver
" (UK #30) and "Seven Seas
" (UK #16) consolidated the album's continued commercial success. In the same year, McCulloch had a minor solo hit with his cover version of "September Song
".
Echo & the Bunnymen toured Scandinavia
in April 1985, performing cover versions of songs from Television
, the Rolling Stones
, Talking Heads
and The Doors
. Recordings from the tour emerged as the semi-bootleg On Strike.
Unfortunately for the band, Ocean Rain proved to be a difficult album to follow up, and they could only re-emerge in 1985 with a single, "Bring On the Dancing Horses
" (UK #21), and a compilation album, Songs to Learn & Sing
, which made No.6 in the UK album chart. However, all was not well in the Bunnymen camp, and Pete de Freitas left the band. Their next album, the self-titled Echo & the Bunnymen
(1987), was recorded with ex–ABC
drummer David Palmer, but when de Freitas returned in 1986, it was largely re-recorded. Eventually released in mid-1987, the record sold well (UK #4), and was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there.
In the United States, the band's best-known songs were "The Killing Moon" and "Lips Like Sugar
". "Bring On the Dancing Horses" is well-known as one of the songs on the soundtrack to the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink
. "The Killing Moon" was featured in the films Grosse Pointe Blank
and Donnie Darko
, and in Series 2, Episode 4 of the E4 series Misfits
. The band also contributed a cover version
of The Doors
song "People Are Strange
" to The Lost Boys
soundtrack.
singer Oscar turned down an offer to take over from McCulloch, Pattinson and Sergeant recruited ex-St. Vitus Dance vocalist Noel Burke
and drummer Damon Reece
. Keyboardist Jake Brockman
(a touring member of the band for several years previously, and a contributor to the 1987 album) was promoted to full member, and the five-piece recorded Reverberation
in 1990. This did not generate much excitement among fans or critics, and the group was abandoned in 1993. McCulloch, meanwhile, had continued his solo career, with the albums Candleland in 1989 and Mysterio in 1992.
In 1994 McCulloch and Sergeant began working together again under the name Electrafixion
; in 1997 Pattinson rejoined the duo, meaning the three surviving members of the original Bunnymen line-up were now working together again. Rather than continue as Electrafixion, the trio resurrected the Echo & the Bunnymen name and released the album Evergreen (1997), which reached the UK Top 10.
Immediately prior to the release of the band's next album, What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?
(1999), Les Pattinson quit to take care of his mother. McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to tour and record as Echo & the Bunnymen, touring repeatedly and releasing the albums Flowers (2001) and Siberia
(2005). The Siberia band line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Paul Fleming (keyboards), Simon Finley (drums) and Pete Wilkinson (bass), Hugh Jones produced Siberia after previously engineering early Bunnymen albums. As from August 2009 the group's touring incarnation comprises McCulloch and Sergeant along with Stephen Brannan (bass), Gordy Goudie (guitar), Nicholas Kilroe (drums) and Jez Wing (keyboards).
In 2002 the group received the Q Inspiration
award. The award is for inspiring "new generations of musicians, songs and music lovers in general." The band were said to be worthy winners as they have done much to promote the Mersey music scene. In a later interview for Magnet
magazine, McCulloch said "It validates everything that we've tried to achieve—cool, great timeless music. It's not like an inspiration award affecting the past, it's affecting the current music."
On 11 September 2006, Echo & the Bunnymen released an updated version of their 1985 Songs to Learn and Sing compilation. Now re-titled More Songs to Learn and Sing
, this new compilation was issued in two versions, a 17-track single CD and a 20-track version with a DVD featuring 8 videos from their career.
In March 2007, the Bunnymen announced that they had re-signed to their original record label, Warner, and were also working on a new album. The band were also said to be planning a live DVD, entitled "Dancing Horses", which also contained interviews with the band. This was released in May 2007, on Snapper/SPV. The live line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Simon Finley (Drums), Paul Fleming (Keyboards), Gordy Goudie (Guitar) and Steve Brannan (Bass).
On 11 January 2008 Ian McCulloch was interviewed on BBC Breakfast
at the start of Liverpool 08. He was asked about new Bunnymen material and he revealed that a new album would coincide with their gig at the Royal Albert Hall
in September. He went on to say that the album was, "The best one we've made, apart from Ocean Rain
."
In a 20 April 2008 interview with the Sunday Mail
Ian McCulloch announced The Fountain
as the title of the new Echo & the Bunnymen album with producers John McLaughlin and Simon Perry, which was originally due to be released in 2008 but was finally released on 12 October 2009. The first single from the album, "Think I Need It Too
", was released on 28 September 2009.
On 1 September 2009 former keyboard player Jake Brockman died on the Isle of Man when his motorbike collided with a converted ambulance. Brockman had played keyboards for the band during the 1980s.
In December 2010, Echo & the Bunnymen went on tour playing their first two albums Crocodiles
and Heaven Up Here
in their entirety.
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band, formed in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch
Ian McCulloch (singer)
Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
, guitarist Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in the centre of Liverpool, he grew up in the suburb of Melling and attended nearby Deyes High School...
and bass player
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson
Les Pattinson is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool based band, Echo & the Bunnymen....
, supplemented by a drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
. By 1980, Pete de Freitas
Pete de Freitas
Pete Louis Vincent de Freitas was a musician and producer, best known as a drummer with Echo & the Bunnymen, and whose drumming skills have been compared to Dave Grohl's....
had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut album, Crocodiles
Crocodiles (album)
Crocodiles is the debut album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart...
, met with critical acclaim and made the UK Top 20
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Their second album, Heaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here is the second album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released in 30 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States...
(1981), again found favour with the critics and reached number 10 in the UK Album chart. The band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the mid-1980s, as they scored a UK Top 10
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
hit with "The Cutter
The Cutter (song)
"The Cutter" is a single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in 1983. It is the second single released from their 1983 Porcupine album.The single was released on the Korova label in the United Kingdom on 14 January 1983 as both a 7" and 12" single...
", and the attendant album, Porcupine
Porcupine (album)
Porcupine is the third studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. First released on 4 February 1983, it became the band's highest charting release when it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart despite initially receiving poor reviews...
(1983), reached number 2 in the UK. Their next release, Ocean Rain
Ocean Rain
Ocean Rain is the fourth studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 8 May 1984 and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, number 87 on the United States Billboard 200, number 41 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and number 22 on the Swedish chart. Since...
(1984), continued the band's UK chart success, and has since been regarded as their landmark release, spawning the hit singles "The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon is a single by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on their 1984 album, Ocean Rain. It is one of the band's highest-charting hits, reaching number nine in the UK Singles Chart.-Lyrics:...
", "Silver
Silver (song)
For the song by Moist, see Silver "Silver" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 13 April 1984. It was the second single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, reaching a peak of number 30. It also reached number 14 on...
" and "Seven Seas
Seven Seas (song)
"Seven Seas" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 6 July 1984. It was the third single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart.-Overview:...
". One more studio album, Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen (album)
Echo & the Bunnymen is the fifth studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, and the last with founding member Ian McCulloch and drummer Pete de Freitas. The album was produced by Laurie Latham who recorded the album in Germany, Belgium, London and Liverpool after an aborted...
(1987), was released before McCulloch left the band to pursue a solo career in 1988. The following year, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident, and the band re-emerged with a new line-up. Original members Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson were joined by Noel Burke
Noel Burke
Noel Burke is an Irish singer, who is best known for replacing Ian McCulloch as the lead singer with Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Belfast, Burke's first band was St. Vitus Dance, who released the album Love Me, Love My Dogma in 1987 before splitting up a few years later...
as lead singer, Damon Reece
Damon Reece
Damon Reece is an English drummer, who has been a member of Spiritualized, Echo & the Bunnymen and Lupine Howl.-Biography:Growing up in Croydon, Reece moved to Liverpool at the age of eighteen and played in various local bands...
on drums and Jake Brockman
Jake Drake-Brockman
James Ralph "Jake" Drake-Brockman was a Bristol-based English musician and sound recordist. Drake-Brockman was known to fans as "the fifth Bunnyman", as he had been associated with the Liverpool group Echo & the Bunnymen since the 1980s and became a full time member, as keyboardist, in 1989, using...
on keyboards. This new incarnation of the band released Reverberation
Reverberation (album)
Reverberation is the sixth studio album by the British rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album was released amidst a line-up change for the group, due to the departure of vocalist Ian McCulloch and the death of drummer Pete de Freitas. The remaining members, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les...
in 1990, but the disappointing critical and commercial reaction it received culminated with a complete split in 1993.
After working together as Electrafixion
Electrafixion
Electrafixion were an alternative rock band, formed by former Echo & the Bunnymen members Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant in 1994, joined by bass guitarist Leon de Sylva and drummer Tony McGuigan. They released one album, Burned, and four singles and EPs before splitting up in 1996, due to the...
, McCulloch and Sergeant regrouped with Pattinson in 1997 and returned as Echo & the Bunnymen with the UK Top 10 hit "Nothing Lasts Forever
Nothing Lasts Forever (Echo & the Bunnymen song)
"Nothing Lasts Forever" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in 1997. It was the first single released after Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson reformed the band. It was also the first single to be released from their 1997 album, Evergreen. It reached number 8 on the...
". An album of new material, Evergreen, was greeted enthusiastically by critics and the band made a successful return to the live arena. Though Pattinson left the group for a second time, McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to issue new material as Echo & the Bunnymen, including the albums What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?
What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?
What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? is the eighth studio album by the British rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album saw the departure of bassist Les Pattinson from the group, partly due to disagreements with vocalist Ian McCulloch; McCulloch and the remaining band member, guitarist Will...
(1999), Flowers (2001), Siberia
Siberia (album)
Siberia is the tenth studio album by Echo & the Bunnymen. The album garnered generally positive reviews, with some commentators calling it their best work since Ocean Rain, despite it being the first to not reach the UK Top 75....
(2005) and The Fountain
The Fountain (album)
The Fountain is the eleventh studio album by British band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album was released on 12 October 2009 and was produced by John McLaughlin, Ian McCulloch and Simon Perry...
(2009).
Early years
Ian McCullochIan McCulloch (singer)
Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three
Crucial Three
The Crucial Three were a short-lived band that existed for approximately six weeks in early 1977. They nevertheless achieved notoriety on account of the individual success of all three founding members: Julian Cope formed The Teardrop Explodes and has enjoyed a long and successful solo career as...
, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
and Pete Wylie
Pete Wylie
-Studio albums:- Extended Plays :-Singles:-External links:***...
. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It In Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope sacked McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman...
, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been refuted by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club
Eric's Club
Eric's Club was a music club in Liverpool, England. It opened on October 1, 1976 in a building basement on Mathew Street opposite The Cavern Club where The Beatles and other bands of the 1960s played, and became notable for hosting early performances by many punk and post-punk bands.The club was...
, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes.
Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall
The Pictures on My Wall
"The Pictures on My Wall" is the first single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen and was released in 1979 in a limited issue of 4,000 copies...
" was released on Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
& David Balfe
David Balfe
David Balfe is most notable for playing keyboards with The Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of their number one hit - "Country House".-Biography:...
's Zoo Records
Zoo Records
Zoo Records was a British independent record label formed by Bill Drummond and David Balfe in 1978. Zoo was launched in order to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool band, Big in Japan...
in May 1979, the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has subsequently denied that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song on more than one occasion.
By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles
Crocodiles (album)
Crocodiles is the debut album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart...
, the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas
Pete de Freitas
Pete Louis Vincent de Freitas was a musician and producer, best known as a drummer with Echo & the Bunnymen, and whose drumming skills have been compared to Dave Grohl's....
. The lead single, "Rescue
Rescue (song)
"Rescue" is the second single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 5 May 1980 and subsequently included on the Crocodiles album, which was released on 18 July 1980. It was the band's first single to chart, reaching number 62 on the UK Singles Chart...
", climbed to UK No.62 and the album broke into the Top 20 at #17, following critical acclaim. Their next album, Heaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here is the second album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released in 30 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States...
(1981), was an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (#10), although a single lifted from the album, "A Promise
A Promise (song)
"A Promise" is the fourth single by Echo & the Bunnymen and was released on 10 July 1981. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and peaked at number 49...
", could only reach UK #49.
Mainstream success
In June 1982, the Bunnymen achieved their first significant UK hit single with "The Back of LoveThe Back of Love
"The Back of Love" is a single which was released by Echo & the Bunnymen on 21 May 1982. It reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart the same month. It was subsequently added to the album Porcupine which was released on 4 February 1983....
" (#19). This was followed in early 1983 with their first Top 10, the more radio-friendly "The Cutter
The Cutter (song)
"The Cutter" is a single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in 1983. It is the second single released from their 1983 Porcupine album.The single was released on the Korova label in the United Kingdom on 14 January 1983 as both a 7" and 12" single...
", which climbed to #8. The parent album, Porcupine
Porcupine (album)
Porcupine is the third studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. First released on 4 February 1983, it became the band's highest charting release when it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart despite initially receiving poor reviews...
, hit No.2 in the album chart. Now firmly established as a chart act, further hits followed with a one-off single, "Never Stop" (#15), and "The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon
The Killing Moon is a single by the band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on their 1984 album, Ocean Rain. It is one of the band's highest-charting hits, reaching number nine in the UK Singles Chart.-Lyrics:...
", a preview from the new album featuring a dramatic McCulloch vocal, which became the band's second UK Top 10 single at #9.
Following a PR campaign
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
which proclaimed it "the greatest album ever made", 1984's Ocean Rain
Ocean Rain
Ocean Rain is the fourth studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 8 May 1984 and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, number 87 on the United States Billboard 200, number 41 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and number 22 on the Swedish chart. Since...
reached #4, and today is widely regarded as the band's masterpiece. Single extracts "Silver
Silver (song)
For the song by Moist, see Silver "Silver" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 13 April 1984. It was the second single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, reaching a peak of number 30. It also reached number 14 on...
" (UK #30) and "Seven Seas
Seven Seas (song)
"Seven Seas" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 6 July 1984. It was the third single to be released from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the Irish Singles Chart.-Overview:...
" (UK #16) consolidated the album's continued commercial success. In the same year, McCulloch had a minor solo hit with his cover version of "September Song
September Song
"September Song" is an American pop standard composed by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday. It has since been recorded by numerous singers and instrumentalists...
".
Echo & the Bunnymen toured Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
in April 1985, performing cover versions of songs from Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
, the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
and The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
. Recordings from the tour emerged as the semi-bootleg On Strike.
Unfortunately for the band, Ocean Rain proved to be a difficult album to follow up, and they could only re-emerge in 1985 with a single, "Bring On the Dancing Horses
Bring On the Dancing Horses
"Bring On the Dancing Horses" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 14 November 1985. It was the only new single to be included on their 1985 compilation album Songs to Learn & Sing...
" (UK #21), and a compilation album, Songs to Learn & Sing
Songs to Learn & Sing
Songs to Learn & Sing is a compilation album by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 15 November 1985 and featured all of the singles the band had released up to that point. Released on LP, cassette and CD by Korova, WEA and Sire Records, the album received good reviews and reached number six...
, which made No.6 in the UK album chart. However, all was not well in the Bunnymen camp, and Pete de Freitas left the band. Their next album, the self-titled Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen (album)
Echo & the Bunnymen is the fifth studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, and the last with founding member Ian McCulloch and drummer Pete de Freitas. The album was produced by Laurie Latham who recorded the album in Germany, Belgium, London and Liverpool after an aborted...
(1987), was recorded with ex–ABC
ABC (band)
ABC are an English band, that charted ten UK and five US Top 40 singles between 1981 and 1990. The band continues to tour and released a new album, Traffic, in 2008.-Formation:...
drummer David Palmer, but when de Freitas returned in 1986, it was largely re-recorded. Eventually released in mid-1987, the record sold well (UK #4), and was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there.
In the United States, the band's best-known songs were "The Killing Moon" and "Lips Like Sugar
Lips Like Sugar
"Lips Like Sugar" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in August 1987. It was the second single from their 1987 eponymous album. It reached number 36 on the UK Singles Chart and number 24 on the Irish Singles Chart...
". "Bring On the Dancing Horses" is well-known as one of the songs on the soundtrack to the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink
Pretty in Pink
Pretty in Pink is a 1986 American teen romantic comedy-drama film about teenage love and social cliques in 1980s American high schools. It is one of a group of John Hughes films starring Molly Ringwald, and is commonly identified as a "Brat Pack" film...
. "The Killing Moon" was featured in the films Grosse Pointe Blank
Grosse Pointe Blank
Grosse Pointe Blank is a 1997 American Black comedy film, directed by George Armitage, and starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver.In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Grosse Pointe Blank the 21st greatest comedy film of all time. The film's soundtrack features mainly independent music hits...
and Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is a 2001 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Noah Wyle, Jena Malone, and Mary McDonnell...
, and in Series 2, Episode 4 of the E4 series Misfits
Misfits (TV series)
Misfits is a British science fiction comedy-drama television series about a group of young offenders forced to work in a community service programme, where they obtain supernatural powers after a strange electrical storm. The first series started broadcasting on 12 November 2009 on E4, and was...
. The band also contributed a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
song "People Are Strange
People Are Strange
"People Are Strange" is a single released by The Doors in September 1967 from their second album Strange Days which was also released in September 1967. The single peaked at the #12 position of the U.S. Hot 100 chart and made it to the top ten in the Cash Box charts...
" to The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....
soundtrack.
1988 split
McCulloch quit the band in 1988 and de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident in mid-1989. After former Colenso ParadeColenso Parade
Colenso Parade were an alternative rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland formed in 1984. Taking their name from a street in the Stranmillis area of their native city, the original line-up was Oscar Askin , Linda Clandinning , Neil Lawson , Jackie Forgie and Robert Wakeman...
singer Oscar turned down an offer to take over from McCulloch, Pattinson and Sergeant recruited ex-St. Vitus Dance vocalist Noel Burke
Noel Burke
Noel Burke is an Irish singer, who is best known for replacing Ian McCulloch as the lead singer with Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Belfast, Burke's first band was St. Vitus Dance, who released the album Love Me, Love My Dogma in 1987 before splitting up a few years later...
and drummer Damon Reece
Damon Reece
Damon Reece is an English drummer, who has been a member of Spiritualized, Echo & the Bunnymen and Lupine Howl.-Biography:Growing up in Croydon, Reece moved to Liverpool at the age of eighteen and played in various local bands...
. Keyboardist Jake Brockman
Jake Drake-Brockman
James Ralph "Jake" Drake-Brockman was a Bristol-based English musician and sound recordist. Drake-Brockman was known to fans as "the fifth Bunnyman", as he had been associated with the Liverpool group Echo & the Bunnymen since the 1980s and became a full time member, as keyboardist, in 1989, using...
(a touring member of the band for several years previously, and a contributor to the 1987 album) was promoted to full member, and the five-piece recorded Reverberation
Reverberation (album)
Reverberation is the sixth studio album by the British rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album was released amidst a line-up change for the group, due to the departure of vocalist Ian McCulloch and the death of drummer Pete de Freitas. The remaining members, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les...
in 1990. This did not generate much excitement among fans or critics, and the group was abandoned in 1993. McCulloch, meanwhile, had continued his solo career, with the albums Candleland in 1989 and Mysterio in 1992.
Reformation
Electrafixion
Electrafixion were an alternative rock band, formed by former Echo & the Bunnymen members Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant in 1994, joined by bass guitarist Leon de Sylva and drummer Tony McGuigan. They released one album, Burned, and four singles and EPs before splitting up in 1996, due to the...
; in 1997 Pattinson rejoined the duo, meaning the three surviving members of the original Bunnymen line-up were now working together again. Rather than continue as Electrafixion, the trio resurrected the Echo & the Bunnymen name and released the album Evergreen (1997), which reached the UK Top 10.
Immediately prior to the release of the band's next album, What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?
What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?
What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? is the eighth studio album by the British rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album saw the departure of bassist Les Pattinson from the group, partly due to disagreements with vocalist Ian McCulloch; McCulloch and the remaining band member, guitarist Will...
(1999), Les Pattinson quit to take care of his mother. McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to tour and record as Echo & the Bunnymen, touring repeatedly and releasing the albums Flowers (2001) and Siberia
Siberia (album)
Siberia is the tenth studio album by Echo & the Bunnymen. The album garnered generally positive reviews, with some commentators calling it their best work since Ocean Rain, despite it being the first to not reach the UK Top 75....
(2005). The Siberia band line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Paul Fleming (keyboards), Simon Finley (drums) and Pete Wilkinson (bass), Hugh Jones produced Siberia after previously engineering early Bunnymen albums. As from August 2009 the group's touring incarnation comprises McCulloch and Sergeant along with Stephen Brannan (bass), Gordy Goudie (guitar), Nicholas Kilroe (drums) and Jez Wing (keyboards).
In 2002 the group received the Q Inspiration
Q Awards
The Q Awards are the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine Q. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards have become one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards, helped in no small part by the often boisterous behavior of the celebrities who attend the event...
award. The award is for inspiring "new generations of musicians, songs and music lovers in general." The band were said to be worthy winners as they have done much to promote the Mersey music scene. In a later interview for Magnet
Magnet (magazine)
Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.-History:The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option,...
magazine, McCulloch said "It validates everything that we've tried to achieve—cool, great timeless music. It's not like an inspiration award affecting the past, it's affecting the current music."
On 11 September 2006, Echo & the Bunnymen released an updated version of their 1985 Songs to Learn and Sing compilation. Now re-titled More Songs to Learn and Sing
More Songs to Learn and Sing (album)
More Songs to Learn and Sing is a compilation album by Echo & the Bunnymen. Released September 11, 2006 , it is an update to the 1985 singles collection Songs to Learn & Sing...
, this new compilation was issued in two versions, a 17-track single CD and a 20-track version with a DVD featuring 8 videos from their career.
In March 2007, the Bunnymen announced that they had re-signed to their original record label, Warner, and were also working on a new album. The band were also said to be planning a live DVD, entitled "Dancing Horses", which also contained interviews with the band. This was released in May 2007, on Snapper/SPV. The live line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Simon Finley (Drums), Paul Fleming (Keyboards), Gordy Goudie (Guitar) and Steve Brannan (Bass).
On 11 January 2008 Ian McCulloch was interviewed on BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
at the start of Liverpool 08. He was asked about new Bunnymen material and he revealed that a new album would coincide with their gig at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in September. He went on to say that the album was, "The best one we've made, apart from Ocean Rain
Ocean Rain
Ocean Rain is the fourth studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 8 May 1984 and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, number 87 on the United States Billboard 200, number 41 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and number 22 on the Swedish chart. Since...
."
In a 20 April 2008 interview with the Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail (Scotland)
The Sunday Mail is a Scottish tabloid newspaper published every Sunday. It is the sister paper of the Daily Record and is owned by Trinity Mirror and as such has a left-wing outlook which in turn tends to guide Scottish political debate in that direction.The Sunday Mail is read by over one million...
Ian McCulloch announced The Fountain
The Fountain (album)
The Fountain is the eleventh studio album by British band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album was released on 12 October 2009 and was produced by John McLaughlin, Ian McCulloch and Simon Perry...
as the title of the new Echo & the Bunnymen album with producers John McLaughlin and Simon Perry, which was originally due to be released in 2008 but was finally released on 12 October 2009. The first single from the album, "Think I Need It Too
Think I Need It Too
"Think I Need It Too" is a song by the British rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The song was released as a single on 28 September 2009 on Ocean Rain Records. It is the first single from the band's eleventh studio album, The Fountain .-Background:...
", was released on 28 September 2009.
On 1 September 2009 former keyboard player Jake Brockman died on the Isle of Man when his motorbike collided with a converted ambulance. Brockman had played keyboards for the band during the 1980s.
In December 2010, Echo & the Bunnymen went on tour playing their first two albums Crocodiles
Crocodiles (album)
Crocodiles is the debut album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart...
and Heaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here
Heaven Up Here is the second album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released in 30 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States...
in their entirety.
Discography
- CrocodilesCrocodiles (album)Crocodiles is the debut album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart...
(1980) - Heaven Up HereHeaven Up HereHeaven Up Here is the second album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released in 30 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States...
(1981) - PorcupinePorcupine (album)Porcupine is the third studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. First released on 4 February 1983, it became the band's highest charting release when it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart despite initially receiving poor reviews...
(1983) - Ocean RainOcean RainOcean Rain is the fourth studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 8 May 1984 and reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, number 87 on the United States Billboard 200, number 41 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and number 22 on the Swedish chart. Since...
(1984) - Echo & the BunnymenEcho & the Bunnymen (album)Echo & the Bunnymen is the fifth studio album by the British post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, and the last with founding member Ian McCulloch and drummer Pete de Freitas. The album was produced by Laurie Latham who recorded the album in Germany, Belgium, London and Liverpool after an aborted...
(1987) - ReverberationReverberation (album)Reverberation is the sixth studio album by the British rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album was released amidst a line-up change for the group, due to the departure of vocalist Ian McCulloch and the death of drummer Pete de Freitas. The remaining members, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les...
(1990) - Evergreen (1997)
- What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? is the eighth studio album by the British rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album saw the departure of bassist Les Pattinson from the group, partly due to disagreements with vocalist Ian McCulloch; McCulloch and the remaining band member, guitarist Will...
(1999) - Flowers (2001)
- SiberiaSiberia (album)Siberia is the tenth studio album by Echo & the Bunnymen. The album garnered generally positive reviews, with some commentators calling it their best work since Ocean Rain, despite it being the first to not reach the UK Top 75....
(2005) - The FountainThe Fountain (album)The Fountain is the eleventh studio album by British band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album was released on 12 October 2009 and was produced by John McLaughlin, Ian McCulloch and Simon Perry...
(2009)