Echo And The Bunnymen - Shine So Hard

There is and always will be an argument about who is the best band from Liverpool. The Beatles are obviously the main targets due to their undoubted influence on the music scene in general, yet people seem to overlook the stuff that came after when the scene was thriving around iconic clubs like Eric’s, with the whole post punk / new wave scene throwing out different genres and creating a new dark sound that resonated with the kids of that era. I’m not from Liverpool so be kind to me if I’m wrong, as I was still exploring music, but from the tales I’ve heard and read about it was an exciting time with bands The Teardrop Explodes and the characters like Pete Burns, Bill Drummond (KLF) and Dave Balfe (went on to manage Blur) milling around. It sounded like a creative bubbling pot of like-minded stoners all cooking up a new brand of incredible music that was and still is a massive influence on our bands today. The Bunnymen were one of these bands that really caught my attention as a youngster and they’ve released some of the best albums you’ll ever need to add to your vinyl collection. For you kids out there here is a bit of information to drag you back into that world…formed in Liverpool in 1978 with Ian McCulloch on vocals and rhythm guitar, Will Sergeant on lead guitar and Les Pattinson on bass. They were soon joined by Pete De Freitas on drums and the rest, as they say, is history.

It began with their classic debut Crocodiles in 1980, released amidst the growing wave of post-punk. Crocodiles cemented the band’s reputation as one of the best around with the NME describing it as “probably the best album this year by a British band”. The album went on to finish in many critics greatest ever debut album lists. The band followed the album with the release of the Shine So Hard EP in April 1981, recorded live at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, before releasing their second studio album Heaven Up Here the same year. This one-off Buxton show is a hugely significant part of The Bunnymen’s history. As a band they strived to be different and challenge their fans, the magnitude of this event should not be understated. Guitarist and founder member of the band, Will Sergeant on that night in Buxton and how it came about...

“The Bunnymen were always looking to stand out from the rest of the now referred to as ‘post-punk’ bands. We sought out places where no-one could play, no-one would play or even in their wildest dreams would have thought to play. We saw being in a band as a way of opening up all possibilities to adventure. We invented and had been wearing the Apocalypse Now chic camouflage fatigues for a while. The stage was a crazy psychedelic bunker of surplus shop uniforms, kit and ’camo-netting’ with surreptitiously pruned local foliage, strobe lighting, smoke and ear-splitting volume. A Coppola inspired vision of Armageddon. We were an invading army and the fans were up for the battle as much as we were. They wore the same surplus shop jackets as we did; we were one army under one groove. But after we had done all of that we knew it was time to change tack... to keep moving and keep the fans and the music press guessing. We gave it our all that night and as the recording proves we were firing on all cylinders.”

Ripped from a digital source (my 12” single is royally fucked) to MP3 @ 320kbps
Echo And The Bunnymen – Shine So Hard 12”EP

A1.    Crocodiles
A2.    Zimbo
B1.    All That Jazz
B2.    Over The Wall