Echo & the Bunnymen
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
In March of 1979, the group released its first single, Pictures on My Wall/Read It in Books, on the local Zoo record label. The single and their popular live performances led to a contract with Korova. After signing the contract, the group discarded the drum machine, adding drummer Pete de Freitas. Released in the summer of 1980, their debut album, Crocodiles, reached number 17 on the U.K. charts. Shine So Hard, an EP released in the fall, became their first record to crack the U.K. Top 40. With the more ambitious and atmospheric Heaven Up Here (1981), the group began to gain momentum, thanks to positive reviews; it became their first U.K. Top Ten album. Two years later, Porcupine appeared, becoming the bands biggest hit (peaking at number two on the U.K. charts) and launching the Top Ten single The Cutter.
The Killing Moon became the groups second Top Ten hit at the beginning of 1984, yet its follow-up, Silver, didnt make it past number 30 when it was released in May. Ocean Rain was released that same month to great critical acclaim; peaking at number four in Britain, the record became the Bunnymens first album to chart in the U.S. Top 100. The following year was a quiet one for the band as they released only one new song, Bring on the Dancing Horses, which was included on the compilation Songs to Learn & Sing. De Freitas left the band at the start of 1986 and was replaced by former Haircut 100 drummer Mark Fox; by September, de Freitas rejoined the group.
Echo & the Bunnymen returned with new material in the summer of 1987, releasing the single The Game and a self-titled album. Echo & the Bunnymen became their biggest American hit, peaking at number 51; it was a success in England as well, reaching number four. However, the album indicated that the group was in a musical holding pattern. At the end of 1988, McCulloch left the band to pursue a solo career; the rest of the band decided to continue without the singer. Tragedy hit the band in the summer of 1989 when de Freitas was killed in an auto accident. McCulloch released his first solo album, Candleland, in the fall of 1989; it peaked at number 18 in the U.K. and number 159 in the U.S. Echo & the Bunnymen released Reverberation, their first album recorded without McCulloch, in 1990; it failed to make the charts. McCulloch released his second solo album, Mysterio, in 1992. Two years later, McCulloch and Sergeant formed Electrafixion, releasing their first album in 1995. In 1997, the duo re-teamed with Pattinson to re-form Echo & the Bunnymen, issuing the LP Evergreen. Two years later, they returned with What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?
The new millennium brought Echo & the Bunnymen back to the basics. The British press touted the bands storybook flair found on 1983s Ocean Rain and figured such spark would be found on their ninth album, Flowers. Issued in spring 2001, it reflected McCullochs dark breezy vocals and Sergeants signature hooks. Live in Liverpool, a concert disc capturing the bands two gigs at Liverpool of Performing Arts while on tour in support of Flowers, followed a year later. For 2005s Siberia, McCulloch and Sergeant joined producer Hugh Jones for the bands most classic effort since their 1997 comeback. A second proper live album, 2006s Me, Im All Smiles, captured the Bunnymens gig at Shepherds Bush Empire while on tour in support of Siberia.
