BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 17th March 2019
To tie in with this year's 6 Music Festival taking place in Liverpool, Matt Everitt chats to Echo & The Bunnymen frontman, Ian McCulloch about the key musical moments from his life.
Since releasing its debut album, ‘Crocodiles’ almost 40 years ago, the band has earned a place in guitar music history for forging “grandiose soundscapes out of punk energy and pop poetry” - a distinctive combination of attitude and sound that has influenced many bands that have followed in The Bunnymen’s wake.
In this candid conversation, McCulloch reveals the group’s beginnings, including the shambles of their first gig which that turned out to be the making of them, plus the singer’s struggle with shyness in those early days that remains to this day, despite outward acts of bravado.
McCulloch also share the early influence of The Fall and Leonard Cohen on their sound, the life-changing impact of first hearing David Bowie and then seeing him perform Ziggy Stardust live (including a fascination with his eyebrows), as well as, of course, a deep recognition of how Liverpool’s rich musical heritage has helped shaped the group.
Plus, McCulloch recounts a strange night out with another of his musical heroes, Lou Reed, along with insights into how Echo & The Bunnymen’s much-loved songs, like ‘The Killing Moon’ and ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, came into existence.
Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon [Korova]
Echo & The Bunnymen - Never Stop [Family Recording]
The Beatles - All My Loving [Apple]
The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand [Apple]
Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender [RCA]
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust [EMI]
David Bowie - Starman [EMI]
Echo & The Bunnymen - Monkeys [Warner Music]
Echo & The Bunnymen - Pictures On My Wall [Warner Music]
The Fall - Pay Your Rates
Echo & The Bunnymen - Bring On The Dancing Horses [Korova]
Leonard Cohen - The Stranger Song [Sony Music]
Echo & The Bunnymen - Forgiven [London]
Echo & The Bunnymen - Nothing Lasts Forever [London]
The Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning [Verve]
Lou Reed - I Can't Stand It
Lou Reed - Andy's Chest
Echo & The Bunnymen - Seven Seas (Transformed) [BMG]
Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (Transformed) [BMG]
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