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Echo and the Bunnymen Tickets

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Biography

Short Biography
Chugg Entertainment & FasterLouder present
ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN
"Sweeping, epic music .... have not sounded this fired up since Ocean Rain" The Independent
"Could win over a new generation" The Times
"Their most accessible offering in a long time" The Guardian
One of Liverpool's most mysterious and talented exports, Echo & The Bunnymen will return to Australian shores in early 2010. Following the release of their tenth studio album THE FOUNTAIN, original members Ian McCulloch (aka Mac) and Will Sergeant will bring their enigmatic live show to the St Jerome's Laneway Festival in Australia along with sideshows in both Sydney and Melbourne.
The Bunnymen formed when Ian McCulloch met guitarist Will Sergeant in the summer of 1978 in Liverpool when the pair began recording demos with a drum machine that the duo called "Echo." Thirty years on with a career steeped in cult success as avant-garde icons of the 1980s, Echo & The Bunnymen have amassed bountiful treasures during their many travels.
Last year, Echo & The Bunnymen took their ‘Ocean Rain' show on the road - a tribute and retrospective of their celebrated 1984 release. The much lauded return to the stage saw sold out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall, New York's Radio City Music Hall and the Liverpool Echo Arena - all of which were also met with huge critical acclaim. Combining post-punk angst with the sort of lavish arrangements made famous by the Liverpool lads, a band rejuvenated, Echo & The Bunnymen also received enraptured recognition from critics and fans alike for their festival appearances at the Camden Crawl and Glastonbury.
Becoming cult sensations in the early 1980s, with classic albums including ‘Crocodiles' (1980), ‘Heaven Up Here' (1981) and enduring masterpiece ‘Ocean Rain' (1984), Echo & the Bunnymen forged a distinct sound amongst their post-punk contemporaries (Joy Division, The Cure) grounded in swirling synths, gloomy pop and inspired psychedelia. Echo & The Bunnymen have until now had a whopping nine studio albums under their belt, with 2009's ‘The Fountain' being their tenth!
Ahead of their highly anticipated Australian tour in 2010, post-punk icons Echo & the Bunnymen present their brand new album, ‘The Fountain' - this 5th December on My World Records through Inertia. A massive return to form for the U.K legends, ‘The Fountain' is a superbly feisty album of pulsating, uplifting rock anthems.
The album boasts a widescreen, crystalline sound, which provides a big, solid undertow beneath Mac's lyrics. "I'm just a better writer and better singer these days," he says, "My voice has got more... honest, which fits these songs. This album is about something, rather than just sounding like it's about something. It's about having lived life, but still feeling like a kid. I'm a not traditional songwriter. What I do at my best is poetry."
Echo & The Bunnymen are ready to bring Australian audiences their exciting new material, which Mac is already proudly calling "the best thing we've done since Ocean Rain..."
Get ready for the invocation of their big sound, goth-romantic poetry and strummed steel strings as they reclaim their legacy and reposition themselves on the rock continuum. This is one show not to be missed.
TICKETS ON SALE 9AM, MONDAY 7th DECEMBER 2009

In-depth Biography
Echo & the Bunnymen's dark, swirling fusion of gloomy post-punk and Doors-inspired psychedelia brought the group a handful of British hits in the early '80s, while attracting a cult following in the United States. The Bunnymen grew out of the Crucial Three, a late-'70s trio featuring vocalist Ian McCulloch, Pete Wylie, and Julian Cope. Cope and Wylie left the group by the end of 1977, forming the Teardrop Explodes and Wah!, respectively. McCulloch met guitarist Will Sergeant in the summer of 1978 and the pair began recording demos with a drum machine that the duo called "Echo." Adding bassist Les Pattinson, the band made its live debut at the Liverpool club Eric's at the end of 1978, calling itself Echo & the Bunnymen.

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 band's biggest hit (peaking at number two on the U.K. charts) and launching the Top Ten single "The Cutter."

"The Killing Moon" became the group's second Top Ten hit at the beginning of 1984, yet its follow-up, "Silver," didn't 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 Bunnymen's 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 band's storybook flair found on 1983's Ocean Rain and figured such spark would be found on their ninth album, Flowers. Issued in spring 2001, it reflected McCulloch's dark breezy vocals and Sergeant's signature hooks. Live in Liverpool, a concert disc capturing the band's two gigs at Liverpool of Performing Arts while on tour in support of Flowers, followed a year later. For 2005's Siberia, McCulloch and Sergeant joined producer Hugh Jones for the band's most classic effort since their 1997 comeback. A second proper live album, 2006's Me, I'm All Smiles, captured the Bunnymen's gig at Shepherds Bush Empire while on tour in support of Siberia. In early 2008, the band announced that they would be releasing their next album, The Fountain, as well as playing a show at Radio City Music Hall to celebrate their 30th anniversary. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

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Echo and the Bunnymen Tickets