In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes. I thought it was just as stupid as the rest. We had this mate who kept suggesting all these names like The Daz Men or Glisserol and the Fan Extractors. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been denied by the band.
When McCulloch left the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes, and McCulloch joined with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. 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. Ian McCulloch began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. 1.7 Departure of McCulloch, death of de Freitas, sixth album, and disbandment.1.6 Fifth album and departure of de Freitas.The band has done some touring and released several albums since the late 1990s to varying degrees of success. After working together as Electrafixion, McCulloch and Sergeant regrouped with Pattinson in 1997 and returned as Echo & the Bunnymen, before Pattinson's departure in 1998. In 1989, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident. Ocean Rain (1984), continued the band's UK chart success with its lead single " The Killing Moon" entering into the top 10.Īfter releasing a self-titled album in 1987, McCulloch left the band and was replaced by singer Noel Burke. After releasing their second album Heaven Up Here in 1981, the band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the UK in 1983 when they scored a UK Top 10 hit with " The Cutter", and the album which the song came from, Porcupine, hit number 2 in the UK.
Their 1980 debut album Crocodiles went into the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978.