It goes without saying (but we’ll keep saying it anyway!) that Echo & The Bunnymen are a league of their own, a stand alone wonder and a wholly unique listen. Born of (and simultaneously catalysts of) Liverpool’s punk scene, (alongside Frankie Goes To Hollywood, The Icicle Works and The Mighty Wah), children of Erics club and Probe Records, Echo and the Bunnymen had a triumphant reign in the 80s, in Liverpool and beyond. A top 20 debut album, followed by unfailing success across the eighties, and a legacy which will never be in question. You don’t have to wander far into Liverpool or surrounding areas to come across The Killing Moon in some form, be it banners at Anfield or as the namesake of a cocktail! They’re a staple of Liverpool music, a staple of their time, and a must listen for anybody wanting to hear something new. As someone arriving at the party years later, I don’t feel my tardy discovery of Echo & The Bunnymen caused me to miss out too much on the total thrill, intellect and mystery of the band- it’s pretty contagious! I distinctly remember a school trip to France when I was about 12, when I first discovered Songs To Learn And Sing, particularly Bring On The Dancing Horses and Back Of Love. Spellbound, I don’t think I listened to anything else the entire 15 hour coach journey! Therefore, the thrill of those who actually experienced nights in Eric’s is almost unimaginable!
However, Echo & The Bunnymen had ended in that form when the 1980s did, following a series of unfortunate events which culminated in the tragic death of drummer Pete De Freitas. Hence began a decade of solo careers and seeming finality for the punk outfit- first Madchester, then Britpop hit pop culture like a seismic wave, and the punk scene that had been was no more, giving way to the likes of Ian Brown and the Gallagher brothers. This is where Evergreen comes in! In 1997, Will Sergeant, Les Pattison and Ian McCulloch set foot in a recording studio for the first time in a decade. Doghouse studios in Henley-On-Thames, to be precise. It was here that their comeback album, Evergreen, was born. Described by NME as “impossibly good. The first comeback in history not to be dogged by a nauseous sense of distress, the first one to actually sound important”, Evergreen rocketed Echo & The Bunnymen straight back into the album charts, with yet another Top 10 position.
Evergreen is packed full of hits, including what is often coined McCulloch’s holy trinity; ballads ‘Nothing Ever Lasts Forever’, ‘Forgiven’ and ‘Just A Touch Away’. Meanwhile, the light is brought to accompany the dark with chirpy tracks like ‘Don’t Let It Get You Down’ and ‘I Want To Be There (When You Come)’. It’s an album which is both undoubtedly theirs and also a perfect contemporary in a time being soundtracked by Lucky Man rather than Inbetween Days. They slot seamlessly into the new musical environment, but retain every ounce of personality. And with more than just influence from the Britpop scene, too! It was at Doghouse studios in ‘97 that the band stumbled upon Oasis, and ‘Nothing Ever Lasts Forever’ was the brainchild of Liam Gallagher and McCulloch, with Liam on tambourine and backing vox on the track we know today. Quite a magical tale, really!
In 2022, Evergreen turns 25. The 18th of November sees an anniversary re-release come to our ears, via London Records. It’ll be receiving its first ever vinyl pressing (available for purchase here with some 1000 transparent green copies available exclusively from Rough Trade stores. Fans can also expect an expanded double CD version, with an array of studio b-sides, radio sessions, and unreleased live versions on 33 tracks, with the following listings. I look forward to discovering more!
TRACKLISTINGS:
EVERGREEN (25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION) LP
A1 Don’t Let It Get You Down
A2 In My Time
A3 I Want To Be There (When You Come)
A4 Evergreen
A5 I’ll Fly Tonight
A6 Nothing Lasts Forever 3:55
B1 Baseball Bill
B2 Altamont
B3 Just a Touch Away
B4 Empire State Halo
B5 Too Young To Kneel
B6 Forgiven
EVERGREEN (25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION 2 x CD)
CD1
01 Don’t Let It Get You Down
02 In My Time
03 I Want To Be There (When You Come)
04 Evergreen
05 I’ll Fly Tonight
06 Nothing Lasts Forever
07 Baseball Bill
08 Altamont
09 Just A Touch Away
10 Empire State Halo
11 Too Young To Kneel
12 Forgiven
13 Watchtower
14 Polly
15 Hurracaine
16 Colour Me In
17 Antelope
18 Jonny
CD2
01 I Want To Be There (When You Come) (Live At The Improv Theatre, 1999)
02 Rescue (Live At The Improv Theatre, 1999)
03 Lips Like Sugar (Live At The Improv Theatre, 1999)
04 Bedbugs And Ballyhoo (Live At The Improv Theatre, 1999)
05 Nothing Lasts Forever (Radio One Jo Whiley Session, 1997)
06 The Killing Moon (Radio One Jo Whiley Session, 1997)
07 Baseball Bill (Live At The Kilburn National, 1997)+
08 Just A Touch Away (Live At The Kilburn National, 1997)+
09 I’ll Fly Tonight (Live At The Kilburn National, 1997)+
10 Altamont (Live At The Kilburn National, 1997)+
11 Lips Like Sugar (Whyt Radio Acoustic Version, 1997)
12 I Want To Be There (When You Come) (Whyt Radio Acoustic Version, 1997)
13 The Killing Moon (Whyt Radio Acoustic Version, 1997)
14 Forgiven (GLR Robert Elms Acoustic Session, 1997)
15 Nothing Lasts Forever (Radio One Live Lounge Session, 1999)
Let’s abandon the fantasy that survival is glamorous. It’s not some miraculous comeback story or a triumph to be celebrated with applause.
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The Broken Spine is a poetry and arts collective proudly published on the coastal edge of North-West England. Founded in 2019 by Alan Parry and Paul Robert Mullen – two school friends reunited after twenty years through a mutual love of poetry.
