Jade's Music Blog

The Liverpool legends attracted a massive cult following, and they remain a seminal influence for a host of today’s best-known bands.
Formed in the musical wilderness of 1978, Echo and the Bunnymen brought their own brand of psychedelic new wave and penchant for military charity-shop chic to the masses.
They defined the sound and atmosphere of the early 1980s with their combination of primal guitar, pulsating bass and Doors-esque bittersweet lyrics.
Amid multiple reincarnations they have somehow retained the brilliance and beauty of those original songs, winning themselves a whole new generation of fans with Nothing Lasts Forever (the intro of which was borrowed by Coldplay’s Yellow).
Now, almost 30 years since their first success, they have come full circle, with a new deal with Warner Bros, a world tour planned – and they’re recording a new landmark album in the heart of Liverpool.
I’ve had a sneak preview and, from the tracks I heard, it promises to be their best yet.
The Bunnymen never did anything people expected. They’ve been ploughing their own furrow for almost 30 years and the rest of the music world has been running to keep up.
Their line-up comprises original members Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant along with Simon Finley on drums, Stephen Brannan on bass, Gordy Goudie on guitar, and Ceri James on keyboards.
McCulloch himself remains ever youthful and unfeasibly cool, and every teenager who picks up a guitar owes a debt to Will Sergeant, the man whose sublime musicianship has produced some of the greatest music of his generation.
Next weekend, the dark glasses and cumbersome overcoats brigade will descend on the Carling Academy for a two-night sell-out celebration of Liverpool music fans’ love affair with the band which changed their lives – and the music scene – forever.
Echo and the Bunnymen play Carling Academy Liverpool on December 8 and 9. For more information see www.myspace. com/thebunnymen.