Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English
singer-songwriter and musician, best
known as the frontman for the rock group
Echo & the Bunnymen.
Career
McCulloch was a singer-songwriter with
the Crucial Three, one of many local
bands that sprung up amongst the
regulars who patronised a Liverpool club
called Eric's in the late '70s. The
other two members were Julian Cope and
Pete Wylie who went on to form Wah!. The
band existed between May and June 1977,
and never got beyond rehearsals. In July
1978, along with future members of The
Teardrop Explodes – Cope, Mick Finkler
and Paul Simpson – and drummer Dave
Pickett, McCulloch formed A Shallow
Madness. Again the band did not perform
or record, but an acoustic version of
the band, under the name 'Uh', played
live twice. The band split up in
September 1978.
In October 1978, McCulloch founded Echo
& the Bunnymen with Will Sergeant, Les
Pattinson, and a drum machine, making
their live début at Eric's in November
that year. In October 1979 the Bunnymen
exchanged the drum machine for Pete de
Freitas on drums. With their line up
solidified, the Bunnymen played in the
late 1970s and early 1980s, releasing
their critically praised, first two
albums, the somewhat Doors influenced
Crocodiles in 1980 and the heavier, bass
driven, Heaven up Here in 1982 and
culminating with the release of Ocean
Rain in 1984. Shortly before the album
was released, McCulloch described "Ocean
Rain" as "the greatest album ever made".
McCulloch later said: "When I sing 'The
Killing Moon' I know there isn't a band
in the world who's got a song anywhere
near that."
In 1988, McCulloch left the group to
pursue a solo career under the
impression the Bunnymen would be laid to
rest, if only temporarily. When the
remaining Bunnymen continued using the
name with new singer Noel Burke, the
split became permanent with McCulloch
referring to the band as "Echo & the
Bogusmen".
In 1990, McCulloch released the album
Candleland which reflected a more mature
outlook on the world, owing to the
recent deaths of McCulloch's father and
Pete de Freitas, and peaked at number 18
in the UK Albums Chart. It yielded two
Modern Rock Tracks hits, "Proud To Fall"
and "Faith and Healing". The album
Mysterio was released in 1992 as the
public's interest in the former Bunnyman
was waning and sold less than its
predecessor. Shortly after, McCulloch
left the public eye to devote more time
to his family.
In 1993, McCulloch partnered with Johnny
Marr of the Smiths, writing an album's
worth of material and generating public
excitement over the collaboration of two
highly regarded artists. McCulloch has
credited Marr with helping him regain
his lost confidence and rejuvenating his
desire to create music. When it was
suggested that Will Sergeant be brought
in to work on the songs, the tapes were
allegedly stolen from a courier van
preventing Sergeant from offering any
input.
The rekindling of the relationship
between McCulloch and Sergeant led to
the formation of Electrafixion in 1994.
The band released the album Burned which
peaked at number 38 in the UK and
included the top-30 hit "Sister Pain".
The band soon found themselves
performing set lists composed of half
Electrafixion songs and half Echo & the
Bunnymen songs.
In 1997, Echo & the Bunnymen reformed
and released the album Evergreen to
positive reviews and chart success.
Evergreen made the Top 10 of the UK
Albums Chart and the single Nothing
Lasts Forever reached No. 8 on the UK
Singles Chart. The reformed Bunnymen
have since several further albums, the
most recent being Meteorites which was
released in 2014.
At the height of the Bunnymen's
popularity, McCulloch earned the
nickname "Mac the Mouth" due to a
penchant for witty, blunt criticism of
artists he deemed inferior, while
proclaiming the Bunnymen's superiority.
Targets of his observations included
Bono of U2 and Julian Cope. More
recently, in 2011, McCulloch said of
Bono: "Had he been in Liverpool, he
would have been laughed out of the
place. U2 have never been liked in
Liverpool. We know a fake when we see
one." McCulloch said that during the
early 1980s, Bono told him the Bunnymen
could break America but only if they
toured there for three months. McCulloch
said: "Three months? I can't spent three
minutes in Birkenhead without going
daft, let alone America."
In 1998, McCulloch teamed up with the
Spice Girls, Tommy Scott of Space, and
Simon Fowler of Ocean Colour Scene as
"England United" to record "Top of the
World", the official song for Team
England in the 1998 FIFA World Cup,
although it fared less well than a
reissue of "Three Lions". He enjoyed
more success working as a mentor for
Coldplay during the recording of their
2002 album A Rush of Blood to the Head.
In 2003, McCulloch released his third
solo album Slideling and undertook a
solo tour in support of the album.
McCulloch has been a lifetime supporter
of Liverpool F.C. In 2006 he took part
in recording the team's anthem with the
Bootroom Allstars – a remake of the
Johnny Cash song, "Ring of Fire".
In 2010, McCulloch featured in a guest
role on the song "Some Kind of
Nothingness" by the Manic Street
Preachers from their tenth album
Postcards from a Young Man.
In 2012, McCulloch released a solo LP,
"Pro Patria Mori" and a live album "Holy
Ghosts" in 2013.
Musical influences
McCulloch has cited Lou Reed, Iggy Pop,
the Doors, Stevie Wonder, Leonard Cohen
and – in particular – David Bowie as
influences for his work. He has
described Cohen's song "Suzanne" as "the
perfect lyric with the perfect melody"
and Bowie as "so influential and the
greatest solo artist of the 20th Century
in any walk of art."
Personal life
In 1983, McCulloch married Lorraine Fox.
They have two daughters, Candy and Mimi.
Candy appeared in the video for his solo
single "Faith and Healing" when she was
a young girl. The couple separated in
late 2003. He was in a relationship with
Zoe Devlin, a former X Factor
contestant. They had a daughter, Dusty,
but have now separated.
McCulloch was brought up in the Norris
Green area of Liverpool. The road on
which he originally lived, Parthenon
Drive, is the title of a song contained
in the 2005 Echo & the Bunnymen album,
Siberia. He was educated at Alsop High
School.
McCulloch featured in a YouTube video
appeal in October 2010 which campaigned
for Tom Hicks and George Gillett to be
removed from Liverpool F.C. In a 2013
interview McCulloch said that he was no
longer attending Liverpool matches.
Discography
Candleland
Mysterio
Slideling
Pro Patria Mori
Liverpool Cathedral Live
Holy Ghosts
References
External links
Bunnymen.com – The official site
The Songwriter As Poet: Ian McCulloch
and the Pre-Raphaelite Tradition
The Ultimate Echo and the Bunnymen
Forum, Discography, Tab & Lyric Site
A review of Slideling, Ian McCulloch’s
solo album from 2003
