31 years ago today...

[Mr. Brian]

The Bunnymen played their first gig at Eric's 31 years ago today. That's hard to believe actually. What happened to that Echo fella anyway?

It was also on this day in 1983 that Bill Drummond insisted that the Bunnymen break up on their 5th anniversary. That would have meant no Ocean Rain of course and the Bunnymen would have likely never been heard of at all in the US.

[Scouser]

Its funny, I was in town this morning and walked past the site where Eric's once stood. If I'd have known I'd have stopped and had a "moment".

When I was at secondary school all anyone ever talked about was the Bunnymen, the Teardrops and Wah. The Bunnymen in particular were our Beatles. We all had elder brothers, sisters, cousins etc who were old enough to get into Erics (I was 12 in 79) and we felt cursed we couldnt witness it first hand. By the time we were old enough to go they were playing proper venues.

The Bunnymen were massive in my peer group in Liverpool 80 - 84 (as were the Teardrops until the split). Whilst the rest of the country went mad for The Jam I can remember starting school in 79 and instead of winckle pickers and parkas all the 5th and 6th form lads had long coats and Mac hairdo's. Then it was combats. Then back to long coats again.

When I look at the cover of HUH it transports me back to our old front room and my Dad's old "stereo". It was never off and neither was Porcupine. I bought Porcupine from Crown Records in Crosby on the day it came out and bunked off school to go home and listen to it with two of my mates. We played it back to back all afternoon. At first none of us liked side 2 but by the time it came for my mates to go home for their tea we all loved it.

Those were the days!

[fat cherry]

That would have meant no Ocean Rain of course and the Bunnymen would have likely never been heard of at all in the US.

you need to start a thread on that parallel universe. mac, free of the shckles of the three stooges (who lets face it, didn't contribute that much anyway :wink: ) would have gorn off and toured the states and released 'the american songbook volumes one to four twenty years before rod had the idea, will would have finished the film he was doing with paul simpson, les wuould have joined level 42 and the posh bloke wouldn't have fallen off his motorbike. julian cope would have decided to
go back to college and become a teacher and never have started going round saying things ,ike, oo i'm scary look at me in my little policemans hat.
chez.
sorry - not sure how cope got in on that, it just came out.....

[Mr. Brian]

you need to start a thread on that parallel universe. mac, free of the shckles of the three stooges (who lets face it, didn't contribute that much anyway ) would have gorn off and toured the states and released 'the american songbook volumes one to four twenty years before rod had the idea, will would have finished the film he was doing with paul simpson, les wuould have joined level 42 and the posh bloke wouldn't have fallen off his motorbike. julian cope would have decided to
go back to college and become a teacher and never have started going round saying things ,ike, oo i'm scary look at me in my little policemans hat.
chez.
sorry - not sure how cope got in on that, it just came out.....

That would create a paradox. In this parallel universe I would have not heard of the Bunnymen and this site would not exist, so therefore no thread could be started.

Hmmm, I wonder if someone at BOF is building that time machine now?

[fat cherry]

Hmmm, I wonder if someone at BOF is building that time machine now?

i hear mac's already been on the phone to the webdad asking if he knows anything about these new fangled time machines

[JackT]

That would create a paradox. In this parallel universe I would have not heard of the Bunnymen and this site would not exist, so therefore no thread could be started.

Hmmm, I wonder if someone at BOF is building that time machine now?

Come with me if you want to live.

[Mr. Brian]

Come with me if you want to live.

Who knew JackT would be my savior from the future!

Hey can you get me some winning lottery numbers for Ohio while we are doing this?

[black francis]

Sorry Brian Jack doesn't have that cute Austrian accent and he certainly didn't arrive at the Yardhouse from the future in the nude. He's not your hero.

[tonywojo]

Its funny, I was in town this morning and walked past the site where Eric's once stood. If I'd have known I'd have stopped and had a "moment".

When I was at secondary school all anyone ever talked about was the Bunnymen, the Teardrops and Wah. The Bunnymen in particular were our Beatles. We all had elder brothers, sisters, cousins etc who were old enough to get into Erics (I was 12 in 79) and we felt cursed we couldnt witness it first hand. By the time we were old enough to go they were playing proper venues.

The Bunnymen were massive in my peer group in Liverpool 80 - 84 (as were the Teardrops until the split). Whilst the rest of the country went mad for The Jam I can remember starting school in 79 and instead of winckle pickers and parkas all the 5th and 6th form lads had long coats and Mac hairdo's. Then it was combats. Then back to long coats again.

When I look at the cover of HUH it transports me back to our old front room and my Dad's old "stereo". It was never off and neither was Porcupine. I bought Porcupine from Crown Records in Crosby on the day it came out and bunked off school to go home and listen to it with two of my mates. We played it back to back all afternoon. At first none of us liked side 2 but by the time it came for my mates to go home for their tea we all loved it.

Those were the days!

combats or comsats?

[Scouser]

Not as good as raincoats

[tonywojo]

Not as good as raincoats

miaow

[fat cherry]

its quite touching, your little memory lane bit there scouse. i had a 'moment' a couple of years back, though for different reasons. not sure we ever had a similar scene in leeds when i was growing up and just starting to go out. if there was it seemed to be rooted in good old rawk. the mekons were around but never played anywhere i used to hang out and later there were the sisters i suppose & the wedding present but i was long gone by then. but oddly enough, we used to go to this little bar called vivas that started putting bands on and there was a bit of a thing going on there but i dont think it produced anyone who went on to greater things in the way erics did - i mean 'vivas'. says it all. ANyway i was back home for a few days a bit ago as the old man was in hospital and when i went to get back in the car the pub had a notice up to say this bloke 'howard ellis' was playing. now he was part of that vivas scene and his band were quite good - despite being that good old rock based stuff with five million notes a second going on up and down his fretboard. And there he is, still playing the same old pubs thirty years later. how time flies.

[Voodoo Billy]

Happy days. We used to come over from North Wales on the train from about '83 onwards for the record shops mainly (we were too young for the Erics era), but Probe was still there as were clothes shops like Xtremes (was that where the old Aunt Twackies used to be?). They stocked a range of Bunnymen shirts in HMV in those days!

[Scouser]

The Virgin Megastore (long gone, now a Sainsburys) by Central Station had a Bunnymen display (albums / T shirts) up until about late 84.

From the age of about 14 to when I left to go to college at 18 I think I went to Probe every Saturday. Then for one cup of tea (all we could afford) in Aunt Twackys and later to another tea shop in Button St (the name escapes me now). We started drinking in Flannagans, The Grapes and The White Star when we were 16. Mainly I think because of their proximity to the old Erics site and our beloved Probe.

Matthew St was really edgy then, its a crass tourist trap now full of Beatles related stuff - no mention of Eric's. So much for Bill Drummonds ley line theory.

[Voodoo Billy]

I've just finished reading Kevin Samson's book "Stars are Stars" (wonder where he got that title from?) for the second time in as many months. Set in late '70's and early '80's Liverpool, often referencing Eric's, Probe, Matthew Street and Button Street and the punk / post-punk scene in the city it is a superb read. Makes you wish you were there in '78.