An Interview with Noel Burke - you get to ask the questions

[Mr. Brian]

EDIT, March 7 2008: The interview has been put up on the website

Fecko and the Bunnymen? Noel Burke Speaks!



Ah and you thought this was going to be some link to some old interview, but it's not! YOU are going to interview Noel Burke.

I know that many of you regard the Reverberation album very highly for it's songs, yet it virtually gets ignored officially by the band for various reasons. I have managed to contact Noel and he has graciously agreed to answer some of your questions about his experience with Echo and the Bunnymen during the Reverberation period or feel free to ask him about his band, St. Vitus Dance, which is again performing. I'm sure he'd appreciate that as well.




VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ:

1) Send your question to admin@villiersterrace.com with the subject line "Noel Burke" do NOT PM me.
You MUST be a member of this forum so please mention your forum user name in the e-mail or it will not get used. I don't think this will be a problem, but in order to prevent people from just saying they are someone they are not, please send the question using the same e-mail address that is in your forum profile or your question will not get used.

2) Send one question only

3) Do NOT post your question to this thread

4) I reserve the right to choose the questions and modify the question if needed, so make it a good one but don't get too wordy with it.

5) You have until February 20th to submit a question when I will choose the best 20 or so questions.

After February 20th I will compile and send the list of questions to Noel with any follow-up questions included if needed. When Noel sends the answers back I will post this as an interview on VilliersTerrace.com for everyone to read.

Sorry about all the rules but I just want this to go well.

If you have any questions for ME about this, then ask in this thread.

[moondance]

Very cool Brian! You are the man with the connections! Good job keeping this forum interesting.

[JackT]

Very very cool. I already know what my question will be:

"Remember when you did Reverberation?"

[black francis]

Mine's gonna be "what was Jake Brockman like?"

[Red]

Jakes's cool, BF!

I gotta go play my cd and have a think........

Nice one, Brian.

[JackT]

"Have you defiled the memory of any other beloved musical acts, or is it just the one?"

[black francis]

Can you get me Jake Brockman's autograph?

[Kounelaki]

"Have you defiled the memory of any other beloved musical acts, or is it just the one?"

[black francis]

What's that echo you hear? One of the Bunnymen has decided to sit things out, and it's none other than the frontman himself. Reverberation is really an Echo & the Bunnymen album in title only. Ian McCulloch is out to pasture on this one, embarking on a solo career, and in his place is Noel Burke. Somehow, newcomer Burke is a great fit with the remaining Bunnymen, and the result is a true delight, even if it makes little sense in the band's discography. Realistically, Burke sounds nothing like McCulloch, as his vocals are far higher than McCulloch's deep croon. Will Sergeant could have easily gone the route that Peter Hook would go years later, when he found a Bernard Sumner sound-alike for New Order offshoot Monaco, so Sergeant is certainly a risk-taker in this sense. When Burke does affect McCulloch's tones, he sounds more like Mark Burgess of the Chameleons, and that's an interesting proposition in itself. The Burke and Sergeant team cracks out their own share of would-be classics. "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Enlighten Me" throb with catchy glee, and "Flaming Red" paints a picture of beautiful, quiet grace. "King of Your Castle" is perhaps the only occasion where Burke overly extends his range and falters, but the song's optimism is still quite winning. Indeed, the album could qualify as Sergeant's brightest and most uplifting creation. "Flaming Red," in particular, would have been far darker with Ian McCulloch at the helm, as its music seems a close cousin to "The Killing Moon," but Burke's vocals lighten the mood into one of delicate grace. It should also be noted that original Bunnymen drummer Peter DeFreitas died in a motorcycle accident shortly before Reverberation was recorded, and future Spiritualized and Lupine Howl drummer Damon Reece ably takes his place behind the drum kit. The liner notes dedicate the album to "Pete and all who loved him." Reverberation would have been a great debut had Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson decided to operate under a different moniker. Who knows if Sergeant thought McCulloch would someday return to the band, but it would have made more sense for these ten songs to have been released under a new band name, because whether one likes or dislikes this album, Echo & the Bunnymen doesn't exist without the distinctive voice of Ian McCulloch, and it seems rather unfair that Burke had to go up against the enigmatic legacy of McCulloch. Though it confuses the Echo & the Bunnymen catalog, Reverberation is an accomplished, charming album that most Echo & the Bunnymen fans will appreciate, if not cherish. Why Noel Burke wasn't able to hop away from his time with the Bunnymen and make his own name is a reverberating mystery of its own. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide [-]

[Mr. Brian]

"Have you defiled the memory of any other beloved musical acts, or is it just the one?"

Great, scare him off will ya?

[withahip]

I met Noel, Will, Les and Jake when they were on tour. Jake said, "I can't play keyboards much but I can program them better than anyone." Or something to that effect.
Noel said something. I forget what. Did he sing?

[black francis]

All fucking around aside that is very cool work on Brian's part and pretty classy on Burke's part to answer questions from the forum members.

[Red]

Can you get me Jake Brockman's autograph?

i can scan it for you!

[Red]

All fucking around aside that is very cool work on Brian's part and pretty classy on Burke's part to answer questions from the forum members.

yes! i thought so too!

i REALLY love that album. i play it quite often still.

and that was a good write up you posted BF.

[Mr. Brian]

Oh and this would be a good time to plug the St Vitus Dance MySpace page that has some new songs on it

http://www.myspace.com/stvitusdancemusic