10 from Hot Chip

I first stumbled across Hot Chip at the Benicassim Festival in 2005. My girlfriend (now wife) and I camped out for a week in the sun, spending days on the beach in the cool breeze by the sea, then partying long into the night. Taking in the likes of Oasis, Mylo, Underworld, The Lemonheads, Nick Cave, Basement Jaxx, The Cure and LCD Soundsystem. I think LCD Soundsystem came on stage at 2am! Hot Chip might have been in a tent after that!

Despite the excess of Benicassim I managed to remember their name and track them down. They had released their debut album Coming On Strong on the excellent Moshi Moshi label in 2004 and I didn't have to wait long for their follow up, the exceptional The Warning.

Singles Over and Over, A Boy From School and Colours were incredible. I bought the singles on vinyl and played A Boy From School at a night my sister put on at Edinburgh School of Art and a number of people came up to ask who it was - always a good sign! 

I went to see them at King Tuts around this time and they blew me away. Visually captivating, Hot Chip are co-fronted by the diminutive Alexis Taylor in huge glasses and Joe Goddard. Both are incredibly playful with lyrics and melodies, Taylor with a high voice, Goddard with the low, both beautifully melancholic. Joined by Al Doyle, Felix Martin and Owen Clarke, the 5 bopped, danced and smiled behind synths, guitars and bass and looked like they were having the time of their lives on the King Tuts stage and this easily transferred to the audience.

Hot Chip continued to release an album every 2-years, all with excellent singles (and videos) to promote them; Made In The Dark (2008), One Life Stand (2010), In Our Heads (2012) and then a little longer in between to Why Make Sense (2015) and A Bath Full Of Ecstasy (2019), with solo albums and side projects in between, also notably Al and Felix playing and recording with great friends LCD Soundsystem.

I love how the band all have different personalities and styles that somehow just gel when they come together. And their genuine love of music pours out of everything they do. They have an incredible ability to mix melancholy with euphoria. 

Hot Chip are kind of the perfect size and set up for a band. Big enough to tour all over, cool enough & respected enough to be in with the likes of DFA and Optimo, solid enough to allow side projects and playing with other bands and known enough to pull good crowds at festivals.

Here are 10 of my favourite songs by Hot Chip.

Working my way back through Hot Chip's considerable back catalogue over the last month or so has been a real pleasure. They are fun, playful and unique. You can tell they love music and are great friends.

I'm conscious that there are 4 songs from The Warning, but the 3 singles + No Fit State are without question among my top 10 favourites. That was the album where I really discovered and fell for the band. I also have 3 songs from the One Life Stand album! Unintentional, but on reflection they are my favourite albums.

Bubbling under are Baby Said, How Do You Do and the outstanding Hungry Child - which is really unfortunate not to make my 10. Special mention for their cover version of Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark which morphs slightly into All My Friends by LCD Soundsystem. I try to avoid including covers in my 10 from ... series. I've blogged on this before and you can check that HERE.

1. A Boy From School

Exceptionally cool synths, beats, melodies and lyrics. I played the 7-inch of this at Edinburgh Art School when I DJ'd a night my sister put on while studying and people were blown away. Fresh and vital sounding. Effortlessly cool. The bit where Joe comes in gets me every time.

I got, I got lost

You said this was the way back

Listen here

Live at Glastonbury 2015

2. Alley Cats

Tucked away in the middle of 2010's One Life Stand album is this warm melodic gem of a song. Flowing effortlessly, sung with care, I fell for it on first listen and it's charms continue to warm my heart every single time I listen. Alexis and Joe's voices dovetail and sound particularly dreamy on this song.

Watch/listen here

Live at Glastonbury

3. You Ride, We Ride, In Our Ride

From  the bands 2004 debut album Coming On Strong, You Ride, We Ride, In My Ride is a stunning early example of hot Chip weaving vocal melodies with electronic layers and beats. After discovering the band and downloading this album I just thought there is nothing else like this out there. Certainly nothing I had heard. One of Hot Chip's many strengths - beautifully different, soulful, playful and with nods to influences but 100% their own band. Just after 2-minutes this song goes off on a tangent, beats, synths, melodies ... brilliant.

Listen here

4. Colours

Simply sublime and the only song I have heard to mention stickle bricks! Synths bubble and Alexis croons softly and beautifully. At 50-seconds the disjointed beats are cut and it's just Taylor and synths before the real beats kick in and the song takes off. As we approach 2.5 minutes Alexis sings beautifully as his band mates continue to sing  Colours and colours and colours of colours. There are some cool mixes to check out with the Fred Falke one being my favourite.

I only wanted for to see

There's nothing in this heart but me

Everything you want is not free

I'm everything a girl could need

There's nothing in this heart but me

If everything you want is free

Listen/watch here

5. Over and Over

Hot Chip at their best laid back, laid back, laid back we'll give you play back sings Alexis Taylor over beats and playful synths. The chorus kicks in at 1-minute 20, mixing dirty synth sounds with Taylor's pure vocals. The video highlights the bands playful and energetic nature as they play in a green room, complete with helpers in green suits ensuring the band do all the right things. Taylor in over-sized red shades and hoodie is hyperactive in all the right ways. The instrumental section is  glorious and then Goddard's vocals come in at just the right time.

I started thinking what you wanted him to do

I got to thinking that I knew just what to do

Official video

6. No Fit State

The penultimate track of The Warning, No Fit State teases and eases in with Joe Goddard on super cool laid back vocals. Alexis Taylor takes the bridge, repeated a few times to lead to the chorus/mantra which is joined by euphoric synths

I'm in no fit state, I'm in no fit shape

Then Alexis comes in over the top and it is utterly divine.

To fall in love with you

To make a record of my life

To lose any more than I need

To watch my fingers bleed

To bust my body up

To drink out of your cup

To act a fool inlove

Acting hard's been tough

Listen here

Glastonbury 2007 - going into Temptation by New Order

7. Brothers

From 2010's brilliantly titled One Life Stand album, Brothers is as soulful an electronic song as you might ever hear. Goddard takes lead for the first verse and chorus, joined by Taylor for the second verse, their voices beautifully entwined. I just find this song utterly beautiful, it cuts me deep. Taylor takes lead on the third verse as the beats kick in further, the synths are more playful. Joyful and soulful.

Brothers, I would give my life for my brothers

When we're driving and it's late with my brother, sat next to me

It's a wild love I have, it's a wild love that I have

It's a wild love I have, it's a wild love that I have

For my brothers, for my brother

Listen here

8. One Life Stand

Humour and romance, total Hot Chip! The play on words for the title and chorus is genius, the Chic style guitar, bass-y synths leading to the chorus with Joe Goddard singing the beautiful keep on feeling backing vocals as Alexis pleads I only wanna be your one life stand, tell me stand by your man?

Official video

Live in Sydney

9. Melody Of Love

Utter brilliance from Hot Chip. A single and the opening song on their 2019 album A Bath Full Of Ecstasy, Melody Of Love finds the band mixing melancholy reflection with just the right dash of euphoria, complete with a sample of a gospel sermon. It's like Hot Chip have grown up, like we all have!

When I was standing next to you, I overheard the saddest news

What was just there was out of view, running out of love

I always seem to hesitate, too little always comes to late

There is a sound that resonates, melody of love

Official video

Live - Q Studio

10. Ready For The Floor

Nominated for a Grammy, Ready For The Floor is insanely catchy from the off, the repetitive do it ... now, say it ... now opening is classic playful Hot Chip. The verses lead to a chorus where Goddard plays off Taylor who ends up singing  the refrain you're my number one guy. The song was allegedly written for Kylie, a rumour sadly scotched by Taylor who confirmed they would love to wrote for her, but this song wasn't created with her in mind.

I love the performance from Glastonbury in 2008 (below) which highlights Hot Chip's infectious charm and their offbeat nerdy cool that wins hearts all over.

Official video

Live at Glastonbury 2008

Live on Later with Jools

10 from Oasis

For the latest in my semi-regular feature on 10 of my favourite songs by my favourite bands / artists, I've chose Oasis, a band I have blogged on and reminisced about quite a bit through the years.

There is a reason I keep going back to them. Oasis arrived at precisely the right time for me. I turned 18 in January 1994 and Oasis arrived shortly afterwards. Having been slightly too young to get into the Roses or The Charlatans when they were breaking, I'd been waiting for a band like this; the looks, the attitude, the songs, the work ethic, the humour, the honesty ...

As a religious reader of both the NME and Melody Maker I was on to Oasis from early reviews, so between 1994 and 1996 I went on a rollercoaster ride skywards to Knebworth via The Tramway, The Cathouse, a tent at T in the Park, the Barrowlands (twice), Sheffield Arena and Ingliston (Edinburgh).

8 incredible nights filled with an electric atmosphere that you were part of something important. 8-nights filled with songs, anthems, adrenaline, excitement and the pure rush of youth, culture and music combining.

Oasis were incredibly prolific, especially in the early days when a regular debate among fans would be on b-sides that should have been considered as either the a-side or for albums. Can you imagine Definitely Maybe with Fade Away in place of Digsy's Dinner and Listen Up instead of Shaker Maker? What about Morning Glory with Round Are Way instead of Hey Now? Not to mention The Masterplan!

Being an Oasis fan was wild and wonderful for those magical years mentioned above, it was never quite the same after that. 

Where were you while we were getting high? sang Liam. Maybe they got too high, they had to come down and at times they came crashing down; musically and with their behaviour, Liam started to become a bit of a caricature of himself for a while. So did some of the fans. 

Be Here Now was a major disappointment for me, starting with D'You Know What I Mean as the lead single. Yeah, Liam looked and sounded sensational, but it was (and is) a bit of a plod along, certainly in comparison to the skyscraping summer anthem Stay Young that was the b-side.

Media or the vast majority of the British public couldn't care, it was Oasis, they had barely been away, but they were back. Tills were ringing. Radio 1 played the song back-to-back.

Be Here Now had some moments, Don't Go Away is a gem for a start, but they were few and far between. I revisited the album for a blog back in 2016 and barely made it through. I haven't listened to it since.

Things got worse with the turgid Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants which should have been an EP. I still shudder at the thought of Put Yer Money Where Your Mouth Is, I Can See A Liar, Roll It Over ... By this stage the media needed Oasis more than Oasis needed the media - interviews with Liam and Noel added tens of thousands on to sales of newspapers or magazines.

Thankfully things picked up, the addition of Andy Bell and Gem Archer lifted the band massively for Heathen Chemistry in 2002, delivering a strong album with standout singles. Don't Believe The Truth in 2005 wasn't as good but there was still enough quality and fire in the belly. I caught the band at Benicassim in that year and they were outstanding.

By 2008's Dig Out Your Soul, although there were some gems like Liam's I'm Outta Time, it was clear Oasis were going through the motions and seeing them on tour that year was a little heartbreaking, it looked like Liam was the only person who wanted to be in Oasis. I blogged on their SECC show HERE.

So I wasn't hugely disappointed when Oasis broke up. It had been coming, it was time. 

Post Oasis, I've been hugely disappointed by Liam's musical output, first with Beady Eye and then his solo material, backed by an army of songwriters. I'd love to see him pick up the phone to the likes of Gerry Cinnamon, John Power, Andy Bell (on a roll with Ride and his solo material), Johnny Marr and Paul Weller who might write something that challenges him and has a little bit of soul. 

Noel still interests me. The eponymous High Flying Birds album was an incredibly strong collection of songs, Chasing Yesterday was the sound of someone enjoying stretching songs and playing in a way Oasis rarely achieved, while 2017's Who Built The Moon? was a very fluid album and Dead In The Water is as good a song as he has written. Noel has assembled a cracking band, he's pushing himself by working with the likes of David Holmes and he seems really happy with what he's doing.

I've thoroughly enjoyed delving back through the extensive Oasis back catalogue for this blog, there are so many wonderful songs from 1994 all the way through to 2008. I could easily have written a top 20 / 30 blog. Sad Song, Some Might Say, You've Got The Heart Of A Star, Cast No Shadow, Morning Glory, Rock n Roll Star, Cigarettes & Alcohol, Rockin' Chair, Don't Go Away or Half The World Away might well have been included on another day.

Here, at the time of writing, are what I consider to be my 10 favourite Oasis songs. 

Slide Away

All these years down the line, my spine still tingles when I listen to Slide Away. Noel's guitar is mesmerising, set for stun, playing a guitar given to him by Johnny Marr that had previously belonged to Pete Townsend, Noel has said that the song practically wrote itself when he picked the guitar up.

Written by Noel following the break up of a long term relationship, Slide Away is a heartfelt soul song of love, dreams, regret and just sliding away from it all.

 Liam, at the age of only 21, delivers an impeccable gut wrenching rock n roll vocal, packed and wracked with emotion. Noel is lyrically at his most open and romantic, Liam takes his brothers words and makes everyone feel it.

Flying through two chorus to a bridge where Liam sings the superb line together we'll fly, we're then straight into a double chorus that is truly skyscraping in its power.

Now that you're mine, we'll find a way of chasing the sun

Let me be the one, who shines with you

In the morning, we don't know what to do

We'll do what we can, we'll find a way of chasing the sun

Let me be the one, who shines with you

And we can slide away

Noel's guitar solo is as soulful as Liam's vocal, the rhythm section of Bonehead, Guigsy and Tony McCarroll crash beautifully together, allowing the brothers to work their magic.

Oasis would later become guilty of stretching songs out for far too long, but in the case of Slide Away every single second of the six minutes 31 seconds is absolutely vital. 

For me, this might be their greatest song.

Original

Live at the Chicago Metro, 1994

Live at Knebworth, Sunday night

Live Forever

Live Forever was an early indication of how good Oasis could be. This was a song mentioned regularly in early interviews an live reviews. Held back until their third single, it was the song that began to smash down doors on the back of the slightly throwaway Shaker Maker. 

Suddenly you could hear The Beatles instead of the Pistols or the Mondays. Noel Gallagher was a proper songwriter, this wasn't done it with a doctor, on a helicopter or Mr Clean and Mr Ben are living in my loft.

This was 'cause I just wanna fly, this was feeling the pain in the morning rain and being soaked to the bone, this was about being in love and seeing things the same way, different from everyone else, this was about feeling like you were in love and you were gonna live forever.

I think you're the same as me, we see things they'll never see

You and I are gonna live forever

This is classic Noel; romantic, melodic, euphoric, dreamy, egging himself on now's the time to find out why, the guitar solo is stunning, Gallagher has talked of how he sat for days working it out and by the time Liam repeatedly sings gonna live forever at the end, you believe him 100%.

The first of many hug your mates and punch the sky feel good anthems in the Oasis story.

Original video

Acoustic, MTV, 1994

Maine Road, 1996

Acquiesce

Oasis were on such a roll going into 1995 that they were confident enough to release this rip roaring anthem as a b-side to their first number 1 single - Some Might Say.

Liam flies through the verses and his brother Noel sings the chorus that was just absolutely perfect for the band, their media images as (sometimes) warring brothers and for their fans to sing. A stadium anthem, a chorus built for Knebworth.

Cause we need each other, we believe in on another

I know we're gonna uncover

What's sleeping in our soul

I remember Oasis performing this on Channel 4's The White Room and I was just blown away. Liam in in sensational form, his voice is so strong from a year of solid gigging in 1994. 

White Room, 1995

Live By The Sea, 1995

Fade Away

Fade Away (demo) was one of the first Oasis songs I heard, a demo version was given away in the spring of 1994 on a Select Magazine cassette. A burst of acoustic guitar leads into the song, Liam's voice is good, Noel harmonises with him beautifully on the chorus. But Liam's voice just hasn't quite got the punch that it has on the version released as a b-side to Cigarettes & Alcohol.

In this version everything seems louder, pacier and more urgent. The band are making a right punk racket, drums and cymbals are crashing, the guitars are relentless and Liam's totally on it.

While we're living, the dreams we have as children fade away

Fade Away is one of Noel's early songs where he just captures something; a realisation, an honesty ... soul. The band tear through it and could easily have stopped at 3-minutes, but they keep going and deliver one of my favourite Oasis outro's as Noel picks a riff for a full 40-seconds to close.

Oasis/Noel would revisit the song for the Help / Warchild album and Noel delivered a beautiful version at his Royal Albert Hall show, later released under The Dreams We Have As Children album.

Released version

Demo version 

Warchild version

Noel at the Royal Albert Hall version

Little By Little

Two years ago my brother managed to bag us tickets 4 rows from the front to see Noel Gallagher play Edinburgh Playhouse with his High Flying Birds band. It was the first time I had seen Noel in a decade and I absolutely loved it. His band were excellent, Noel was in top form and included a number of Oasis songs in the set.

One that took me slightly by surprise was Little By Little. It was utterly euphoric. Maybe I had kind of forgotten about it, but it was possibly my song of the night, the chorus nearly took the roof off the place! Since then it's become one of my most listened to Oasis songs.

Noel's melodic bridge beginning you know I didn't mean, what I just said lifts the song beautifully and quite dramatically from a short verse into the skyscraping chorus;

Little by little, we have you everything you ever dreamed of

Little by little, the wheels of your life have slowly fallen off

Little by little, you have to give it all in all your life

And all the time I just ask myself why you're really here?

After the second verse there is one of my favourite Oasis guitar breaks that builds into another euphoric chorus and a lovely psychedelic tinged outro.

Official video

Finsbury Park, 2002

Don't Look Back In Anger

When Noel wrote Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger he knew that he wanted to sing one of them. He may have guessed (or probably known) they would become Oasis anthems, but I don't think anyone (not even Noel) could have predicted or even dreamed of just how anthemic they would become.

Once my mates and I were out for a night out in neighbouring Wishaw and we couldn't get a taxi home, so we started walking. All of a sudden there was a group of lads running for us ... until they spotted my Oasis t-shirt ... after a brief tense but friendly exchange (thank god I didn't have a Blur t-shirt!) we were singing Wonderwall - mental!

I love Wonderwall, I love how the song has been transformed thanks to Ryan Adams covering it and Noel adding his own spin to that. But Don't Look Back In Anger is my favourite of the two, indeed, Wonderwall almost became a victim of its own success.

Meanwhile Don't Look Back In Anger has developed to become a real anthem with added poignancy after it was adopted by the people of Manchester after the 2017 bombing in the city.

Check the live version from Buenos Aires in Argentina to see how this song means something to people across the world. Listen to the huge crowd singing it so passionately. Noel looks genuinely taken aback at the end.

Why does it mean so much? Maybe it sounded instantly familiar to people, the borrowed Imagine chords at the start helped. Maybe it's Noel singing another line from his childhood that would resonate with others of his age - stand up beside the fireplace, take that look from off your face or maybe it's the soaring you ain't ever gonna burn my heart out that leads to the chorus.

Who was Sally? Who cares? 

Official video

Buenos Aires

Champagne Supernova

Champagne Supernova is utterly majestic. As psychedelic as Oasis got without trying too  hard; some of the lyrics are nonsense yet they came to make sense; slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball, others asked questions - where were you while we were getting high? , others made statements that likely stemmed from Noel's working class roots - cause people believe that they're gonna get away for the summer, a line that Liam really seemed to relish and attack when singing it live.

Elsewhere a dreamer dreams, she never dies is one of of my favourite Noe lyrics, swiftly followed by a line I'm sure a lot of people will have heard when they were kids wipe that tear away now from your eye.

What was a champagne supernova? Who cared? It sounded amazing, Liam's voice still sounds amazing, Noel's guitar sounds amazing and his mate Paul Weller guests on the track, John Squire would join the band on stage at Knebworth to play on it.

Listening back now, Champagne Supernova beautifully balances moments that blast towards the stars with moments of tender, melodic, melancholy. The way the song ebbs to conclusion with Liam repeatedly singing we were getting high, before the outro is lazily and beautifully allowed to drift to conclusion is stunning.

Official video

Earls Court

Knebworth, Saturday night

Round Are Way

A triumphant celebration of youth, optimism and sunshine. Oasis blast through this, sounding like they are having fun, loving life, as carefree as the lyrics suggest.

Round are way the birds are singing

Round are way the sun shines bright

Round are way the birds sing for ya

Cause they already know ya

The song features in the 1997 film A Life Less Ordinary starring Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz. McGregor is walking in glorious sunshine singing the song, it is exactly that type of song! It's a feel-good, punch the sky romp, reminiscing about the simple pleasures of life - being a paperboy, lying to your teacher and my own favourite, playing football at the park until dark.

The game is kicking off around the park

It's 25-a-side and before it's dark

There's gonna be a loser and you know the next goal wins

Alongside She's Electric, Round Are Way perfectly captures the kind of council estate vibe that Oasis brought into the mainstream with their looks, attitude, humour and complete honesty. Straight from the off, Noel would talk lovingly of his Mum, of his abusive Dad. You didn't get anything like that in the NME or Melody Maker before Oasis! He felt real, he was real, he came from a scheme with a head full of dreams (great lyric for someone).

Official lyric video

White Room

Knebworth, Sunday night

Songbird

Coming in at only 2-minutes 8 seconds, Songbird is incredibly short for an Oasis song. And it's a Liam Gallagher penned song! Taken from 2002's Heathen Chemistry, this is a real gem of a song, Liam was head over heels in love with his fiance (at the time) Nicole Appleton and he pours his heart out in the song.

Talk of better days that are yet to come

I've never felt this love from anyone

She's not anyone

The harmonium, played by Gem Archer, adds a lot to the song, he plays it beautifully. The demo version of the song was released, it's more brashy and upbeat, complete with harmonica. I really like it, but the single version really captures the beauty of the song and Liam's voice is stunning.

Single/album version

Demo version

Manchester, 2005

The Masterplan

Two of the b-sides to Wonderwall (Round Are Way being the other) are in my top 10 favourite Oasis songs. Indeed, with Fade Away and Acquiesce, 4 out of my 10 are b-sides. 

With a heavy use of strings, it really felt like Oasis (or at least Noel) had grown up. Noel had certainly developed massively as a songwriter. If the aforementioned Live Forever set a bar, then the older Gallagher was regularly meeting it and at times he was setting new heights.

Noel had a masterplan with Oasis. He spoke of it in interviews. They would hammer it and release singles every few months like his heroes The Jam. 10 singles and 2 albums from April 1994 - February 1996 is astonishing, with the quality of b-sides highlighted in the compilation album - The Masterplan.

Noel is unrushed, the intro is extended, strings are at the heart of everything, there is that classic little Gallagher bridge that lifts into a chorus tumbles and flows.

Dance if you wanna dance, please brother take a chance

You know they're gonna go, which way they wanna go

All we know is that we don't, know how it's gonna be, please brother let it be

Life on the other hand, won't make us understand

We're all part of the masterplan

It's Noel at his best; meloic and beautifully mixing melancholic with euphoric.

Official video

Knebworth 1996

10 from Echo and the Bunnymen

 

Nothing Lasts Forever, Echo and the Bunnymen's stunning 1997 comeback single was my introduction to this wonderful band. I went to seem at the Barrowland Ballroom in October of that year and in a mist of dry ice, Ian McCulloch (part pop star, part silhouette) was absolutely captivating. I couldn't take my eyes off him. He had that mysterious 'X' factor that certain people do. The real X factor. Whatever 'it' is, McCulloch had it in abundance. 

I bought the Songs To Learn And Sing compilation immediately after that show. What an album! I'd go and see Echo and the Bunnymen whenever they played in Glasgow, I also went to see Mac when he released a solo album and played a show in Borders in Buchanan Street in the afternoon, followed by an intimate show in Tuts at night.

I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. There was a 2002 show in Manchester supporting New Order at Old Trafford Cricket Ground where The Bunnymen seemed determined to blow New Order off the stage, incredible shows at T in the Park and brilliant nights at the Barrowland. Then their 2011 show at the Royal Concert Hall (blogged on here) was one of the strangest shows I have ever been to. Mac seemed deranged, certainly preoccupied, but there were still moments of wonder.

And when you look back over the career of Echo and the Bunnymen, of Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant, it is sprinkled liberally with moments of wonder. A band bursting with creative energy and ideas, leading to memorable events, singles, albums and performances. 

I did look back, buying the Turquoise Days book to read through the bands vision and adventures, McCulloch's belief in himself and his band was incredible. It was notable that he wanted the Bunnymen to be the best band in the world, not the biggest. He had formed a magical band, they had Bill Drummond (later of The KLF) as their manager, they created their own scene, lived in their own world and for a number of years they could do no wrong. They could have probably moved to stadiums like U2 and Simple Minds, instead they toured the Outer Hebrides, played the Royal Albert Hall and sent their fans on bicycle tours round Liverpool with a map in the shape of a bunny's ears.

Echo and the Bunnymen were beautifully different. Fiercely ambitious, but brilliantly (and stubbornly) independent with it - everything was on their terms. 

Live in Liverpool, 2008

Echo and the Bunnymen mean something to many people across the world. Their legendary 80's line up was impeccable; McCulloch's personality, look and voice wooed girls and boys, Sergeant's guitar playing provoked awe and debate, Les Pattinson on bass is someone I admire more with every passing year, keeping a groove to let guitars and strings flourish and their original drummer Pete De Freitas was super cool. I say original, but in actual fact the band formed with a drum machine called Echo.

Their first 4 albums; Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine and Ocean Rain are critically lauded and worshipped by fans, their 5th eponymous LP is almost as good. 

Something had to give, nothing lasts forever. De Freitas left, living the rock star lifestyle, he rejoined but by then things were frayed and McCulloch left after a Japanese tour in March 1988.

Bizarrely, the band wanted to continue without McCulloch. Tragedy struck when Pete de Freitas was killed in a motorbike accident on his way to the first rehearsal with singer Noel Burke. Rather incredibly, an album, Reverberation, was still released under the name Echo and the Bunnymen, the lead single reached number 96 in the UK charts. I've never felt the need to check it out, the Bunnymen without McCulloch?!

Then you have the majestic 1997 comeback, Sergeant, Pattinson and McCulloch reunited, releasing Nothing Lasts Forever, featuring a young Liam Gallagher on backing vocals. The Bunnymen, the real Bunnymen, were back. Including Evergreen, the band have released 7 albums since reforming and they continue to tour regularly. 

If I was to choose what I consider to be the 10 best songs by Echo and the Bunnymen, there would be slight differences to this list. But this is, at the time of writing, 10 of my very favourite Echo and the Bunnymen songs.

If you're new to the band, start with the aforementioned Songs To Learn And Sing. You will learn them and you will sing them. 

Will Sergeant & Ian McCulloch

Nothing Lasts Forever

I'll start with where my love of Echo and the Bunnymen began, their majestic 1997 comeback single Nothing Lasts Forever. I still call it Nothing Ever Lasts Forever!

McCulloch's vocals have a hushed, soulful urgency to them, rising for the bridge to the chorus and then sounding like they are soaring behind the strings as he declares nothing ever lasts forever, nothing ever lasts forever

There is a rich reflective feeling to McCulloch's voice and his lyrics get straight to the point, he doesn't let up as he sings of time running out the door I'm running in. 

I want it now, I want it now

Not the promises of what tomorrow brings

As comeback singles go, this sets the bar. Check the original video   and the live version from Liverpool in 2001 below.

Lips Like Sugar

The title conjures an image, the lyrics take it further. Everything about this song is super cool; the title, the guitar, the lyrics and McCulloch's vocals.

McCulloch looks like a total star in the video; the lips, the hair, the look, the backdrop as he walks through the city, the way he cradles his microphone ... then it goes a little odd!

But back to the song, after a teasing intro Will Sergeant launches into a riff underpinned by a simple beat that always makes me want to dance. Then McCulloch comes in with his vivid pop poetry.

She floats like a swan

Grace on the water 

Lips like sugar, lips like sugar

Sergeant has a piercing guitar solo and as the song develops McCulloch sounds like he is lost in a dream as he talks of siamese twins and mirror kisses, before launching himself out of his dream and into the chorus. 

Rescue

The chiming guitar riff is a great intro, leading to the beat and McCulloch singing in a very Lou Reed/Velvets style over a funky bluesy riff. Later on he goes on to repeatedly sing; is this the blues I'm singing?

If I said, I'd lost my way

Would you sympathise, could you sympathise?

I'm jumbled up, maybe I'm losing my touch

I'm jumbled up, maybe I'm losing my touch

But you know I didn't have it anyway

Released away back in 1980, there is still a very timeless quality to Rescue. It grabs your attention, demands your attention and it rewards your attention. 

The breakdown section tips a nod to The Doors before building to the aforementioned is this blues I'm singing outro, McCulloch leading his band superbly and his band rise, playing loosely when allowed but then getting real tight when it matters.

Check the Live at Liverpool version.

Crystal Days

Crystal Days packs a lot into 2 minutes 24 seconds. A classic Sergeant guitar riff is beautifully brief before McCulloch comes in singing looking for hope and I hope it's you

There is heartbreak, pain, misfit ways and crystal days, shadows and golden views. 

The Bunnymen somehow manage to find space for a 40-second instrumental and there is time at the end for McCulloch to hint at his Velvets/Lou Reed influence with a brilliant do do do do do do do section.

Guitar pop perfection, this all sounds effortless. Taken from the Ocean Rain album, Crystal Days is a band at the top of their game.

The Game

If I was writing a blog on what I consider to be the 10 best Bunnymen songs then it is very unlikely The Game would feature, but it's a real favourite of mine. It flows superbly and I particularly love the line,

Everybody's got their own good reason

Why their favourite season, is their favourite season

Opening with organ/keys over a beat, Will Sergeant then comes in with his electric guitar and McCulloch sounds totally on it, singing of tinsel tears and midnight trains.

Do It Clean

This was the last song to be added to my 10 favourites, narrowly pipping Seven Seas. I had a list that contained a number of songs including Rust, Seven Seas, Silver, The Back Of Love, Never Stop and the more recent Think I Need It To which I really like.

In the end I opted to include Do It Clean as it's got a real pure psychedelic garage nuggets style energy that I always enjoy, especially live when the band often stretch it out and go into jams of other songs they love. This is a trick that The Bunnymen do regularly to this day, check the brilliant segue from Nothing Lasts Forever into Walk On The Wild Side from their 2008 T in the Park show HERE (last song in, starts at 12-minutes).

 Originally released on the US version of debut album Crocodiles, the band thought highly enough of the song to include it on the 1985 Songs To Learn And Sing compilation.

Where am I going, where have I been?

Where are you going, where have you been?

Do It Clean sounds fresh, full of energy with a raw edge and intensity, check this early live version where the band extend it to include All You Need Is Love. Imagine getting into this band upon release of their debut album, what a ride you would have been on! I'd have loved to have seen the band at this stage.

The Cutter

If push came to shove this might be my favourite Bunnymen song. Opening with some outrageous guitar riff from Will Sergeant with some kind of harmoniser effect, McCulloch is in, quickly leading us to the chorus

Conquering myself until

I see another hurdle approaching

Say you can, say you will

Not just another drop in the ocean

After a second verse and another run through the chorus the song is sent towards the heaven thanks to an absolutely beautiful burst of strings at 1-minute 48 seconds. 

Am I the happy loss? Will I still recoil?

When the skin is lost, am I the worthy cross?

Will I still be soiled, when the dirt is off?

This is almost like a second chorus, the real chorus, it is spell binding, a band in majestic form, brimming with the confidence to create something as good and ambitious as this. Ian Broudie deserves a lot of credit for his work as producer on this gem. L Shankar provides the incredible cloud bursting strings.

Bring On The Dancing Horses

Bring On The Dancing Horses has a kind of shimmering quality to it, helped by synths that are constantly at play underneath the bass groove and beats.

When you read the lyrics you might wonder what it's all about, but then you hear it and it somehow all makes perfect sense. Lush, dreamy, sublime, cinematic, post punk psychedelia, Bring On The Dancing Horses is the sound of a band lost in their own world and capturing a piece of it to display on Planet Earth.

Bring on the dancing horses, wherever they may roam

Shiver and say the words of every lie you've heard

First I'm gonna make it, then I'm gonna break it, til it falls apart

Hating all the faking and shaking while I'm breaking, your brittle heart

The Killing Moon

Described by its author as the greatest song ever written, The Killing Moon is a single lifted from the 1984 Ocean Rain album. 

There is no doubt that it's a special song, one that came to McCulloch in a dream, so much so that he jokingly credits God with a co-write as he woke up with the lyrics fate up against your will, through the thick and thin, you will wait until, you give yourself to him

McCulloch is at his poetic best, imagery pours out of him; blue moon, starlit nights, your lips a magic world and your sky all hung with jewels. 

Musically, Les Pattinson on bass, Pete de Freitas on drums and Will Sergeant on guitar, are on fire, aided by glorious strings, conjuring a cinematic feel to match McCulloch's poetry. 

Official video

Ocean Rain

Ocean Rain might be the most beautiful song that Echo and the Bunnymen have written and recorded. Backed by a 35-piece orchestra, McCulloch delivers a perfect performance, telling of a broken heart / depression, trying to get back , with Will Sergeants guitar sounding like it is crying at times, offering hope at others.

The Bunnymen self-produced the Ocean Rain album (with a little help) and they get the performance and production absolutely spot on. This is a devastatingly beautiful song, delivered with heartfelt soul. The instrumental section with lush strings and Sergeant's impeccable guitar solo is just sublime. 

When you look at it on paper, there is only a couple of verses, but they way they are repeated throughout as the song builds leads to them becoming like a long chorus. McCulloch sounds broken and gentle at the start, but by the end of the song he is in full flight with the strings and guitar, sounding defiant - he will get through the storm. Listen to the way he lifts his voice to sing the waves at 4-minutes 20 seconds, it is euphoric, by the end of the song we're all going to get through it.

Check the incredible live version from The Tube in 1984 with Mac introducing it as 'a slowy'. 

Live in Liverpool 2001

Live on The Tube

All at sea again

And now my hurricanes, have brought down this ocean rain

To bathe me again

My ship's a sail, can you hear its tender frame

Screaming from beneath the waves, screaming from beneath the waves

All hands on deck at dawn, sailing to sadder shores

Your port in my heavy storms

Harbours the blackest thoughts

10 from New Order

Continuing my semi-regular series of blogs where I write about 10 of my favourite songs from my favourite bands / artists. It was always going to be hard to narrow it down to only 10-songs from New Order!

New Order are like a perfect band for me. Through the 1980's they seemed lost in their own world, pop, but with a desire to experiment with sound and equipment. They could party hard, they were/are successful - but not too big. They had their own little club in Manchester that they could play (and pre Acid House they had to play to keep it running!). The band were all characters and attracted characters, Bernard Sumner had/has amazing hair, they had complete control of their music and art, they suffered heartache, they kept on going.

And they were/are gloriously imperfect. At times (most of the time) they didn't know how to work half the equipment they bought. Their manager (Rob Gretton) and label manager (Tony Wilson) were certainly characters but they also essentially bankrupted them. Despite the incredible journey they had been on, Hook and Sumner ended up hating each other. They (at least for a while) lost money on every 12-inch single of Blue Monday.

I got into the band around the release of 1993's Republic and the stunning single Regret, although I was well aware of them at the age of 14 in 1990 with the World Cup single World In Motion.

Discovering Substance was an eye opener, this was a band who did things their way. Non-album singles like Temptation! And as I dug through the bands 80's catalogue, I learned just how prolific they were; 5 studio albums, a staggering 19 singles and the aforementioned Substance compilation.

Can you imagine following New Order from the start through that decade and beyond?! What a journey.

I was too young for the 80's and even just a little young in 1993. They broke up after Republic, so it was amazing when they got back together to release Get Ready in 2001. I tried to catch them as many times as I could; taking in brilliant shows in Glasgow and Manchester over the years. Even post Hooky they played a blinding show at the Academy touring Music Complete, although it wasn't quite the same without him patrolling the stage. Whenever I saw them live, it was like the band had 2 frontmen.

Watching New Order live was a real sense of occasion. I met fellow fans who travelled across the country (and the world) to follow them. The level of passion and dedication they inspire is incredible.

Hooky's love of New Order (and Joy Division) shines through in his books and his endless run of shows where he performs their back catalogue. I do wish that he and the rest of the band could make up, even for a one-off show. Sadly, I don't think I'll see that happen.

Bernard Sumner is one of my favourite guitar players, songwriters and singers. He makes his limitations really work for him and the song. He pushes himself at times and he is never afraid to go with the first riff or line that comes to mind.

Narrowing down my favourite New Order songs to only 10 was very tough. I do love later day singles like Crystal (what a comeback single, all hooks and chorus and more hooks!) and Krafty, but not enough to make my top 10.

Two songs from Technique are included, but they could easily be replaced by any other 2 of that album on another day; particularly All The Way and Round & Round.

And Face Up has become a real favourite of mine since seeing Hooky perform it at the Glasgow School of Art a few years back, but it just couldn't quite squeeze into my top 10. 

Love Vigilantes became a real favourite for a long time after I travelled down to see them in Manchester and they opened the show with it. And then there is True Faith! And Blue Monday may be New Order's most famous song and I love when they play it live, or in days gone by I loved hearing it in a club or pre-club, but it probably wouldn't be in my top 15 favourites. I can't remember the last time I played it.

So, after careful consideration, here are my;

 10 favourite New Order songs. 

Regret

One of my all-time favourite intro's. The synths burst in and cut to guitar a couple of times before both then  crash into bass and drums, with Hooky leading the way. I love Bernard's vocals on this one, the production is sublime, everything sounds effortless.

Maybe I've forgotten the name and the address

Of everyone I've ever known, it's nothing I regret

The Perfect Kiss - Substance Edit

An 8-minute epic electro pop gem. Hooky's bass sounds like he could be in Level 42 at the start, then there is an immediate change in pace and a sublime programmed electronic groove kicks in before heavenly synths create a pure hands-in-the-air feel after 1-minute 19 seconds.

Sumner's lyrics are playful, none more so than the second verse;

I have always thought about

Staying in and going out

Tonight I should have stayed at home

Playing with my pleasure zone

The way New Order use the 8-minutes to play and stretch this song out is pure brilliance. The breakdown (complete with frog sounds) is beautifully chilled before the beats kick in and take the song to conclusion with powerful synth stabs and Hooky going for it on bass. Glorious!

I've included the official video and also a brilliant 1985 performance from Toronto with Bernard on cowbell wearing shorts, sports socks and slip ons!

Your Silent Face

The first time I heard this was when New Order played the Barrowland Ballroom in 2001. I was absolutely blown away, the synths, Sumner's delivery, humour and just the way the band looked and sounded. They knew full well what a f**king masterpiece they were performing.

And of course I was taken by surpise and delight by the audience participation after Sumner's delivery of the line; you caught me at a bad time so why don't you ... and a large section of the crowd yelled PISS OFF.

Their return that year with the Crystal single and a burst of shows led me to properly explore their back catalogue as I tracked down vinyl albums and singles in second hand record shops across Glasgow and on eBay. Power, Corruption & Lies is probably my favourite New Order album, although I think Technique is the best.

Ceremony

What an incredible debut single! When Ian Curtis committed suicide in 1980, shortly before an American tour that was set to break them, the rest of the band had a number of choices to make. 

Numb with grief, the band went in to rehearse, Sumner and Hook have both said in their books that they just didn't know what else to do. No-one wanted to be the singer, but Sumner ended up taking vocal duties and just over 2-months after Ian Curtis' death, the new trio of Sumner, Hook and Morris (that night going under the name The No Names after Factory band The Names pulled out) played a 4 or 5 song set - no-one can quite remember. 

Ceremony was in the set and it has been ever since.

Sumner, Morris and Hook sound as tight as tight can be, but in a beautiful loose way, threatening to fall apart or push further forwards, it sounds slightly chaotic in a glorious way. Sumner tears into his guitar at times and creates a playful yet simple riff at others, Hooky plays his bass way down, Morris is sensational with his beats.

When the band tear back into it at 2-minutes 30 seconds it is the sound of a band on fire. Then we have a sublime extended breakdown and then a glorious blast for a 30-second finale.

Check the ferocious Joy Division version 

Oh I'll break them down, no mercy shown

Heaven knows it's got to be this time

Age of Consent

The opening track on the sublime Power, Corruption & Lies album, Age of Consent would most probably have been a single if New Order were not sticking to their no singles on album rule.

Hooky's bass grooves throughout, Sumner's guitar is playful, his lyrics tell a tale, the beat and hi-hats are relentless and at a couple of points the synths threaten to delightfully overpower everything else.

Sumner admits he's not a certain type and then admits he has lost, letting out delightful yelps over an extended outro as the band just let rip.

I'm the kind that likes to tell you

Just what I want to do

I'm not the kind that need to tell you

I've lost you, I've lost you, I've lost you

Run

Bernard picks beautiful riffs on a 12-string acoustic, Hooky's bass grooves throughout, there is a slice of euphoric electric guitar, Sumner's vocal melody is (for me) one of his best - just flowing effortlessly and everything just feels so natural.

One of their very best outro's ... and there are many to choose from.

Vanishing Point

New Order love intro's and outro's, often having 2 or 3 sections to each. With Vanishing Point the band use the first 90-seconds to display musical brilliance, Sumner is also on top form with his lyrics and delivery. There is a sense of hurt and anger to them.

My life ain't no holiday

I've been through the point of no return

I've seen what the man can do

I've seen all the hate of a woman too

The breakdown at 3-minutes 30-seconds lasts a full half minute before the band explode back in with the chorus. A stunning song that really captures the band at their very best.

Thieves Like Us (12-inch version)

Thieves Like Us grooves and is beautifully lazily euphoric in a way that I don't think any other band could achieve. Released in 1984, Thieves Like Us really highlights how New Order had developed as a band, their self production of this song is just blissful, the long, long intro is split into 3 parts, with the second synth riff starting at 1-minute, then Hooky taking over on bass just before the 2-minute mark. Eventually Bernard comes in, singing now you live your life like a shadow, in the pouring rain before pushing his range gloriously by singing

Oh it's called love

And it belongs to us

Before a short second verse where he sings;

I've lived my life in the valleys

I've lived my life in the hills

I've lived my life on alcohol

I've lived my life on pills

Thieves Like Us grooves and is beautifully lazily euphoric in a way that I don't think any other band could achieve. 

Bizarre Love Triangle (Shep Pettibone 12-inch version)

This song takes me places. When New Order play this live it makes me very, very happy. Full of loads of different synth riffs, stabs and flourishes, this is New Order at their very, very best. 

Every time I see you falling

I get down on my knees and pray

I'm waiting for that final moment

You say the words that I can't say

The 7-inch version is a rush, the 12-inch version just takes that rush and keeps it going. 

Temptation

As perfect as a song can be. The original version just about holds itself together and is all the more beautiful for it. Lyrically brilliant; exceptionally poetic in the verse, then simplistic and playful at times but also full of meaning, easy to relate to.

Up, down, turn around

Please don't let me hit the ground

Tonight I think I'll walk alone

I'll find my soul as I go home

It blows my mind that this was released in 1982. Can you imagine being in your mid-late teens or early 20's when this came out! So fresh, energetic and utterly stupendous?!

You can hear the band shouting to each other when you listen to the epic 8-minute 41 second original as they tear into a groove, before dropping to all Sumner to start with the beautiful;

Oh you've got green eyes

Oh you've got blue eyes

Oh you've got grey eyes

And I've never met anyone quite like you before

After some stunning bass work from Peter Hook, the synth is allowed to just bubble gloriously for a little before Sumner comes in again, his voice rising with emotion.

A heaven, a gateway, a hope

Just like a feeling inside, it's no joke

Sumner's guitar is punky Chic-esque rhythm at times, then picking brilliant little riffs at others. The synth and the beats are steady, Hook meanders up and down his bass with delight.

Each way I turn, I know I'll always try

To break the circle that's been placed around me

Temptation is a top 3 all-time favourite song of mine. I originally heard a rerecorded version on Substance and on the Trainspotting soundtrack, but then I discovered the original on an Italian 1981-82 EP and the rawness just blew me away.