On February 18th, Echo & The Bunnymen’s first best-of compilation Songs To Learn And Sing will be back on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1985. The album is a comprehensive collection of the band’s first four albums, from their second single Rescue, to The Cutter and the anthemic The Killing Moon. It also includes Bring On The Dancing Horses, originally released in conjunction with Songs To Learn & Sing back in 1985. It arrives back on vinyl as Echo & The Bunnymen go back on tour to celebrate 40 years of magical songs throughout 2022.
Songs To Learn & Sing will be available on black 1LP on February 18th from all music retailers, as well as being released in a special edition package featuring the album on splatter vinyl alongside a 7” of the band’s first single, Pictures On My Wall / Read It In Books, available exclusively on Dig!
ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN were formed in Liverpool in 1978 with Ian McCulloch on vocals and rhythm guitar, Will Sergeant on lead guitar and Les Pattinson on bass. They were soon joined by Pete De Freitas on drums and the rest, as they say, is history.
By the time of Songs To Learn & Sing original release the band were a force to be reckoned with, pioneering the post-punk, new wave scene with four highly acclaimed studio albums. It all started with their classic debut album Crocodiles in 1980, which gave the band a reputation as one of the best around, with the NME describing it as “probably the best album this year by a British band”. The album ultimately broke into the Top 20, finishing in many critics greatest ever debut album lists.
The Bunnymen followed the album with the release of the Shine So Hard EP in 1981, recorded live at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, before releasing their second studio album Heaven Up Here in the same year. It became the band’s first UK Top 10 album, winning the 1981 NME Best Album award in the process. Considered to be a slightly darker album, Heaven Up Here was produced by Hugh Jones and was well received by critics and fans alike, featuring tracks such as A Promise, Over the Wall and Show of Strength.
The band’s cult status was soon transformed into mainstream success in 1983 with the release of their third album Porcupine, produced by Ian Broudie. Porcupine provided their best chart performances, with The Cutter reaching #8 in the singles charts and Porcupine finishing #2 in the album charts before being certified Gold.
1984 brought the fourth studio album Ocean Rain, regarded by many as the band’s classic opus. Recorded in Liverpool and Paris, the band used a 35-piece orchestra with award-winning composer Adam Peters scoring the strings. The iconic, atmospheric cover artwork was taken in the stunning Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall by photographer Brian Griffin, who also shot their three previous album covers. Ocean Rain continued the band’s use of strings, creating a dark, ethereal aura. Three classic singles were released from the album – Silver, Seven Seas and the massive anthem The Killing Moon, which reached #9 in the UK singles chart and continues to transcend generations to this day.
In 2021, these four albums were reissued on both black and coloured vinyl and are available to buy from this link: https://lnk.to/EchoandtheBunnymen_Vinyl
ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN will tour the UK and Ireland in the Spring of 2022, celebrating 40 years of magical songs.
Tickets are available here:
Tour Dates
FEBRUARY
Tue 01 SHEFFIELD City Hall
Wed 02 LEEDS O2 Academy
Fri 04 BOURNEMOUTH O2 Academy
Sat 05 CARDIFF St David’s Hall
Mon 07 LONDON Roundhouse
Wed 09 DUBLIN Olympia Theatre
Fri 11 NORWICH UEA
Sat 12 GATESHEAD Sage
Mon 14 LIVERPOOL Philharmonic Hall
Wed 16 MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Thu 17 NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Sat 19 CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange
Sun 20 BRISTOL O2 Academy
Tue 22 LONDON O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Wed 23 NORTHAMPTON Derngate
Fri 25 MANCHESTER Albert Hall
Sat 26 BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy
Mon 28 GLASGOW Barrowland
MARCH
Tue 01 GLASGOW Barrowland
Sat 19 ANTWERP De Roma
Mon 21 COLOGNE Stollwerck CC
Tue 22 BERLIN Metropol
Thu 24 GOTHENBURG Pustervik
Fri 25 OSLO Rockefeller
Sun 27 STOCKHOLM Berns
Mon 28 COPENHAGEN Amager Bio
Tue 29 HAMBURG Markthalle
Thu 31 ROUEN Le 106
APRIL
Fri 01 PARIS La Cigale
Sun 03 UTRECHT TivoliVredenberg (Ronda)
Mon 04 GRONINGEN Oosterpoort
Wed 06 BEXHILL De La Warr Pavilion
MAY
Sat 07 WREXHAM Focus Wales 2022
Sat 14 PASADENA, CA Cruel World Festival
Sun 15 PASADENA, CA Cruel World Festival
Sat 28 WOLVERHAMPTON Creation Day
JULY
Fri 01 LITTLE HADHAM Sign Of The Times Festival
NOVEMBER
Wed 02 FRANKFURT Batschkapp
Thu 03 MUNICH Muffathalle
Tue 08 BESANCON La Rodia
Wed 09 CLERMONT Ferrand – La Coopérative de Mai
Thu 10 NIMES Paloma
Songs To Learn & Sing Tracklisting
Side A:
Rescue
The Puppet
Do It Clean
A Promise
Back Of Love
The Cutter
Side B:
Never Stop
The Killing Moon
Silver
Seven Seas
Bring On The Dancing Horses
7” Tracklisting (Special Edition only)
A: The Pictures On My Wall
B: Read It In Books
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