#writing #postpunk #recommendedread: Bunnyman – A Memoir by Will Sergeant
And so it came to pass … I first saw Echo and The Bunnymen at the now legendary Leeds Futurama Festival in 1979. At that time they still had a drum machine and I thought the singer -Ian McCullough- was called Echo. They were good but slight. Zoo Records cohorts The Teardrop Explodes were much a more … visceral turn. Cut to the same festival, one year later, and The Bunnymen now had a drummer- and they were AN EPIC! In fact, it’s hard to imagine how a band could transform so radically, in such a short time. I was the band at least a couple more times over the years, and they were an intrinsic part of the British cultural landscape. The Cutter was on EVERY single pub jukebox in the days when pubs had jukeboxes. The album covers were so iconic that, to this day, a trip to the countryside will always have an ‘it’s like a Bunnymen LP cover’ moment.
And it was only when reading Paul Simpson’s excellent Revolutionary Sprint memoir that I realised how little I knew about the people in the band. So I nabbed a copy of Will Sergeant’s Bunnymen- A Memoir. And I’m glad I did.
This is a cracking read, focusing in equal measure on Sargeant’s childhood, his first involvement in a music scene, and the early days of Echo and The Bunnymen. Sergeant is a natural yarn spinner and as such the book is illuminating, touching, and very, very funny. I blame the Mackie. Highly recommended.
Hey Paul, would love to recommend you read my biography of Echo & The Bunnymen, but it's out of print. Will's Bunnyman is excellent, really helps set the scene. He has another book out now which I will need to get while in the UK. I first saw them in 79 as well, though wish I was wise enough to have gone up to Futurama from London like a lot of wiser people did. Cheers.