Back in the early 80s, I spent almost every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night within the student union at Strathclyde University, I wasn’t a fashionista – I probably had about ten different shirts to choose from (five of which were black) and maybe three pair of jeans (two of which were black). But no matter what clothes were nearest to my skin I never went anywhere without my fabulous olive-coloured raincoat that I’d persuaded my dad to give me….
The raincoat was in homage to Ian McCulloch who I thought was one of the coolest men on the planet. He, along with his bandmates, always seemed to be photographed wearing some sort of coat although thinking back that’s probably more to do with them insisting their photoshoots take place in the likes of Iceland.
Without fail the student union ‘disco’ would feature at least one Echo & The Bunnymen song during the course of the evening and without fail it was cue for me to get up on the dancefloor and do my thing. Sad poseur that I was, I inevitably tried to dance while wearing my raincoat. It might have been draped over a chair or wrapped under a nearby table, but the second a Bunnymen track began to blast out, I’d race to where the coat was and put it on. I now accept that I must had looked like a dickhead…..
Then in 1983 I saw the video to the new Bunnymen single, and wouldn’t you know it Mac was on the stage of the Albert Hall doing his thing – but without a coat. From that moment on, the raincoat never again was seen on the dancefloor….
All of this came back to me the other day when the single from 1983 came on via shuffle as I sat on a train heading to the football. I smiled at the memories. It was also a sharp reminder that it’s a belter of a track:-
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen – Never Stop (Discotheque)
That’s the 12″ version which I bought on vinyl at the time and still have all these years later. The b-sides were a ifferent version of a track that had featured on the 1982 LP Porcupine as well as what I assume is an early demo-type version of what would later become a hit single:-
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen – Heads Will Roll (Summer Version)
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen – The Original Cutter
I’m very fond of Heads Will Roll, so I thought I’d also add the LP version to this posting.
mp3 : Echo & The Bunnymen – Heads Will Roll
Admit it. It does make you want to dance.
Enjoy.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
A Pete De Frietas Tour De Force! The percussion, multilayered over a driving motorik beat, mixed with the strings was the first warning shot of what would come to full fruition by Ocean Rain.
Yes, Ian was the coolest singer on the planet for many years and had the attitude to pull it off. In the States we didn’t really do the raincoat thing, but in the early 80’s anyone who was even slightly attempting cool wore a tweed or wool carcoat. Three quarter length and unbearably warm, even in winter, but a gray tweed carcoat over black jeans, pointy black boots or black converse sneakers and a black button down shirt was the uniform of cool.
I agree to Echorich that he was one of the coolest singer in this decade. But here in Germany we had no dress code like in Britain or the States. Maybe because we haven’t had that club scene in the 80s. This thing came years later to us (with a new kind of dress code).
On the Manic St Preachers’ ‘Some Kind of Nothingness’ McCulloch sings a great refrain from ‘Never Stop’ – just before the choir kicks in. Bloody magic!
Wonderful song- love it. Love overcoats too.
Come on, we all had raincoats in the 1980s. Although mine was dark green not black. Really like the Champion Doug Veitch track from the other day, listening to it again, now.
’tis one of, if not the finest 12″ ever, I sold my entire Bunnymen collection to a guy in London many years ago, it still hurts just a little bit!!