K SPECIAL
Julian Cope & The Teardrop Explodes - The Greatest Hits: 45th Anniversary 1978-2023 [2023] (2 x CDs)
In celebration of 45 years since Julian Cope formed The Teardrop Explodes in Liverpool 1978 here is my 2CD special presentation set of The Teardrop Explodes and Julian Cope's very best work.
There has never been a truly comprehensive set of their best work all in one place featuring all the classic single hits (with many in their original 7" single form of edits and remixes), the best B-sides and album tracks.
This 45-track set features the very latest and highest quality digital remasters, with a considerable number of tracks sourced from the original master tapes for superior sound quality and enjoyment.
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. The group also launched the career of group frontman Julian Cope as well as that of keyboard player and co-manager David Balfe (later a record producer, A&R man and founder of Food Records). Other members included early Smiths producer Troy Tate.
“The teardrop explodes!” Yes, British musician and author Julian Cope appears to have been a Marvel Comics fan back in the day - one who was evidently so impressed by that particular turn of phrase that he named a band after it, some seven years later.
Along with other contemporary Liverpudlian groups, The Teardrop Explodes played a role in returning psychedelic elements to mainstream British rock and pop, initially favouring a modernised version of lightly psychedelic late 1960s-influenced beat-group sound (sometimes described as "bubblegum trance" and later exploring more experimental areas. In addition to their musical reputation, the band (and Cope in particular) had a reputation for eccentric pronouncements and behaviour, sometimes verging on the self-destructive, resulting in the band's breakup in 1982.
Early singles and Kilimanjaro
The Teardrop Explodes released their first single, "Sleeping Gas", in February 1979. Simpson's stage presence was now such that he rivalled Cope as the band's onstage focus, and by mutual agreement the two decided that the group wasn't big enough for both of them. Simpson left the band in the spring: he went on to form The Wild Swans and then link up with Ian Broudie to form Care. His initial replacement was Ged Quinn, who played on the Teardrops' subsequent British tour. However, co-manager David Balfe had also been lobbying for full Teardrops membership: by July 1979, he had succeeded in ousting Quinn and taking his place as keyboard player. (Quinn then rejoined Simpson in The Wild Swans.)
The band's next single, "Bouncing Babies", inspired a tribute song of its own: "I Can't Get Bouncing Babies by the Teardrop Explodes" by The Freshies, an ode to the difficulty of obtaining a copy of the song.
In February 1980 the band released their third and final single on Zoo Records, "Treason", which was recorded in London with producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The B-side was a version of the Cope/McCulloch song "Read It in Books", which Echo & the Bunnnymen had already released as the B-side to their debut single, "The Pictures on My Wall". Both bands recorded different versions of "Read It in Books" in the future, and Cope also re-recorded the track as a solo artist.
In the summer of 1980, The Teardrop Explodes began recording their debut album, Kilimanjaro, at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire. The sessions were interrupted by touring requirements, and also by internal dissension. This peaked when Cope and Balfe opted to fire Mick Finkler as guitarist. Cope subsequently claimed that "Mick, to me, had got really complacent. There was no fire in what he wanted to do. Mick just wasn't bothered about pushing at all. I thought what's more important, the friendship or the band? And when it came down to it I realised the band was the most important." Finkler's sacking earned the band a fair amount of ire from the closely linked and competitive Liverpool scene (and from Ian McCulloch in particular) as well as establishing Cope's reputation as something of a tyrant.
Reward and chart success
In November 1980, Alan Gill left The Teardrop Explodes, claiming not to enjoy the touring lifestyle. Cope later praised him for his strong creative impact on both the band and its perspective, but also suggested that with the band's growing success Gill had found himself "afraid to compete." Gill was replaced by former Shake guitarist Troy Tate but by now Cope and Balfe's abrasive relationship had worsened to the point that Balfe was ousted as group keyboard player, although he continued to be involved with management.
As well as broadening the band's sound and outlook, Alan Gill had brought in an all-but-complete new song before his departure, which he and Cope had reworked. This was released as the band's next single, "Reward". In January 1981, the song hit No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart (with the semi-estranged Balfe joining the band to mime trumpet playing during their Top of the Pops appearance).
The band relocated to London to take advantage of their growing success, although by now Cope was retreating into a drugged lifestyle and beginning "a period of unrestrained megalomania." In order to keep the band on the road as a touring concern, two London musicians were hired - keyboard player Jeff Hammer and bass player Alfie Agius (the latter freeing Cope to concentrate on vocals and rhythm guitar). Despite the internal turmoil, by 1981 The Teardrop Explodes were at the height of their popularity. In March, the band played their first American dates (a time also notable for Cope's meeting with Dorian Beslity, who would later become his second wife).
In April, the band had another Top 20 hit with the re-released "Treason" (featuring the earlier Kilimanjaro line-up of the band) which reached No. 18 in the UK Singles Chart. Another single, "When I Dream", received airplay on progressive radio in the U.S., introducing the band to new fans. In June 1981, the band embarked on another American tour. The tour proved to be a chaotic affair: neither Agius nor Hammer fitted into the group socially and Cope was retreating further into an LSD-fuelled isolation, retaining only Dwyer as trusted companion. The tour finally came adrift on the East Coast in a mess of bad business arrangements and infighting.
On their return to the UK, the five-piece Teardrop Explodes recorded the song "Passionate Friend" (which was allegedly about Cope's brief recent relationship with Ian McCulloch's sister, further increasing the friction between Cope and his former bandmate). Released as a single, it reached No. 25 in the UK chart and gained the group another Top of the Pops appearance (in which Cope performed wearing a ripped pillowcase he had made into a T-shirt, later claiming to have been tripping on LSD throughout the performance). Subsequently, both Agius and Hammer were sacked. Having sufficiently mended his relationship with Cope and Dwyer, David Balfe returned to the group as keyboard player.
Wilder and Club Zoo
Expectations were high for the band's second album, Wilder, which was recorded in London during November 1981 with a nucleus of Cope, Dwyer, Tate and Balfe. Unlike the first album, which was more of a band effort, Wilder was more the work of Cope (who took sole songwriting credit on every track on the album) and was a bleaker, more sombre work than its predecessor cataloguing the breakup of Cope's first marriage and the mental chaos surrounding Cope and the band. The album was also a break from the solid beat-group sound of Kilimanjaro, showcasing a variety of different approaches. It reached No. 29 on the UK chart and was certified Silver by the BPI, as Kilimanjaro had been. The next single, "Colours Fly Away" stalled at No. 57 in the UK chart, signaling the end of the Teardrops as a popular singles band.
At the end of 1981 (and with Ronnie François now added on bass guitar) the band took up a lengthy residence at the Pyramid Club in Liverpool, where they set up "Club Zoo", playing twice a day as a five-piece. The band then undertook an extensive tour of Europe, the US and Australia, hiring trumpeter Ted Emmett (ex-64 Spoons) for the live band. By March 1982, the Teardrops' internal situation was as fraught as ever following assorted disagreements and individual meltdowns. The increasingly alienated Cope retreated to his hometown of Tamworth. At this point the band decided to strip down to a three-piece, losing Tate, Francois and Emmett.
A third single from Wilder - the uncharacteristically sombre "Tiny Children" - was released in June 1982 and narrowly missed the top 40 (No. 41 UK) despite being championed by high-profile BBC Radio One DJ, Mike Read. By now, Balfe had also developed an interest in writing songs and lobbied to join Cope as band songwriter, with Cope retained predominantly as singer and frontman.
The lost third album and final split
In September 1982, the band reconvened at Rockfield Studios to record their third album around the nucleus of Cope, Dwyer and Balfe. Creative tensions were high, as Cope wanted to write ballads and quirky pop songs, while Balfe was more interested in recording synth-based music. Balfe took over the sessions and locked Cope and Dwyer out of the studios for much of the time. Rarely able (or inclined) to add their own contributions, Cope and Dwyer worked off their frustration playing risky, stoned cross-country games with speeding jeeps. The situation culminated in a notorious (though disputed) event in which an irate Dwyer chased Balfe over the Monmouthshire hillsides with a loaded shotgun. Hating Balfe's instrumentals, Cope walked out of the sessions with only part of the singing done and the album incomplete.
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To Cope's disgust, the band were already committed to a UK tour playing as a guitarless three-piece, with the instrumentation covered mainly by synthesizer and backing tapes. Cope found the tour "disastrous and demeaning": he performed most of it in a self-destructive sulk, raging at his audience, and quit the group immediately afterwards. In February 1983, Mercury Records released a delayed (and now post-breakup) Teardrop Explodes EP, "You Disappear from View", which included songs salvaged from the aborted third album. The EP received average reviews and peaked at No. 41 in the UK chart.
Post-split
Following the band's dissolution, Julian Cope began a career as a solo artist, writer and cultural commentator which continues to this day.
Cope is also an author on Neolithic culture, publishing The Modern Antiquarian in 1998, and a political and cultural activist with a public interest in occultism and paganism. He has written two volumes of autobiography, Head-On (1994) and Repossessed (1999); two volumes of archaeology, The Modern Antiquarian (1998) and The Megalithic European (2004); and three volumes of musicology, Krautrocksampler (1995), Japrocksampler (2007); and Copendium: A Guide to the Musical Underground (2012).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Cope
Gary Dwyer played drums on Cope's 1984 debut solo album World Shut Your Mouth and drummed for The Colourfield in 1986 and Balcony Dogs in the late 1980s, but subsequently left music for a variety of jobs including fork-lift driver. David Balfe moved into artist management and subsequently set up Food Records, acting as a mentor to bands such as Blur: he quit the music business in 1999. Former guitarist Troy Tate released two solo albums and work as a producer (including work with The Smiths).
David Balfe (born 1958 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is a musician and record company executive, most notable for playing keyboards with the Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food independent record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of their first number one hit, "Country House".
Food, initially funded by Balfe alone, signed Voice of the Beehive, Zodiac Mindwarp (both of whom moved on to major labels, while Balfe continued to manage them for many years), Crazyhead, and Diesel Park West, before signing a deal with EMI to fund and distribute the label worldwide while retaining creative independence.
They then signed Jesus Jones who went on to have a number one album in the UK and multi-million sales internationally with their second album, Doubt, and a number one single in the U.S. with "Right Here Right Now". A year after signing Jesus Jones they signed Blur.
Balfe, along with his later label partner Andy Ross, convinced the band to change their name from 'Seymour' to Blur on signing in 1989.
Balfe also directed Blur's first two music videos, "She's So High" and "There's No Other Way".
Disenchanted with the alternative scene in the years of grunge, Balfe decided to sell the Food label to EMI in 1994, and semi-retire with his young family to the country - inspiring Damon Albarn to pen Blur's first No. 1 hit, "Country House".
Influence
Interest in The Teardrop Explodes continued long after the band's demise. Cope, however, has always resisted pressure to reform the band. When asked in 2000 if the Teardrop Explodes would ever get back together, he said: "Would you ever return to having your mother wipe your asshole?" In the course of a 2008 interview he commented: "Supposedly intelligent people say to me: 'Don't you think you'd be more successful if you re-formed The Teardrop Explodes?' I'm doing all this stuff to keep myself invigorated every day, hanging out with people I believe are culture heroes, and you think I'm doing all this because it hasn't yet occurred to me to reform The Teardrop Explodes?"
In June 2010, the magazine Mojo presented The Teardrop Explodes with their Inspiration Award. The magazine called the band "the great ambassadors of psychedelia in the '80s when the genre was all but dead" and noted their influence on artists such as Blur and Morrissey. The award was presented by Blur bassist Alex James. David Balfe, Gary Dwyer and Alan Gill all showed up to accept the award; Julian Cope ultimately refused to attend the ceremony.
Enjoy the first of two excellent original 'Zoo' recording artists post-punk/neo-psychedelic bands compilations both formed in Liverpool in 1978 and celebrating their 45th anniversary.
Echo & the Bunnymen to follow next week!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Teardrop_Explodes
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Track lists
CD1
01 The Teardrop Explodes - Sleeping Gas (Original 1979 Zoo Records 7" Single Version) 4:40
02 The Teardrop Explodes - Camera Camera (Original 1979 Zoo Records 7" Single Version) 2:39
03 The Teardrop Explodes - Bouncing Babies (Original 1979 Zoo Records 7" Single Version) 2:48
04 The Teardrop Explodes - All I Am Is Loving You (Original 1979 Zoo Records 7" Single Version) 4:28
05 The Teardrop Explodes - Treason (It's Just a Story) (Original 1980 Zoo Records 7" Single Version) 3:05
06 The Teardrop Explodes - Read It in Books (Original 1980 Zoo Records 7" Single Version) 2:18
07 The Teardrop Explodes - When I Dream (Original 1980 7" Single Version) 3:22
08 The Teardrop Explodes - Second Head 3:11
09 The Teardrop Explodes - Brave Boys Keep Their Promises 2:31
10 The Teardrop Explodes - Thief of Baghdad 3:09
11 The Teardrop Explodes - Reward (Original 1981 7" Single Version) 2:43
12 The Teardrop Explodes - Ha Ha I'm Drowning 2:54
13 The Teardrop Explodes - Poppies in the Field 5:06
14 The Teardrop Explodes - Passionate Friend 3:30
15 The Teardrop Explodes - Bent Out of Shape 3:26
16 The Teardrop Explodes - Colours Fly Away 2:55
17 The Teardrop Explodes - Tiny Children 3:50
18 The Teardrop Explodes - The Great Dominions 4:28
19 The Teardrop Explodes - You Disappear from View (Original 1983 7" Single Version) 2:58
20 The Teardrop Explodes - Suffocate (No Strings Version - US Version of Kilimanjaro) 3:44
21 The Teardrop Explodes - Ouch Monkeys 5:17
22 The Teardrop Explodes - Serious Danger 3:33
23 The Teardrop Explodes - Count to Ten and Run for Cover 3:23
CD2
01 Julian Cope - Sunshine Playroom 2:58
02 Julian Cope - The Greatness and Perfection of Love (Single Remix) 3:25
03 Julian Cope - An Elegant Chaos 4:06
04 Julian Cope - Sunspots (Single Remix) 3:32
05 Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth 3:36
06 Julian Cope - Trampoline 3:39
07 Julian Cope - Eve's Volcano (Covered in Sin) 4:18
08 Julian Cope - Spacehopper 3:22
09 Julian Cope - Planet Ride 5:44
10 Julian Cope - Pulsar 2:47
11 Julian Cope - Charlotte Anne 4:54
12 Julian Cope - 5 O'Clock World 3:44
13 Julian Cope - China Doll (Single Edit) 3:31
14 Julian Cope - Jellypop Perky Jean 2:08
15 Julian Cope - Beautiful Love 3:13
16 Julian Cope - Safesurfer 8:07
17 Julian Cope - East Easy Rider 4:00
18 Julian Cope - Head 2:20
19 Julian Cope - Fear Loves This Place 4:17
20 Julian Cope - Try Try Try 3:29
21 Julian Cope - I Come from Another Planet, Baby 3:29
22 Julian Cope - Planetary Sit-In 3:31
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