Echoes of the eighties as the Bunnymen’s hits are reissued

Bunnymen's first compilation reissuedBunnymen's first compilation reissued
Bunnymen's first compilation reissued

Flashback compilation sees fans’ favourites rereleased on black and splatter vinyl

Echo & the Bunnymen were one of the mainstays of the 1980s music scene, packing out venues wherever they played.

This month saw their first best-of compilation Songs To Learn & Sing back on vinyl for the first time since its original release in ‘85.

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The album is a comprehensive collection of the band’s first four albums from their second single Rescue to

The Cutter and anthemic The Killing Moon.

It also includes Bring On The Dancing Horses, originally released in conjunction with Songs To Learn & Sing back in 1985, returning on vinyl.

Songs To Learn & Sing is available on black LP from all music retailers as well as being released in a special edition package, featuring the album on splatter vinyl, alongside a seven-inch of the band’s first single Pictures On My Wall/Read It In Books, available exclusively on Dig!

The band was 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!

Echo & The Bunnymen back on tour with reissued compilationEcho & The Bunnymen back on tour with reissued compilation
Echo & The Bunnymen back on tour with reissued compilation
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By the time Songs To Learn & Sing was originally released, the band were a force to be reckoned with, pioneering the post-punk, new wave scene with four highly acclaimed studio albums.

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It all started with their classic debut album Crocodiles in 1980, which gave the band a reputation as one of the best around, 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 Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, before releasing their second studio album Heaven Up Here in the same year.

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It became the band’s first UK top 10 album, winning 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.

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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 second in the album charts before being certified gold.

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The year 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.

Ocean Rain continued the band’s use of strings, creating a dark ethereal aura.

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In 2021 these four albums were reissued on both black and coloured vinyl, available by visiting https://lnk.to/EchoandtheBunnymen_Vinyl site.

Re-released Echo & the Bunnymen albumRe-released Echo & the Bunnymen album
Re-released Echo & the Bunnymen album

Songs To Learn & Sing album track listing ...

Side A

1 Rescue

2 The Puppet

3 Do It Clean

4 A Promise

5 Back Of Love

6 The Cutter

Side B

1 Never Stop

2 The Killing Moon

3 Silver

4 Seven Seas

5 Bring On The Dancing HorsesSpecial Edition 7” track listing ...

A The Pictures On My Wall

B Read It In Books

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