Kilimanjaro

Product Information

But the more these tales, and the resulting songs of struggle and skin-changing settle in your mind, the more a sense of Cope’s personal battle to be the singer in his group becomes apparent: that of a man who was told he couldn’t sing, or looked too naff to be a frontman, or seen as too tense, an idiot or a dictator, or a teenage pinup, or whey-faced loon; to quote an old Teardrops press release. Someone whose ideas were seemingly used for other bands by his label and management and whose recordings were not seen as good enough for release or getting a deal. Or, even when he did get the breaks he still couldn't play ball. David Balfe – keyboards on "Reward", "Treason" (Zoo single version), "Read It in Books", "Kilimanjaro", "Reward", "Strange House in the Snow", "Use Me", "Traison (C'est Juste Une Histoire" and "Sleeping Gas" (live version) Actually I'd seen Sky Saxon, my hero from The Seeds, dressed like T E Lawrence in a picture. That inspired me. The vocals sounded ten times, no, 50 times better.' Wilder is the sound of Julian Cope on drugs. This does not make it a unique record, but his early puritanical phase had lasted until most of the way through the recording of Kilimanjaro, and by now he was making up for years of chemical sobriety. It's also the sound of Cope's relationship with Dave Balfe. Reading Cope's Head On, the first volume of his autobiography, you get the impression that they hated each other. The sleeve notes here (with pieces written by both parties) show a slightly different side to the story. No doubt there were creative tensions, but both are pretty complimentary about each other here - the respect they show isn't even grudging. Balfe's particularly excellent piece also gives great insight into the arranging and recording process in general. Michael Finkler– guitar on "Brave Boys Keep Their Promises", Ha Ha I'm Drowning", "Went Crazy", "Chance", "The Thief of Baghdad", "When I Dream" and "Poppies in the Field"

Mulholland, Garry (16 August 2013). "The Teardrop Explodes – Wilder". Uncut. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017 . Retrieved 18 December 2020.When reading up about The Teardrop Explodes, with all the subplots, scene shifts and personal intrigue, it sometimes feels like trying to piece together a coherent narrative about an early Anglo-Saxon kingdom. New manuscripts turn up, old ones get reappraised over time. The cultural fall out from those who set forth from the Eric’s scene to conquer the British pop charts never seems to end: currently there is a film about the club in the pipeline, as well as a book from original member of the Teardrops and The Wild Swans, Paul Simpson. I’m sure that these new iterations of the legend will draw on plenty of new material, long lain mouldering in a shoe box in L8, to chew on and to add to the information in tomes like Cope’s magnificent account of the period, Head On, Bill Drummond’s 45, Will Sergeant’s Bunnyman or Houghton’s own recent memoirs. Typically Liverpool, you could say, a never ending source of language, dream, music, wit, poetry, snarky puns, true genius and endless tea and talking - often all at once. A little while after The Teardrops finished recording, Julian Cope suddenly realised he shared his initials with Jesus Christ. This was not entirely a good thing. The band did manage to make a second album in 1981 before it all went brains and belly up. Appropriately it was called Wilder and that one involved shotguns!

Ged Quinn– keyboards on "Brave Boys Keep Their Promises", Ha Ha I'm Drowning", "Went Crazy" and "Chance" I’m Not the Loving Kind – Producers Workshop – Zoology Version, 1981. John Cale cover from Slow Dazzle The Teardrop Explodes enjoyed a brief, but mercurial period of mainstream success during 1981, with a re-recorded ‘Treason’ going Top 20 and their next single, ‘Passionate Friend’ also scoring Top 30 success and again bringing Cope and company to Top Of The Pops. Culture Bunker 1978-1982 was reviewed by Alexis Petridis for SDE and is released today, via Universal Music Recordings. 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. [5] [6]

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. [5] [6] The lost third album and final split [ edit ] Have I just developed an overly sunny, positive outlook on life, or have I ignored a bunch of great albums for far too long? Anyway, JonDouglas suggested I reviewed this one, so here I am, listening to it for the second time in a row, amazed that I've not dug it out sooner. British album certifications – Teardrop Explodes – Kilimanjaro". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 19 November 2020.

The Teardrop Explodes throw away songs as good as ‘Soft Enough For You’ on B-sides. They come up with a glacially beautiful synth ballad, then call it ‘Flipped Out On LSD’. Alexis PetridisThe original working title for Kilimanjaro was Everyone Wants to Shag the Teardrop Explodes; this title was later used for the CD release of demos for the band's never-finished third album. When originally released, the album featured a shadowy photograph of the band on the sleeve; when the album was reissued in 1981, the album artwork was changed to a photo of zebras in front of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, the mountain after which the record was named. Subsequent CD reissues feature either album covers. Various: Manchester North Of England - A Story Of Independent Music Greater Manchester 1977 - 1993 (1) Children of Nuggets : Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era 1976-1995 CD 3-CD 4 V.A (1) 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." [5] 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. [6] The Teardrop Explodes released their first single, "Sleeping Gas", in February 1979. [5] 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. [5] [6] (Quinn then rejoined Simpson in The Wild Swans.)

Of course, it didn’t work out like that at all. As Head-On, Julian Cope’s incredible 1994 autobiography, makes clear, The Teardrop Explodes spent their brief commercial zenith – which begins with the release of the Top 10 single ‘Reward’ in January 1981 and ends when the Top 30 hit ‘Passionate Friend’ starts descending the charts in October – behaving not like gimlet-eyed, ambition-fuelled pop stars, but as if they were engaged in an experiment to see whether it was possible to navigate Top Of The Pops-sized fame while subsisting on a diet largely comprised of LSD. No spoilers, but it wasn’t. Cranna, Ian (26 November – 9 December 1981). "The Teardrop Explodes: Wilder". Smash Hits. Vol.3, no.24. p.25. Ged Quinn – keyboards on "Brave Boys Keep Their Promises", Ha Ha I'm Drowning", "Went Crazy" and "Chance"a b c d e Ian Pye talks to Teardrop Explodes’ Julian Cope, Melody Maker, 18 October 1980 (reproduced interview) 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.