Exploding The Teardrops

“The Teardrop Explodes – The Culture Bunker 1978 – 1982″ – a review It’s my own fault really. It couldn’t be any other way. I have dreamt of this set for a long long time – thirty eight years to be precise. Once I’d bought all the Teardrop Explodes’ records I turned to the more dubious side of the record fairs I attended and started to collect bootleg tapes. It began with live sets from 1981 – the summer UK tour – then blistering gigs from early 82, radio sessions, a tape of demos mixing third album outtakes, Cope solo demos and 81 studio sessions, then a Betamax video of all their UK TV appearances including a scintillating Whistle Test set from April 82 and the official live video filmed in the summer of 1981 and how could they be so different to each other? Slowly piecing together the timeline and working out how each song fitted into the chronology of the band and maybe at some point in the future I should write about it somewhere… All that knowledge stuffed in my head with nowhere

Recorded for BBC session, April 1981. Released on "Zoology" compilation, 2004 and "Wilder" reissue, 2013 Julian Cope - vocals, organ, celeste Gary Dwyer - drums Written by John Cale John Cale needs no introduction to most readers of this blog. But just in case you've been hidden under a rock for most of your life, here's a brief resume of his career up to the point where it matters for the blog.  Wales. Viola. New York. La Monte Young. Velvet Underground. Andy Warhol. "And Nico". "White light white heat". Solo. Terry Riley. "Paris 1919". Island Records. Eno. Manzanera. Don't mention Kevin Ayers. "Fear". "Slow Dazzle"... "I'm not the loving kind" appears on Cale's 1975 album "Slow Dazzle", a strange melange of straight ahead rockers and more cerebral ballads. Here it's quite graceful, slow and slightly melancholy - Cale seems to be admitting he's not really the sort of p

Version one (titled "Pure Joy Wins Out Again") recorded at BBC session, broadcast April 1981, available on "Wilder" 2013 reissue and "Peel Sessions Plus" 2008 Julian Cope - vocals, guitar (?) Troy Tate - guitar Alfie Agius - bass Gary Dwyer - drums Version two recorded Autumn 1981, released on "Wilder" album, November 1981 Julian Cope - vocals, bass, guitar(?) Dave Balfe - keyboards Troy Tate - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Written by Julian Cope Just how much has the music of Arthur Lee and Love influenced the music made in Liverpool, and why did Liverpool fall in love with Love so hard? Obviously Julian Cope was and is a huge fan - he was one of the instigators for the Syd Arthur Festival, celebrating the lunar month between the deaths of Syd Barrett and Arthur Lee. Beyond Cope, Love looms large over the music created by Michael Head in his numerous incarnations from the Pale Fountains to Shack and the Red Elastic Band. Indeed Shack played as Lee&#

Version one recorded at BBC session, broadcast April 1981 Julian Cope - vocals, guitar Troy Tate - guitar Jeff Hammer - keyboards Alfie Agius - bass Gary Dwyer - drums Version two recorded Autumn 1981, released on "Wilder" album, November 1981 Julian Cope - vocals, guitar, bass Dave Balfe - keyboards Troy Tate - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Written by Julian Cope At the start of 1981 nobody quite knew what to expect from the Teardrop Explodes. The critical reaction to "Kilimanjaro" hadn't been particularly favourable and "When I dream" hadn't stormed the charts either. Sure "Reward" was in the can and ready for release but the four piece unit which had recorded it in November 1980 had imploded, leaving only Cope and Dwyer together. A new lineup had to be created to support the single and whatever else may happen in the future. Also with Balfe and Gill gone, the songwriting would now be down to Cope and Cope alone.  Finally he had control of

When I published my post on Strange House In The Snow last week, Dave Balfe got in touch to say it was one of his favourite Teardrop Explodes songs and a few days later wrote a message to me detailing the genesis and creation of the song, alongside other thoughts on the Teardrop Explodes. With his permission I am publishing that message here - it's a fascinating insight into the creative tensions in the band which produced such remarkable and imaginative music.  STRANGE HOUSE IN THE SNOW Dave Balfe memories October 2022  Somewhere in the latter half of 1980, having already recorded Reward we (The Teardrop Explodes) went down to Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in S.Wales to record its B-side in a single day. A slight indulgence as it could have been recorded more cheaply and simply in Liverpool. Though I'm sure the band would have been in full agreement, we always loved recording in Rockfield. I was 23, or maybe 24 With our previous b-side, Kilimanjaro, we'd set a precedent

Version One recorded November 1980, released as b-side of "Reward", January 1981 Julian Cope - vocals, viola David Balfe - keyboards Alan Gill - guitars Gary Dwyer - drums Version Two recorded November 1980, remix of version one, released on "Everybody wants to shag the Teardrop Explodes" album. Spring 1990. Julian Cope - vocals, viola David Balfe - keyboards Alan Gill - guitars Gary Dwyer - drums Written by David Balfe and Julian Cope Has there ever been such a wild disparity between an A side and a B side than "Reward" and "Strange house in the snow"? On the one side of the single a three minute blast of pure pop, on the other side a discordant blast of seemingly incoherent noise. The fans who bought the A side must have been shocked to hear the B side. Or maybe that was the point. It's difficult to describe how "Strange House In The Snow" proceeds without sounding like a nutcase. I mean, there is a song there, it's just perfo