Exploding The Teardrops

Version one - Zoo Records CAGE 008 - recorded late 1979, released March 1980 Julian Cope - vocals, bass David Balfe - organ, piano Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Version two - Mercury Single TEAR 3 / TEAR 312 - recorded late 1979, remixed March or April 1981, released April 1981 Julian Cope - vocals, bass David Balfe - organ, piano Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Version three - "Traison (C'est Juste En Histoire)" Mercury TEAR 312 - recorded late 1979, remixed March or April 1981, additional vocals recorded March or April 1981, released April 1981 Julian Cope - vocals, bass David Balfe - organ, piano Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Written by Cope / Dwyer / Finkler "More than in Liverpool, and Junior school Like lions we cling to our pride"  ("Kolly Kibber's Birthday" - Julian Cope, 1984) When Ian McCulloch dropped the "Arthur Hostile" from Pete Wylie's suggestion of "Arthur Hostile And The Crucial Th...

BBC Session for John Peel, recorded 2nd October 1979, available on "To the shores of Lake Placid" compilation, "Peel Sessions Plus" and "Kilimanjaro" deluxe edition. Julian Cope - bass, vocals Ged Quinn - organ Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Written by Cope / Finkler / Dwyer What's in a name? This song is listed as "Chance" in various places - the BBC Peel website, the "In session tonight" book from the 90s - but is also listed as "Take a chance" in other places - its appearance on "To the shores of Lake Placid" and the "Piano" compilation. Yet both these titles refer to the same recording of the same song. When the Teardrop Explodes played it live, it was introduced as either "Take a chance" or "Take a chance at fame". Another very early song, it was already in the set by February 1979 - it was played as the soundcheck at the Masonic Arms as well as in the main set, and it...

Version one - BBC Session for John Peel, recorded 2nd October 1979, available on "Peel Sessions Plus", "Zoology" and "Kilimanjaro" deluxe edition Julian Cope - bass, vocals Ged Quinn - organ Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Version two - "Kilimanjaro" album (original issue and second "Zebra cover" issue), recorded Spring 1980, released October 1980 Julian Cope -.vocals, bass David Balfe - organ, synthesiser Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Hurricane Smith, Ray Martinez - Trumpets Written by Cope / Dwyer / Finkler "Brave boys keep their promises" made a small but significant journey from the time it arrived in the Teardrop Explodes' live set as early as February 1979. Only back then it was called "Jury Service" and had totally different lyrics and vocal melodies. Indeed it's hard to discern any vocal melody at all in the one recording of "Jury Service" - Cope seems to be speak singing...

Version one - BBC Session for John Peel, recorded 2nd October 1979, available on "Peel Sessions Plus" and "Kilimanjaro" deluxe edition Julian Cope - bass, vocals Ged Quinn - organ Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Version two - "Kilimanjaro" album (original issue), recorded Spring 1980, released October 1980 Julian Cope -.vocals, bass David Balfe - organ, piano Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Hurricane Smith, Ray Martinez - Trumpets Version three - remix of version two, "Kilimanjaro" album (zebra cover), recorded Spring 1980, released Spring 1981 Julian Cope -.vocals, bass David Balfe - organ, piano Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Hurricane Smith, Ray Martinez - Trumpets Written by Cope / Dwyer / Finkler "Went crazy" is a song which appeared pretty much fully formed as soon as it entered the Teardrop Explodes' setlists in June 1979. Alongside the other songs first recorded for the band's first Peel sessi...

Version one - BBC Session for John Peel, recorded 2nd October 1979, available on "Peel Sessions Plus" and "Kilimanjaro" deluxe edition Julian Cope - bass, vocals Ged Quinn - organ Mick Finkler - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Version two - "Kilimanjaro" album, recorded Spring 1980, released October 1980 Julian Cope -.vocals, bass David Balfe - organ, piano Mick Finkler - guitar Alan Gill - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Hurricane Smith, Ray Martinez - Trumpets Version three - single on Mercury Records TEAR 4 / TEAR 44, recorded Spring 1980, released June 1981. (Available on "The Greatest Hit" compilation) Julian Cope -.vocals, bass David Balfe - organ, piano Mick Finkler - guitar Alan Gill - guitar Gary Dwyer - drums Hurricane Smith, Ray Martinez - Trumpets Written by Cope / Dwyer / Finkler "Ha ha I'm drowning" is a song which made a lot of progress in a year from radio session to debut album opener - but then the band made quite a lot of pro...

During the early stages of their existence almost every band creates a catalogue of songs which they would draw on for a time then drop from their live sets. Sometimes ideas would be merged into other songs, sometimes they'd just get discarded and sometimes they'd be treasured as early hints of greatness. After listening to early live shows and other recordings I've identified a number of songs by the Teardrop Explodes from their early career which the band would never record but are worth hearing, even if only once.  From Five Miles Up The sleeve notes on the "Zoology" are notoriously wrong in many ways. Already in this blog the notes have assigned a live "Sleeping Gas" to the wrong bootleg from the wrong year, and given a different date for the Granada broadcast of "Camera Camera". So should we take the notes on "From five miles up" with a pinch of salt? Maybe. Cope states this instrumental was recorded at MVCU in December 1978 then...

Zoo Records CAGE 005 - recorded 14th May 1979 released June 1979 Julian Cope -.vocals, bass, Mick Finkler - guitar, organ, piano Gary Dwyer - drums, organ, piano Written by Finkler / Dwyer / Cope / Simpson As their career progressed, the Teardrop Explodes gained a reputation for having great b sides. There's even a blog post by Bob Stanley about it  here Of course that particular song which Bob mentions is a long way in the future of this blog but the point remains - once they were up and running, the Teardrops made great b-sides. Except for this one. "All I am is loving you" was inspired by the "Nite Flights" album by the Walker Brothers, released in 1978. This was their third and last album made during their reunion, which had started so well with "No regrets" a few years earlier. Now the Walkers had been told their label was folding and to record whatever they wanted, so the three "brothers" wrote some songs, recorded them and got the LP i...