The single that helped Echo and The Bunnymen break America
The creation of Echo and The Bunnymen was a gradual one. The musicians who would eventually form the revered Liverpool group came together after the break-up of The Crucial Three, a DIY bedroom band comprised of Ian McCulloch, Julian Cope, and Pete Wylie. Following Wylie’s departure, the remaining two members formed the ill-fated A Shallow Madness, with organist Paul Simpson lending the outfit a distinctly retro psych-tinged sound.
Then came the far more successful Teardrop Explodes. After securing a UK hit with ‘The Reward’, McCulloch joined bassist Les Pattinson and guitarist Will Sergeant to form Echo & The Bunnymen, a name suggested by a friend of the band alongside “The Daz Men”, “Glisserol” and “The Fan Extractors”. While I can’t imagine the Daz Men breaking America, it’s easy to imagine Echo & The Bunnymen doing so. That being said, it took them until 1987, by which time they’d already released four studio albums, including 1984’s Ocean Rain, which had created a little buzz stateside thanks to lead single ‘Killing Moon’.
After the release of Ocean Rain, the band took some time off from touring and recording to give themselves a chance to recalibrate. Their manager, Scottish artist and KLF member Bill Drummond, thought that a period of respite would do the band some good, allowing them to soak up new musical influences and come back with fresh heads. It worked a treat, with the Bunnymen penning some of their most enduring singles, including ‘Lips Like Sugar’.
The single’s success wouldn’t have been possible without new manager Mick Hancock, who pushed the band towards a cleaner, more commercial sound. The band loathed almost everything about their 1987 self-titled album, but not everyone was so critical. In America, ‘Lips Like Sugar’ received significant airplay on college radio and was frequently shown on MTV.
“Just started building,” guitarist Will Sergeant told Songfacts, describing the song’s popularity. in America. “It was building naturally, and then we ended up doing the Greek Theater in Hollywood and the sheds and places like that. All of the sudden the crowd started changing – they’d become, like really young kids. You’re thinking, Why? It was just weird. I’d be walking around with Les [Pattinson, bass] and Pete [de Freitas, drums] in the crowd and no one knew who we were. It all changed. It was just odd. Right around ‘Lips Like Sugar,’ it really changed.”
Today, ‘Lips Like Sugar’ is still one of Echo and The Bunnymen’s most famous songs in America. You can revisit the single below.
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