Episode 39 - POW! The Tony Fletcher Interview

It is our great honor to welcome Tony Fletcher to the podcast! He is a prolific music journalist, and author of several books, including Never Stop: The Echo & The Bunnymen Story, which has been an invaluable resource to the podcast. His latest book is POW! When UK Punk Went Pop, 1980-84: A Memoir by Tony Fletcher, published in 2026 by Trouser Press Books. Order a copy:  https://www.trouserpressbooks.com/pow   https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/pow-when-uk-punk-went-pop-1980-84-tony-fletcher/74b193de4c1dee68  Follow Tony on Substack: https://tonyfletcher.substack.com

In this "special bonus episode", Courtney and Shane catch another EATB show and recount their experience of the evening in podcast form. This was Shane's third live experience of the glory boys from Liverpool, and the band was in peak form, under hospitable conditions, at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, on May 13, 2024. This episode also includes a beautiful love story from the Bunnymen early days.

In Episode 37, American entrepreneur and music executive Seymour Stein makes the Bunnymen an offer they can't refuse. But, first, they need a drummer. Enter Pete de Freitas.

Join Courtney and Shane as they peel back the layers of reality and dive deep down into “Going Up”, the first song on the first album from, you guessed it, Echo & the Bunnymen. An interrogation of Ian’s lyrics leads to investigations into quantum physics, the etymology of the words “ain’t” and “thou”, the Truman Show, William Blake, Dr. Who, life, the universe, and everything. They discuss the influence of the band Love and Probe Records, the epicenter of Liverpool’s musical zeitgeist. (Thank you Hitoma Drone and Andrew Male!) And they learn about Cosmic Scouse. Finally, Shane offers a musical/harmonic/theoretical analysis of the guitar and bass parts. Let’s get the hell outta here!

In this episode we finish our discussion of the Summer '79 tour. But first, we take an unexpected detour into stellar regions. Note to listener: correction - in this episode we refer to Travis Scott, but we meant to say Travis Walton.

In episode 34 we recount the tale of the August 15, 2022 EATB concert in Atlanta, Georgia, which kicked off their current North American adventure. We laughed, we cried, we sang our hearts out. Get well Ian!

Just in time for EATB’s 2022 US/Canada tour, we offer you a thrilling in-depth exploration, analysis, and appreciation of Ian McCulloch’s often misunderstood speaking voice and his beautiful Scouse accent. Attend the concert with the confidence that you will understand his stage banter between songs. Follow along as we study useful phrases and vocabulary, and deconstruct a few Mac the Mouth interview excerpts. This is one boss episode and that’s no gobshite!

Lets hop in the van with Captain Les Pattinson as he drives us and the band through the summer of ‘79, when the Bunnymen take their first steps into the winding delirium of tour life. We discuss some early false starts and successes, and a legendary concert at the YMCA in Manchester. More than a few times we turn down a side road and drive a little too close to the edge, somehow entertaining discussions about Bryan Adams, Rush, Billy Corgan, the Eurhythmics and more, making new discoveries along the way, before we pull out the map, aka the memoire, Bunnyman, by Will Sergeant, and find our way back to the narrative. Buckle up!

This episode begins with recent Bunnymen news and addresses some listener comments. We read an insightful letter about "Pictures on My Wall" from friend-of-the-podcast All Those Things. We then plunge into a discussion about the band's first single, its release, its reception, and its cover art, which includes a brief detour into the music of Lori & the Chameleons. We then delve into the mysterious inscription on the seven inch single, which reads "The Revenge of Voodoo Billy". This leads to an exploration of ghost stories and hauntings of Liverpool. Finally, Will Sergeant sets the record straight in the conclusion of our interview with the legendary Bunnyman himself.

For their 30th episode, Courtney and Shane sit down with none other than Echo & the Bunnymen Guitarist Will Sergeant for an in-depth discussion about his new memoir, Bunnyman.