The Teardrop Explodes

Customer reviews
Press release

The band was formed by Julian Cope, who had previously been in the short-lived yet locally-renowned band Crucial Three along with Pete Wylie, who went on to form Wah!, and Ian McCulloch, later of Echo & the Bunnymen.
The band's initial line-up consisted of singer/bassist Julian Cope, Mick Finkler on guitar, Gary Dwyer on drums and Paul Simpson on keyboards. An early version of the band, called A Shallow Madness, included Ian McCulloch. They were managed by Bill Drummond and signed to his Zoo label, as were Echo and the Bunnymen.
The band released their first single, "Sleeping Gas", in February 1979. Soon after, Simpson left the band and was replaced by Zoo label co-owner, David Balfe. As they toured Liverpool, the band steadily gained popularity. Their next single "Bouncing Babies" inspired a tribute song of its own: "I Can't Get Bouncing Babies by the Teardrop Explodes" by The Freshies, an ode to the difficulty of obtaining a copy of the song.
Finkler was fired by Cope during the recording of their debut album Kilimanjaro and was replaced by Dalek I Love You guitarist Alan Gill. With Gill came an expansion of the group's sound. Most of Finkler's guitar parts were re-recorded by Gill.
In 1981, the group was at the height of its popularity. In January, they hit #6 on the British charts with the "Reward" single and in April they broke the top 20 with "Treason" (#18 UK). "
Kilimanjaro was The Teardrop Explodes' 1980 debut album. When it was originally released, the album featured a shadowy photograph of the band on the sleeve, but this was later changed to a cover showing Mount Kilimanjaro, the mountain after which the record was named. The CD has kept this cover for this reissue
The original working title for the album was Everyone Wants To Shag The Teardrop Explodes. This was later used for the CD release of demos for the band's never-finished third album.
The song "Books" was originally a song by Julian Cope's previous band, The Crucial Three, and was also recorded by Echo & the Bunnymen (as "Read it in Books", released on the b-side of their debut single, and featured on some versions of Crocodiles). The LP reached number 24 on the British pop charts.
This treble CD is the final word on the album containing all the early singles, B-Sides and BBC sessions, Sleeve notes by Julian Cope, Dave Balfe and long time press officer Mick Houghton give a great insight into the making of the album. With new boolet artwork from long time collaborator Holly McGrail this is one of the re-issues of the year.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1
1.            Ha Ha I'm Drowning
2.            Sleeping Gas
3.            Treason
4.            Second Head
5.            Poppies
6.            Went Crazy
7.            Brave Boys Keep Their Promises
8.            Bouncing Babies
9.            Books
10.           Thief Of Baghdad
11.           When I Dream                Original Version

Disc 2

1.            Reward
2.            Sleeping Gas
3.            Camera Camera
4.            Kirby Workers Dream Fades                7" Version
5.            Bouncing Babies                7" Version
6.            All I Am Is Loving You                7" Version
7.            Treason                Single Version
8.            Read It In Books
9.            Kilimanjaro
10.            Strange House In The Snow                7" Version     11.            Use Me
12.            Traison (C'Est Juste Une Histoire)
13.            Sleeping Gas                Live Version

Disc 3

1.            Brave Boys Keep Their Promises BBC Peel Plus 1979 2.            Ha Ha I'm Drowning       BBC Session Peel Plus 1979 3.            Went Crazy                BBC Session Peel Plus 1979    4.            Chance                BBC Session Peel Plus 1979
5.            Thief Of Baghdad           BBC Session Peel Plus 1980 6.            When I Dream                BBC Session Peel Plus
7.            The Poppies In The Field BBC Session Peel Plus
8.            Reward                Mike Read Session 27/10/80
9.            Suffocate                Mike Read Session 27/10/80
10.            For Years                Mike Read Session 27/10/80    11.            The Great Dominions               Mike Read Session