1.Speaking about his role in The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards famously
said, Mick Jaggers rock and Im roll. But which
would you say yourself and Will are?
I saw that in that film about Exile On Main Street and I have
thought about it (laughing) Wills Richard Burton and Im
Elizabeth Taylor (laughing again)! I always said that we were the Burton
and Taylor of rock, mainly to kind of explain the reformation and the
comeback. But Burton and Taylor are more legendary than sodding Keith
and Mick! Who else did I say as well (thinking)
Jack and Vera,
Stan and Hilda who you probably wont remember Stan
and Hilda Ogden from Corrie. Whoever really, but if Micks rock
and Keiths roll, then Id like to say that Im avant
and Will is garde.
2.Why did you decide to play Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here, live
and in their entirety now?
Well, we did the Ocean Rain shows we did about 6 or 7 of
them, special shows with an orchestra and stuff in London, Liverpool,
New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and São Paulo and they worked
so well! We did the Ocean Rain album front-to-back, had a little break
and then did more or less our normal set, minus any Ocean Rain songs.
It just seemed to kind of focus or refocus what were
about, because we were always about being one of the greatest bands
of all-time and a classic band! I just think sometimes, because things
in the music world (pausing), everythings usually so shite and
so fragmented and temporary and ephemeral, but with The Bunnymen, we
were never about just being a vague concept, it was always about the
statements that we made! From day one, we made statements about where
we would be playing, you know, special gigs, where nobody knew exactly
where the sodding venue was, as well as other statements that I made,
like the greatest album ever made and remarks about U2 (pausing). Ive
now realised that Bono and I know ideally that his name should
be Bonko to make this anagram work but Knobo is a much better
name for that dude (laughing)! What a name! And Edge could be called
Privet, Adam Clayton will probably still be called Adam Clayton (laughing),
because nobody knows who the fuck he is anyway. Its all about
things like that, trying to make our identity well and truly clear you
know? Im a Scouser, so a lot of it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek,
but maybe not as tongue-in-cheek as a lot of things that maybe some
other people would say are, like Liberace wasnt that tongue-in-cheek,
if you know what Im saying, hes a fine pianist (laughing),
but I do digress. So the Ocean Rain thing worked and that was like,
Wow! But it wasnt a nostalgic thing, because when
we did it, we were like, Bloody hell, this album is still ahead
of its time. We might have to put it away for another 25 years, when
people can understand (pausing), well, not understand what its
about, because its just songs. I remember the NME reviewed it
and the headline was, Bad Poetry In Ocean, and I thought,
Wow, you just got what I wanted you to get from it your
idea of what The Bunnymen are, because he wasnt a fan. He
had a false name as well, it was something like Christian Dildo or something
(laughing), but he went under the name Biba Kopf I think he scoured
the German phonebooks looking for the weirdest name and pretended it
was his name. So he reviewed it, and later, I asked to be interviewed
by him after the album had been released and he said, Actually,
I like you now, basically because I charmed the cecks off him!
But, I just thought, Well, some of it is shitty poetry,
and it certainly was then. But when I got to sing it live, it was like,
These words work, because of the way I was singing them
and its often in the way you kind of sing (pausing), in those
days, I was still thinking that I was David Bowie meets sodding Jacques
Brel meets Mario Lanza and someone, all the way through. And I was none
of those things, and thats probably why I got away with it, because
it sounded like some bloke singing quite well. If I listen to the record
now and its difficult to listen to the Ocean Rain songs,
but I had to, just to refresh my mind and check that I had all of the
lyrics right. Because I thought, God, I hate the way that I sung
then, and a lot of it makes me cringe, except for when I sing
it live, its like, Wow, these words now resonate properly
to me you know, and I realise why I wrote those words. Anyway
(laughing), getting back to your question Why did you decide to
play Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here, live and in their entirety now?
Ocean Rain worked and I thought, there seems to be a lot of bands who
get programmes on T4 or sodding Music On 4 or whatever, and theyre
always headlining 100,000 capacity festivals sort of thing. I dont
get it, its like Mungo Jerry a lot of it to me, and I never saw
them headline sodding Knebworth! In The Summertime by Mungo Jerry, that
could be Kings Of Leons next big hit! So, I just thought
the whole reason we set out, some of it was a little bit (pausing),
not self-indulgent, but you know, Id just left school so I was
trying to prove to my elder brother that I was as good as him at metaphysical
kind of thought. In fact, I was a lot better even then. So theres
a little bit of posing and kind of getting away with not reading any
of those existentialist writers, but knowing how to pronounce the names.
But, I just thought theres not a lot of bands whose first two
albums are as good as that and can work currently. Because there doesnt
seem to be much spikiness about anyone anymore, or its either
songs called Fuck You or bands called Harold & His Wanking Parrot
(pausing), thats not a bad band name actually that Ive thought
up on the spot (laughing + asking his Manager, Peasy, to write the name
down and copyright it). Theres loads of bands and its like,
hang on a sec, its all very well this kind of everyone going to
gigs together, liking the same bands and feeling a part of some whatever,
movement or sodding belonging to a band, but the musics generally
shit. I havent heard them yet and Im sure theyre gonna
be crap, but I like the look of Hurts I love the fact that theyve
gone, Heres our photos, we want to look like Kraftwerk meets
Bowie around 1976, and were going to be called Hurts and were
going to sit here and hardly move. I like that, because that hasnt
happened for ages its like bloody hell, somebodys
actually gone to the shop and bought like a proper, expensive shirt.
I do want to hear them, because the names great as well and it
doesnt look like theyre actually having a joke. Its
like theyve thought, Alright, enough of this scruffy shit
that weve been having to go with, because I think I am now
a scruffy shit sometimes (laughing)! Theyve sort of inspired me
to go and actually get a proper pair of shoes and cecks with no real
crease in them, which dont get wet all the time and fray, because
whoever makes jeans these days is making them too long at the back.
But Hurts are putting a bit of suavity into music (laughing).
3.As an iconic frontman, what do you think makes a great frontperson?
Um, I suppose having a good 3 or 4 musicians behind you, who are
good at just being behind an iconic frontman less than iconic
band members, but above being no marks, somewhere in-between, because
you dont want them getting too full of themselves. With Will Sergeant,
its like having the perfect foil who kind of (pausing), Will helped
because when I used to say Hello everytime, whether it was
meeting in rehearsal rooms or on a Tour Bus or accidentally in town
which didnt happen very often but Id go, Hello,
and to not hear Hello back, that gets you, you know? Its
like when I came out of the womb, the vicar mispronounced my name, I
was actually meant to be called Iconic Ian Stephen McCulloch, but you
know, it was too much of a gobful for the vicar (laughing), they shouldve
gone for the priest (laughing)! But yeah, I think just knowing who the
sod you are and knowing how to (pausing), I mean, I always felt that,
but the minute you walk onstage and you cant even twiddle your
toes, youre sort of that sodding, I suppose nervous. But you dont
want to twiddle your toes, because an iconoclastic, elasticated, plastic
man in a plastic overcoat, does not twiddle his toes thats
a hell of a sentence, I wouldnt mind you writing that down and
sending it back to me please (laughing)! Its stage-presence and
all of that, its like, Wow, it does exist, and it
happens to be sodding around me! And having crap eyesight really helps,
even though now, I wish I could wake-up one morning and see the end
of my nose, because apparently, thats where my eyesight is, on
the end of my bloody nose (laughing)! So its just having a little
swagger, without having to be able to walk like youre carrying
lino in each arm you know?
4.Has the way you approach making music changed over the years
from arrangements to instrumentation and once a track is complete,
do you like to have some distance from it before assessing its nuances
and qualities?
Ive always approached making music in a forward kind of
direction. Sometimes, Ill sidle sideways, but I never approach
making music backwards you know? I think were exactly the same
really, but I think Crocodiles was maybe growing-up thinking everyones
a dickhead, or most people. Songs like All That Jazz on Crocodiles,
it was about other people and thinking, Who are these bastards?
Its about conformity and the fact that at weekends theyre
all (pausing), theyre knobheads, but in the middle bit I go, No
matter how I shake my fist, I know I cant resist it, because
we all are to some extent, we all have to conform, because otherwise
wed be walking around in the nude with some weird stuff stuck
on our funny bits. You can leave that to people from East Anglia (laughing)!
I dont write in that way much anymore, but Ive been watching
the news a lot and somebody really has got to write a song about Ed
Milibands mouth, because I think its an elastic-band and
I think his real name is Ed elastic-band Miliband, worse
than his brother David Miliband, band, band! And what is a Miliband?
Thats a thousand sodding bands and do we need another thousand
bands? Ed Balls was better you shouldve put Ed Milibands
elastic-band around Eds balls and maybe then, that would have
been a Coalition we wouldve been proud of. Anyway, hands-up for
Nicky Clegg, or Cleggy as I think David calls him. Theres
only one David Cameron, David will be singing hes
a fan of ours as well, Cameron, yeah! His favourite band were probably
The Smiths, so I blame Morrissey we should all blame Morrissey
for this Lib-Con Party thing. But theyre getting stuck in, I think
hes going to probably blow-up The Houses Of Parliament as well
(laughing), because its costing us too much in electricity! He
does seem to be a man possessed and hes much better than Margaret
Thatcher, especially in bed I wouldve thought, especially the
way she is now. I blame her husband, that Dennis, and do you know his
name backwards is Sinned. But I like the fact that Dennis is named with
two ns, which is perfect for Sinned, because otherwise, hed
have to be an anagram of Dines or Snide
I do anagrams all the
time, for everything (laughing), you might have noticed! Ted Coin is
Icon Ted, thats what I was doing all last night, I was sat there
thinking of a word that you can anagramatise in any order.
5.What do you think has been your most creative period so far?
This last 10 minutes to be honest, it has, its fantastic
its genius! No, I dont know what my most creative
period has been? At the minute, Ive written a song Ill
give you a scoop its called Castle In A Dream and I wrote
it in half-an-hour, the lyrics and everything and its in D-sharp,
which Ive never done before. I went, Ill just slide
it up, and then I went Ahh (excitedly), as it makes
the song sound different and thats a revelation in the way I write.
Because Im normally so lazy, that I dont even pick the guitar
up, I just think of chord progressions in my head. So once I run that
through one side of my brain, the kind of artisan end and then the creative,
artistic, iconoclastic, genius side of my brain which is most
of it to be honest I sing the words and I also sit and watch
the telly and do crosswords. But this one, I picked the guitar up and
I thought this is nice, but it feels a bit late, I hope the neighbours
arent listening. And then I put it down again, the guitar, because
it was in my way you know when you want to stand up and youve
actually got the guitar on your knees and your lap? Its a funny
way of standing up, unless you think youre a real musician like
say Keith Richards, who probably does make toast while wearing his guitar
(laughing)! He probably spreads the butter with the machine heads or
the maple neck
but thats enough about his neck (laughing)!
6.Of all your achievements to date, which are you most proud of?
Probably that sentence iconoclastic, elasticated, plastic
man in a plastic overcoat that was good, or thinking about ways
to say Bono Knobo I rather like that! No, its probably
personal stuff like kids, but Ive got a lot to feel ashamed about,
like some b-sides. I dont know really, some people think The 80s,
but it feels like now, because it has taken a while for people to actually
go, Bloody hell, The Bunnymen, they inspired us! And its
usually the right kind of band, like Arcade Fire, who I do actually
like. Hes a bit tall like, to be honest though, he is John Lithgow
you know, the actor in 3rd Rock From The Sun? He wants to fucking duck
a bit man, the top of his head must be boiling! All of these bands who
like us, its nice, even though I dont have to like them.
In fact, I usually slag most of them off, but I just tell them White
Lies
do you get it? But I dont want to tell anymore fucking
porkies, so I must say, I think White Lies should stop and stop singing
songs about their rocking horse not being as good as their next door
neighbours, in their thatched-roofed, detached, big countrified home
that they grew-up in when they were kids. I never had a rocking horse,
I didnt even ever see one you know? Ive seen a proper horses
knob though having a slash, Jesus Christ, bloody hell, now thats
a rocking horse, one that can do that (laughing)! Rocking horses, schmoking
horses, fucking get off your horse and drink your sodding milk-powder!
7.I have long loved your voice, but personally, what do you try to
achieve vocally?
Well, youve got one of the sweetest and loveliest voices
in the history of time man, and thats a hell of a long time! Yeah,
its lovely, its fantastic and I know that youre laughing
at my jokes, even though you know you have to keep it together to ask
the next question (laughing). With my vocals, I just smoke as much as
I can and have a bevvy. I do a lot of swallowing with brandy, but no
exercises, because Im the laziest grafter and I cant be
arsed. I also believe that my voice (pausing), my singing has been unbelievable
lately and (singing) Everybody tells me so! But with warm-ups,
could you imagine Frank Sinatra even though I disapprove of Bourbon,
because it tastes horrible Im sure he would have had a
little Bourbon with a bit of ice and then hit the stage and given it
(singing), Come fly with me
How else would Frank Sinatra
have warmed-up? Honestly, people say to me, Should you be smoking?
And Im like, Well yeah, Ive bought these ciggies,
so I suppose I should be smoking! But if I ever thought about
it being that thing, it would kind of crumble what Ive
built inside me, like this self-confidence thats built around
my voice knowing that Ive got a fantastic voice, because
Im totally crap at everything else. Im not the worlds
greatest croquet player, thats for sure! I like to write the words
that will make my voice sound true and mean something. In Castles In
A Dream, I just came up with this one phrase, because I thought, Hang
on, Im writing these lyrics and theyre great, but only a
certain kind of person might listen to the words over and over again,
and I hate that! I want one song on the next album to be more like All
That Jazz, carrying on that theme of idiot, fucking human-race dickheads,
who dont listen to the words. And its not just about songs,
its about anything, because some people dont even listen
to what theyre thinking in their head, which you then have to
make in to sentences. Most people, theyre not arsed and thats
more destructive now, that kind of thing, which is why the world is
falling to bits, because people dont listen to words.
8.As lyrics are very important to you, are there any specific songwriters
who you also think could be classified as poets?
Yeah, well Leonard Cohen, definitely! His own poetry books I dont
like actually, because you need a tune (suddenly and referring to a
loud noise outside), what the hells that? I think somebodys
just shot themselves in Liverpool
Just as well really, because
somebody else would have done it (laughing)! Anyway, I like some of
the words the Arcade Fire did (pausing), as much as I like T.S. Eliots
titles, the actual poems are like, Fucking hell, wheres
the rhyme? And then he gives you the rhyme on page 57, stanza
125 on the first fucking line! But anyway, theres Arcade Fire
bloke, certainly not Jeff Buckley I thought he was a terrible
artist, screechy and whiny, bloody hell! Im sure he meant it,
but you can get lotion for crabs now, hence his unnecessary caterwauling.
So, who the fuck do I like at the minute (thinking)
The last thing
that I really loved and thought was total poetry well, it wasnt
the last thing because Ive heard things since but it was
Streets Of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen (laughing), from 1994
its still great now! There must be something else, God, youve
hit me with a terrible thing there. I love that thing by (pausing),
I think it was by Shelley, My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings
imagine that to music! I wrote this poem about some fella from Trinidad
and Tobago, massive legs he must have had not just because he
was born in Trinidad and Tobago but because of the thing in-between,
it was absolutely massive! Basically, hes a virgin, but hes
got a very good job (laughing) waiting for him in the shitty end of
Europe, where pornography is quite popular. So he builds his own raft
and his rudder and paddle (pausing), he doesnt sail by the light
of the silvery moon this dude, or by the Northern Star, its just
wherever his thing is pointing and he hopes therefore, that his raft
will get him to Europe because its a long way (laughing)! I wrote
this on the Tour Bus and I tried to make it as poetic as possible and
the opening goes (singing with a Caribbean accent), Every night
I praise the lord for sweet navigation, I will use my pork sword and
hopefully get to my destination. Thats the first part and
I think its up there with Mungo Jerry (laughing)!
9.Brian Eno famously said that hardly anyone bought The Velvet
Undergrounds albums when they were released, but most everyone
who did, formed a band. Are there any other artists / records
that you also think have had a similar effect on musicians?
No, I mean The Velvets (pausing), Bowie was why I formed a band
and it was him that got me into The Velvets, because he would mention
them in interviews and also because in those days, you only ever saw
fantastic pictures taken by someone like Pennie Smith beautiful
photographs! It would be like you could pick who you like. For example,
some people would pick Robert Plant, but it was all fantastic, iconic,
special photography. Now you see bands with custard pies in their faces,
as if the music magazine has decided its custard pie week and
My Chemical Romance, you will be getting some cherry trifle in
your fucking face! Id rather be photographed by Anton Corbijn
with a horse eating the back of me sodding neck kind of thing. But like
The Velvets, it seems were one of those bands that influence a
lot of people and whats weird is, is that a lot of these bands
go fucking massive and sell about 7 million albums! Which is good, but
they never invite me round.
*I ask Ian if he thinks age / career length in music is important*
I think age and knob length are important (laughing)!
10.If you had to place 5 songs from your career in a time-capsule
for future generations to hear, what would they be?
The Killing Moon, Nothing Lasts Forever not even this time-capsule,
if you find it, its lasted until now and it will probably last
a bit longer, but certainly not forever. Id probably put in Bring
On The Dancing Horses, because thats a song that over the years
has become more and more (pausing), I love it and I was singing it earlier
today in my head and thinking why oh (suddenly), its because
a phrase was on the telly. I heard it and I thought, thats like
Bring On The Dancing Horses in a way. Rescue probably, and Id
put in a song called Hands Off The Time-Capsule You Cheeky Bastards
(laughing)! No, Rust maybe, because that would be happy if I put it
in a little tin box. Actually, can I have a couple more songs? The Idolness
Of Gods and an as-yet-unrecorded track called Little Dwarf, which is
a classic that will see the light of day, but it might be in a couple
of hundred years. If I also had to include some things that influenced
me in my life, along with Bowie, Lou Reed, Sinatra and my Dad, Sweep
from The Sooty Show would be in there! I used to go home from Sixth
Form, before I should, and it was on at about 4.20pm and because it
was a good 45-minute walk, Id have to sack history or whatever
I studied, although I did have a disinterested mind. But by doing that,
I have my own history now, the history of Sweep (laughing)! The Sooty
Show was fantastic and there was an episode where theyre in bed
and Matthews behind the table, and Sooty and Sweep are in bed
on top of the table fast asleep, and Matthews going, Sooty,
Sweep, come on, youve got to get up for breakfast. I mean,
whats so important? They could eat that kind of crap in bed, but
Sweep doesnt say much and he looks at Sooty as if to say, watch
this and hes got a pair of Hobnail boots on string by the side
of his bed, and he makes them move while hes still half-asleep,
like hes walking round the room getting ready to go for breakfast
(laughing)! Sooty does the same hes probably got a pair
of fluffy slippers or something but I used that in later life,
it was brilliant! It was beyond just patting the floor, this was actual
boots on string! I told my elder brother about it (trails off)
So yeah, I think Sweep would be in my time-capsule, along with Muhammad
Ali, Bill Shankly, Spike Milligan, Eric Morcambe and the Queen. Come
on, lets hear it for the fucking Queen!
11.As this interview is for R*E*P*E*A*T, I cant let you go
without asking one question about the Manic Street Preachers, so what
was it like recording Some Kind Of Nothingness with them?
It was lovely, it was fantastic it didnt feel like
work and I did some great impressions for them. Do you want to hear
some of them?
*Ian proceeds to do uncanny impressions of Sir Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins
and Jude Law*
But it was a pleasure completely theyre lovely!
It was weird, because I went down to (adopting a Welsh accent) Cardiff
boyo, and I was rubbing their heads and basically, being a bit patronising,
because lets face it, theyre Welsh you know, Im not
exactly going to treat them as fucking equals (laughing), no! But they
were lovely and I loved it! I was down in London to do the Brixton shows
and then (adopting a Welsh accent again) James boyo, Harry Secombe boyo,
James voice went. Fucking hell, thats like saying a lion
cant fucking roar! A lion doesnt go to Harley Street getting
a throat specialist looking down his gob no, no, no boyo (jokingly)!
Ill do another impression if youd like to hear it?
*Ian does some more uncanny impressions, this time of David Bowie, Samuel
L. Jackson and an absolutely hilarious Robert Mugabe asking if someone
can pass the HP Sauce*
12.Lastly, chips or cream buns?
This is a question and a half as the last question wow!
Its got to be chips, because although theyre very cloying,
with cream buns you know it will be half-an-hour of thinking you might
throw-up at any moment, because they just hang around like a bastard.
But with chips, you get full of them and then you go, Ive
still got to have more!
A very special thanks to Ian, to Louise @ Academy
Music Group, and to Echo & The Bunnymens Manager Peasy, for
all of their time and help.
www.bunnymen.com
www.myspace.com/thebunnymen
Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here
UK Tour Dates
Dec 3 10 Gloucester Guildhall
Dec 4 10 O2 Academy Birmingham
Dec 6 10 O2 Academy Oxford
Dec 7 10 The Ritz Manchester
Dec 8 10 O2 Academy Glasgow
Dec 9 10 O2 Academy Brixton
Dec 11 10 Liverpool Olympia
Dec 12 10 Liverpool Olympia
Editor's 'interesting' note
- in issue 10 of R*E*P*E*A*T (1998), Will answered the chips and buns
question with 'blackcurrant tarts and champagne' and said the Manics
were 'whiney...'
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