ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN Live, with strings attached, Echo & The Bunnymen reimagine their greatest hits as they tour the UK with full production from Entec...
No doubt still smarting from Real Madrid’s defeat of his beloved Liverpool in the Champions League Final, Ian ‘Mac’ McCulloch ambled across a smoke-filled stage at the Royal Albert Hall as the Merseyside band he has fronted for the best part of the last 40 years prepared to bring their latest UK tour to an elegant close. And a rather unusual tour it was. Backstage at the world-famous Kensington Gore venue, the word ‘renaissance’ is being uttered in hushed tones. It’s been 4 years since the last studio release from Echo & The Bunnymen but, thanks to new global deal with BMG, 5 October will witness the unveiling of The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon, an album of “transformed and reinterpreted” versions of past glories including Seven Seas, Bring On The Dancing Horses and The Cutter, recorded at Abbey Road with a full string section. “It’s beautiful… a real laid-back affair that still has edge, only in a different way,” said Production Manager Adey Willson, who explained that the tour – featuring McCulloch’s fellow mainstay, Guitarist Will Sargeant, alongside the Cairn String Quartet from Glasgow – was part of a plan to test this orchestral concept in front of live audiences. Although it’s only 6 UK dates [in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Gateshead and London], it’s a full production tour with 2 Brian Yeardley trucks carrying sound and lighting exclusively from Entec, and I’m delighted to say it’s been incredibly successful with all gigs sold out. Finishing at the Albert Hall is the perfect way of ending on a high.” For Willson, whose co-conspirators included Tour Manager Ian ‘Heinz’ McCowliff, FOH Engineer Robbie McGrath, Monitor Engineer / System
Tech Bertie Hunter and Lighting Designer Ronan Conway, the tour was an opportunity to reacquaint himself with the west London rental company he got to know in the early ’80s through working with The Police and Gillan. “Apart from TV appearances on shows such as The Tube, I don’t believe Entec had previously worked with the Bunnymen,” he said, “But Robbie and Ronan were both very supportive of my wish to go with them. Certainly with regards to the Albert Hall and the company’s annual residencies here on the Teenage Cancer Trust shows, there is no better supplier. Their crew have been absolutely fantastic all the way through and we’ve had some good laughs on the tour bus.” In 1984, soon after Gillan’s demise, Willson was on the hunt for work as a drum/keyboard tech, specifically with the Bunnymen, and turned to McGrath. “Robbie was already installed as their FOH engineer and as they were one of my favourite bands, I was hounding him to give me a gig. Instead of the Bunnymen, he hooked me up with Tears For Fears and that lasted for 5 years. It’s funny how Robbie’s ended up coming back to work with the Bunnymen and he finally got me into the camp as the PM this January. It’s a real privilege – this magnificent music and Mac’s familiar voice have been giving me goose bumps every night!” FOH SOUND After basic workouts at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool, the crew loaded into Edinburgh’s Usher Hall for 2 days of production rehearsals ahead of the first show. Leading the audio mission was Robbie McGrath, a FOH engineer 60
