Toni Torino
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Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 09:37
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IanB wrote: Popel Vooje wrote: Yes, it'a true he still had occasional pockets of support (like Dave Rimmer interviewing him just after "Sunshine Playroom" and claiming that the TX records were "bloody good" right up to the end), but they were in the minority. Apart from the Janice Long show don't remember "Sunshine playroom" getting much airplay at the time, but then I never listened to Capital Radio.
You two have amazing memories for historical detail. I was a fan through Wilder and then lapsed until I started seeing a fair bit of Mick Houghton through my job circa 1986/7 around the time of "The Man" and he was really passionate in banging the drum for Cope as a misunderstood genius. That's what got me interested again otherwise it could have been another five years before I caught up with him as a solo artist. I can't listen to Peggy anymore because of the self-consciously baggy production. The earlier solo albums are much more of a satisfying listen .... with the benefit of considerable hindsight of course.
Heh heh, Teardrops were the first thing I became in any way obsessive about. I really wanted them to be mega-successful. Another thing, I saw them at Hamersmith Odean in June-ish 1981 and again at the Palais (sigh...) February 1982. I don't recall any screaming girls at either show. In fact we saw a couple of uber-cool sixth-formers from our school at the first gig and got on nodding terms with the lad and blushing "hellos" with the girl thereafter.
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Hunter T Wolfe
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Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 09:55
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Thanks everyone I'm finding this really interesting. With hindsight of course Julian's development from the earliest Teardops records through his solo career seems pretty natural, and the shift from synth pop to acoustic art-rock less dramatic than that made by Talk Talk or David Sylvian.
Other things that occur to me: how pop stars really didn't openly take psychedelic drugs in the eighties- maybe Marc Almond would be an exception but even alternative bands had a very clean-cut image then, before the e-gobbling Mondays and Stone Roses came along. And how back then there was no definite division between being a commercial pop act and an alternative underground one- if you wanted to survive you had to sell records and have hits, whether LPs or singles. Julian fluctuated between pop pragmatism and following his weirder muse constantly until he was able to go down the cottage industry route that the 21st Century made possible (as well as largely destroying the possibility of anyone being able to make a decent living from making music anyway).
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Toni Torino
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Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 10:53
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Funnily enough, I remember stories at the time of Julian & Gary Dwyer getting up to shenanigans with Marc Almond when they stayed at that hotel in Lancaster Gate - can't remember its name, the one where all touring bands would stay when they stopped off in London.
I remember reading then in either the London Evening Standard or the Evening News, there was a music column, I can't remember the name of the columnist but he had a running feud with Mr Sarah Greene, Mike Smith. The column had a name too but I can't recall that either. Ian, can you remember at all?
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IanB
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Edited Sep 03, 2015, 14:01
Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 11:21
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Toni Torino wrote: Funnily enough, I remember stories at the time of Julian & Gary Dwyer getting up to shenanigans with Marc Almond when they stayed at that hotel in Lancaster Gate - can't remember its name, the one where all touring bands would stay when they stopped off in London.
I remember reading then in either the London Evening Standard or the Evening News, there was a music column, I can't remember the name of the columnist but he had a running feud with Mr Sarah Greene, Mike Smith. The column had a name too but I can't recall that either. Ian, can you remember at all?
The hotel would be the Columbia or the Averard. Places where bands could blow off steam with a bit more latitude than your average 3 star.
I remember John Blake having a music column in the Eve-nin Stannat around that time. Was it him?
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jb lamptoast-morsley
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Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 12:53
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I think there's a bonus track somewhere - maybe on zoology with a feature on the 'rock and roll' hotel that everyone stayed at and had a very relaxed attitude to the shananigans of rock stars.
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Toni Torino
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Edited Sep 03, 2015, 13:10
Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 13:01
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Columbia and John Blake! Thank you! I can physically feel the pressure in my noggin lessening.
Edit: And Ad Lib was the column name.
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Toni Torino
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Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 13:05
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My dad used to send me up to the newsagents 5:30pm on saturdays for the Evening News classified football results, report and tables. That van must've broken every motoring law in the book.
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MrsSevenrealm
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Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 16:47
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Ah, what an enjoyable thread........ if this link doesn't work, pop onto YouTube and search for Julian Cope Colombia Hotel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow8IZbPcSpY
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billding68
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Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 19:29
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jb lamptoast-morsley wrote: I think there's a bonus track somewhere - maybe on zoology with a feature on the 'rock and roll' hotel that everyone stayed at and had a very relaxed attitude to the shananigans of rock stars.
yes that was on zoology
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Stevo
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Re: Teardrop Explodes on Toppermost
Sep 03, 2015, 19:37
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I think the Associates did during the year they put out the singles taht make up 4th Drawer Down.
THink The Cure and The banshees may have done too. & I think the Glove was a collaboration based heavily on the ingestion of the substances concerned.
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