381 Hello Julian Cope * - When I Dream

(* as  part  of  The  Teardrop  Explodes )

Chart  entered : 27  September  1980

Chart  peak : 47

Number  of  hits :  22  ( 7  with  The  Teardrop  Explodes, 15  solo )

Julian  probably  qualifies  as  the  most  eccentric  pop  star  of  all , certainly  of  those  with  20+   hits.

Julian  was  born  in  Wales  in  1957  but  grew  up  in  Tamworth. He  went  to  the  City  of  Liverpool  College  of  Higher  Education  and  became  part  of  the  scene  at  Eric's  ( see  the  Echo  and  the  Bunnymen  post ).

When  Ian  McCulloch  was  sacked  from  A  Shallow  Madness  in  early 1978  the  rest  of  the  band  reconstituted  themselves  as  The  Teardrop  Explodes  ( from  a  Marvel  comic ). The  rest  of  the  band  were  faithful  drummer  Gary  Dwyer, keyboardist  Paul  Simpson  and  guitarist  Mick  Finkler. Julian  himself  played  bass. Unlike  Julian's  previous  projects,  the  band  got  to  the  stage  of  playing  live and  established  themselves  on  the  Liverpool  scene  as  great  rivals  to  Echo  and  the  Bunnymen.  They  too  were  snapped  up  by  Zoo.

Julian's  main  musical  influence  was  the  underground  psychedelia  of  the  late  sixties  as  evidenced  in  the  first  single  "Sleeping  Gas"  in  Februrary  1979,  a spindly one-chord  drone   complaining  about  someone  preferring  to  watch  TV  rather  than  keep  him  company  with  a  reference  to  Patrick  McGoohan's  otherwise  long-forgotten  US  drama  series  Rafferty.  The  sound  is  dominated  by  Simpson's  screechy  Vox  organ  and  Julian  had  a  long  argument  with  label  co-owner  Dave  Balfe  about  the  mix  but  eventually  won  the  day.

Shortly  afterwards  Simpson  was  elbowed  out  for  stealing  too  much  of  the  limelight  on  stage  and  replaced  by  the  more  self-effacing  Ged  Quinn. I  think  it's  still  Simpson  on  the next  single "Bouncing  Babies"  in  June  1979  which  he  co-wrote.  I  had  a  hard  job   racking  my  brains  where  I'd  heard  that  drum  pattern  before   - The  Cure's  Boys Don't  Cry,  released  the  previous  month. It's  an  uneasy  song  hinting  at  a  troubled  childhood, jarring  and  tuneless  enough  without  the  queasy  organ. A  couple  of  years  later  it  achieved  a  little fame  as  the  subject  of  pop -pranksters  The  Freshies'  I  Can't  Get  Bouncing  Babies  By  The  Teardrop  Explodes  but  the  question  is  why  did  they  want  it  in  the  first  place ?

 After  a  few  months  however  Balfe  persuaded  Julian  that  he  himself  could  do  a  better  job  than  Quinn  and  took  his  place  as  keyboard  player.  Their  third  and  final  single  for  Zoo,  "Treason"  was  a  massive  leap  forward although  Balfe  isn't  credited  as  a  writer. Langer  and  Winstanley  produced  this  one  which  is  a  wistful  rumination  on  impending  fame  with  a  breezy  melody , more  accomplished  vocals  and  a  more  welcoming  keyboard  sound. It  reached  number  18  on  re-release  in  1981.

The  band  signed  for  Mercury  shortly  afterwards  and  started  recording  the  Kilimanjaro  LP  with  producer  Mike  Howlett.  Halfway  through  the  sessions   Julian  decided  that  Finkler  wasn't  pulling  his  weight  and  fired  him  off  , accepting  Balfe's  suggestion  of  his  former  band  mate  in  Dalek  I  Love  You , Alan  Gill  as  a  replacement.

"When  I  Dream"  was  the  trailer  single  though  re-recordings  of  the  previous  three  were  included. Although  Finkler  co-wrote  the  song  it;'s  Gill  you  hear  on  the  single.  It  was  their  most  commercial  effort  to  date  with  a  poppy  keyboard  riff  and  straightforward  romantic  lyrics  though  the  instrumental  break  hints  at  their  more  experimental  side.  I  think  Julian's  voice  is  a  bit  too  high  in  the  mix  for  comfort   but  that's  my  only  quibble.