| Shine So Hard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | 10 April 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 17 January 1981, Pavilion Gardens, Buxton | |||
| Genre | Post-punk | |||
| Length | 16:59 | |||
| Label | Korova / WEA | |||
| Producer | Bill Drummond, Hugh Jones | |||
| Echo & the Bunnymen chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Shine So Hard is a live 12" EP released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen on 10 April 1981. The EP reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.
Having returned from the United States where they were promoting their debut album Crocodiles , Echo & the Bunnymen went on to tour the United Kingdom. The final concert of the "Camo" tour was held at the Pavilion Gardens in Buxton, Derbyshire on 17 January 1981, and the performance was filmed, with multitrack audio recorded by the Manor Mobile.
The concert, staged as a special free event for fans, was devised by manager Bill Drummond and their lighting director Bill Butt. They intended it as a source of footage for the group's first music video, as well as a way to document the Bunnymen's dynamic live performances in this period. After placing advertisements in the music press, 500 respondents were sent free tickets and a map to the secret venue (called "Gomorrah" in the ad), and for a £5 fee, coach transport was arranged for fans coming from London, Liverpool and other cities.
Butt planned to direct the film himself, but discovered that UK film union rules would prevent it from being distributed commercially unless it was made by a properly accredited director. On the advice of mutual friend Peter Duval, Butt hired John Smith to direct. Smith and Duval were friends from their university days, and Smith had gained director's guild accreditation for a student film he had made a few years earlier.
Duval was engaged as editor and he and Smith were given total creative freedom. They spent a week in Buxton with the band leading up to the concert, filming them in various locations, and with the addition of an extra camera operator they then filmed the concert.
The finished product, also titled "Shine So Hard", was a 32-minute short film that combined Smith and Duval's avant-garde opening montage (a series of oblique images of the band engaged in various activities leading up to the concert) with footage of four songs from the concert, "Crocodiles", "Zimbo", "All That Jazz" and "Over the Wall".
The audio was mixed at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales. The EP was released on 10 April 1981 and subsequently peaked at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's first hit single. [2]
The title of the EP comes from a line in an earlier Bunnymen song, "Stars Are Stars". [3]
The film was given a limited cinema release in the UK during 1981. A limited edition of 500 32-minute videos filmed by Bill Butt [4] were subsequently released in 1982 of the Buxton concert. These were made available only to people who had been present at the concert. [5]
When Crocodiles was remastered and reissued in 2003, the four tracks from the EP were included as bonus tracks.
All tracks written by Will Sergeant, Ian McCulloch, Les Pattinson and Pete de Freitas.
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer.
Crocodiles is the debut album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. It was released on 18 July 1980 in the United Kingdom and on 17 December 1980 in the United States. The album reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart. "Pictures on My Wall" and "Rescue" had previously been released as singles.
Heaven Up Here is the second album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, released on 30 May 1981. In June 1981, Heaven Up Here became Echo & the Bunnymen's first Top 10 release when it reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also the band's first entry into the United States albums charts when it reached number 184 of the Billboard 200. Heaven Up Here released the singles "A Promise" and "Over the Wall".
Porcupine is the third studio album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen. First released on 4 February 1983, it became the band's highest charting release when it reached number two on the UK Albums Chart despite initially receiving poor reviews. It also reached number 137 on the American Billboard 200, number 85 on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums and number 24 on the Swedish chart. In 1984 the album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. Porcupine included the singles "The Back of Love" and "The Cutter".
Echo & the Bunnymen is the fifth studio album by the English post-punk band Echo & the Bunnymen, their last with drummer Pete de Freitas, who died in 1989 in a motorcycle accident, aged 27. The album was produced by Laurie Latham; the sessions took place in Germany, Belgium, London and Liverpool, following an aborted attempt at recording the tracks without de Freitas and with producer Gil Norton. With Latham being an exacting producer, and singer Ian McCulloch receiving star treatment and drinking heavily, the recording was more difficult than the band had initially hoped. The album made more use of keyboards than their previous albums, which had been string-heavy. Three singles were issued: "The Game", "Lips Like Sugar" and "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo".
Evergreen is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. It is their first album since reforming after they disbanded in 1993. Vocalist Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant had previously worked together as Electrafixion before they were rejoined by bassist Les Pattinson under the name Echo & the Bunnymen in early 1997. The album was recorded at Doghouse Studios in Henley-on-Thames and was produced by McCulloch and the band's manager Paul Toogood but was credited to the whole band.
Songs to Learn & Sing is a compilation album by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 11 November 1985 and featured all of the singles the band had released up to that point. Released on LP, cassette and CD by Korova, WEA and Sire Records, the album received positive reviews and reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and number 158 on the US Billboard 200.
Leslie Thomas Pattinson is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool-based band Echo & the Bunnymen, along with vocalist Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant. He was brought up in Aughton, Lancashire and attended nearby Deyes High School in Maghull, where he and Sergeant were classmates and became friends.
The discography of Echo & the Bunnymen, an English post-punk band which formed in 1978, consists of twelve studio albums, ten live albums, nine compilation albums, eight extended plays (EP), and thirty singles on Zoo Records; WEA and its subsidiaries, Korova, Sire Records, London Records and Rhino; Cooking Vinyl; and Ocean Rain Records, as well as five music VHS/DVDs, and twenty-two music videos.
BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert is a 1992 live album by Echo & the Bunnymen. It was recorded by the BBC during the band's concert at the Liverpool Empire Theatre on 11 January 1988 and broadcast on BBC Radio 1's In Concert program.
Crystal Days: 1979–1999 is a four CD box set by Echo & the Bunnymen, which was released in July 2001. It is a retrospective of the band's work between 1979 and 1999, although it omits the material released when the band was fronted by Noel Burke (1990–92).
"The Cutter" is a single released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in 1983. It is the second single released from their 1983 Porcupine album.
"The Puppet" is the third single by the band Echo & the Bunnymen and was released on 14 September 1980.
"A Promise" is the fourth single by Echo & the Bunnymen and was released on 10 July 1981. It stayed on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and peaked at number 49. Apart from the Australian-only release of "Over the Wall" later in the year, "A Promise" is the only single to have been released from the band's second album, Heaven Up Here (1981).
"Over the Wall" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in 1981 in Australia and is from the 1981 album Heaven Up Here. The b-side of the single, which was not released in any other country, was the title track from the band's 1980 debut album, Crocodiles. Unlike the band's previous singles, "Over the Wall" was released without a picture sleeve.
"Lips Like Sugar" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in August 1987. It was the second single from their 1987 eponymous album.
"Don't Let It Get You Down" is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released in November 1997. It was the third single released after Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson reformed the band. It was also the third single to be released from their 1997 album, Evergreen. It reached number 50 on the UK Singles Chart.
The Sound of Echo is an EP that was released by the band Echo & the Bunnymen in February 1984. The EP is also known as the Never Stop EP and the Echo and the Bunnymen EP. The EP takes tracks from their 1980 Crocodiles album, their 1983 Porcupine album and adds a non-album single and a live track. The EP was released on 12-inch vinyl. The live track, "Do It Clean", was recorded at the Royal Albert Hall on 18 July 1983.
New Live and Rare is a compilation EP that was released in 1988 of songs recorded by Echo & the Bunnymen. The EP was released on CD by WEA in Japan.
Avalanche is an EP that was released in October 2000 by Echo & the Bunnymen. The EP was released on CD by Gimme Music and was only available to buy on the internet.
