Formed in Liverpool in 1978, The Teardrop Explodes were one of the most revered British bands of the early 1980s, pioneering a post-punk neo-psychedelic sound that can still be heard in bands such as The Coral, The Flaming Lips, Tears For Fears, U2 and Blur.
“The Culture Bunker” compiles all the band’s singles and B-Sides as well as 4 discs/5 LPs of unreleased studio out-takes and a wealth of unheard live recordings. Curated by writer and long-time band publicist Mick Houghton, “The Culture Bunker” also includes the 12,000-word sleevenotes containing rare memorabilia, an essay and timeline of the band’s illustrous career.
released through Universal Music Recordings “Culture Bunker 1978-82” in June a new The Teardrop Explodes box set available as a 6CD package or a 7LP vinyl offering.
The Teardrop Explodes originated as a critical band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, which included Echo & The Bunnymen, their former manager Bill Drummond of The JAMS/KLF, The Mighty WAH! and future pop stars Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes To Hollywood and The Lightning Seeds Ian Broudie, who would also produce many bands from the scene. The group also launched the career of group frontman Julian Cope and keyboard player David Balfe, who later founded Food Records and signed and mentored Blur.
“Culture Bunker 1978-82” compiles all the band’s singles and B-sides as well as four CDs / five LPs of unreleased studio outtakes, a wealth of unheard live recordings and several tracks taken from ‘Zoology’, the Teardrop Explodes compilation that Cope released himself in 2004. Writer and long-time band publicist Mick Houghton has curated “Culture Bunker” and has gained exclusive access to Julian Cope’s archive. These early and later recordings show the evolution of one of the era’s most influential bands from their inception to their finale.
The 6CD set features a staggering 57 previously unreleased tracks and is packaged in a 10-inch slipcase with a 64-page hardcover book which features a 12,000 word essay from Mick Houghton (drawing from new, recent conversations with Julian Cope). That same story is told via the seven printed inner-sleeves on the 7LP vinyl box set which features 43 previously unreleased tracks (the CD box has 95 tracks in total, the vinyl box, which comes with a poster, has 82).
The audio for this new box set has been remastered by Andy Pearce wherever possible from original tapes and cassettes.
“Culture Bunker 1978-1982” is probably the last word on The Teardrop Explodes and both editions are described as “very limited” by the record label. These boxes are not available via normal retail channels are can only be ordered via Universal direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites.
It is released on 2nd June 2023, via Universal Music Recordings.
The Fat Angel Sings 