The Teardrop Explodes

Emerging as a central act from Liverpool’s late-1970s neo-psychedelia scene, the Teardrop Explodes served primarily as a vehicle for Julian Cope, an eccentric personality whose unfashionable passion for Krautrock and hallucinogenic substances placed him at odds with the punk outlook then dominant. After playing in the Crucial Three alongside Echo and the Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch and Wah!’s Pete Wylie, Cope assembled the group in 1978. Its name derived from a Marvel comic panel, and the original lineup included guitarist Mick Finkler, drummer Gary Dwyer, and keyboardist Paul Simpson, a former collaborator from the fleeting project A Shallow Madness.

Following their signing to the fledgling Zoo imprint run by Bill Drummond and David Balfe, the quartet released the 1979 debut single “Sleeping Gas,” a surreal electro-pop track notable for its swirling keyboard textures. Simpson departed after the record appeared, prompting Balfe to take over keyboard and production duties on the equally unconventional follow-up “Bouncing Babies.” Once the band completed a tour shared with Echo and the Bunnymen, it focused on tempering its more extravagant tendencies, producing the buoyant “Treason (It’s Just a Story),” which came close to entering the pop charts.

With former Dalek I Love You guitarist Alan Gill replacing Finkler, the Teardrop Explodes issued the infectious 1980 single “When I Dream,” which climbed into the U.K. Top 50 and received limited American airplay. The band’s first album, Kilimanjaro, arrived that October to strong reviews and solid sales. Early the next year the single “Reward” reached the Top Ten, while a reissued “Treason (It’s Just a Story)” advanced to the Top 20. Lineup changes persisted, however, and Gill soon gave way to guitarist Troy Tate for the recording of 1981’s ambitious Wilder, whose standout track was the hit “Passionate Friend.”

An American tour proved disastrous, after which Tate left to join Fashion. The remaining trio began work on a projected third album intended as Everybody Wants to Shag the Teardrop Explodes. Cope disbanded the group during those sessions; a 1983 EP titled You Disappear from View was issued as planned, yet the unfinished recordings finally surfaced in full under their original title in 1990. In the aftermath, Balfe later founded the Food Records label, while Cope launched a successful and occasionally brilliant solo career.