Echo & the Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch tells Eamon Sweeney why he’s looking forward to Oxegen, why he told Coldplay their songs weren’t good enough and why he just had to be in the ‘best band in the world’
McCulloch was mysteriously credited as an "associate producer" on the second Coldplay album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. "That made me laugh!" he cackles. "Brian Eno just took over my role! I was amazed when I read that. I just came in and did a bit of Bowie dancing and a few impressions. Then I told them the songs weren't good enough, and just f***ed off or hung around in the bar. I'd basically just crack jokes and make them laugh. It was great that they recorded in Liverpool. I immediately got a sense that they were a band that was just meant to be together. I had to be in the best band in the world because that's why I was born. It wasn't because I needed to write music."
Mac the Mouth is on a roll. "People think being in the gig guide of the local paper means something," he continues. "For Coldplay, they'd already written Yellow when they started. From day one, they had a blueprint. Chris (Martin) would say, "Hey Mac, I think we've done our Ocean Rain." I'd say, "Give us a listen," and tell him it's nowhere close and that I never want him to darken my doorstep again. It was just funny hanging out. I was a Bowie impersonator and a gag-teller, not an associate producer."
Read the full article here [thanks jenjie]
Recommended Comments