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Before he was St. Julian, Droolian, The Arch Druid, or Julian H. Cope, he was just plain ol' Julian David Cope - bassist, vocalist, and primary songwriter for The Teardrop Explodes. After four years and two albums, that group, er... I don't want to say "exploded"... maybe imploded? Anyhum, Julian embarked solo in 1984, releasing a pair of albums. First up was World Shut Your Mouth:
"What is there to say about this absolutely classic album? Cope's first solo release following the implosion of The Teardrop Explodes, some of these songs had been intended for the Teardrop's third album. A rethink, a relocation back home to Tamworth and a customised Casio lead to this more pop/rock/psychedelic sound and an instant classic... If you haven't already heard this, I really envy you." - From Spinster Rock
[purchase]
Julian's second release of 1984 was the aptly titled Fried. Again, from Spinster Rock:
"May 1984
FRIED is recorded in Cambridge. Cope finds a turtle shell in a junk shop and tests the acoustics. Producer Steve Lovell develops a Brian Wilson complex. He moves his bed into the studio and tries to gain weight. The LP seems to reflect the state of mind of everyone involved.
October 1984
Cope and Dorian get married in Long Island, NY. They arrive in separate 1959 Cadillacs for a long Greek Orthodox service. FRIED is released to a much warmer reception than WORLD SHUT YOUR MOUTH, but disappears nonetheless.
February 1985
The "Sunspots" 45 is released but Cope finds it hard to be taken seriously by Mercury. The turtle shell is considered far too gauche by the executives. A hit is lost.
March 1985
Cope returns to seclusion in Tamworth. He retires into a closed world. Cope records much of what eventually will become the SKELLINGTON LP with Donald Ross Skinner and brother Joss. His manager hates it; "too fried" he says, so Cope sulks."
For the record, I'd never heard of Julian Cope at the time of these releases. Over about the past decade, though, he's developed into one of my favorites. When I did first heard him was 1987, when the single "World Shut Your Mouth", from the Saint Julian album was released. Here's the video for that.
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Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage. Straight from the man, himself.
Spinster Rock - a wonderful blog, with much Julian Cope (and related/ similar) information.
Good picks Matt! If you haven´t read it already, check out Copey´s autobiography Head On. Great stories and what´s more: very well written.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Matt!
ReplyDeleteInside the original Fried LP, there was a big poster of Julian Cope as a turtle. It was a very bizarre picture ! So I put it on my wall. Few days later, two children knocks on my door for selling me chocolate bars, and they simply couldn't take their eyes off Turtle Cope. I'm sure they were thinking that I was also strange to put that thing on my wall.
ReplyDelete