Eric & the rabbits

Were they the best band on the planet? Possibly although it's really hard to remember now how much Echo and the Bunnymen meant. No doubt that Bunnymen were one of my top band in those days... ah the Liverpool scene, the shores of Lake Placid, the sound of a drum machine and those "pictures" on my wall... I think you'll find plenty of younger bands today will namecheck them and an influence. "The second best band ever to come from Liverpool", as Paul du Noyer once put it. Seen them many times playing live and they never disappointed... One thing for sure anyway, they probably weren't the same band when they reformed after Pete De Freitas died (what a drummer he was!). The latter-day Bunnies have, sadly, become something of a nostalgia act so, before listening to their new album "Meteorites", hoping could be a little better than the horrible 2009's "The Fountain", let's get back to the days that count... It was 21 June 1985, and they played a 'secret' gig at the Manchester International club. They went under the name of Eric and the Rabbits, and they played two sets. The first was a set of covers, while the second was all Bunnymen gems. Listen to their version of Talking Heads' "The Big Country" and put your dusty long raincoat on once again...

Loosing by win

Back to our beloved Italian New Wave, let's briefly talk about Wax Heroes this time, "a band that mattered" in the italian eighties scenario. The "wax thing" hailing from Treviso (where?!) put out only a great debut ep "Sher", a track on the seminal compilation "Gathered" by Rockerilla magazine and some 1982 demos... but that song, the percussive, foreboding "Win by loosing" is really something, a sort of masterpiece of Italian Post Punk. The band did not achieve any sort of popularity due to some bad luck and media noncurance. Rather than persevere and record their debut album, they gave up so soon and some of them ended up in Scent Merci, another band who had no future but great songs. The only discernible impact they had is that their influence could possibly be heard in many italian bands of the late eighties and first nineties, though the similarities could be a only coincidence.  A complete reissue with all their songs has been realised by Spittle records and, in my opinion, is badly needed for a nostalgic post punk lover.