The Bunnymen Concert Log
A comprehensive, annotated listing of concert dates, venues and set lists for Echo and the Bunnymen, Ian McCulloch and Electrafixion.
1978/1979/1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 (January-August) 1984 (September-December) 1985 1986 1987 (January-August) 1987 (September-December) 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992/1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 (January-August) 1999 (September-December)/2000 2001 (January-August) 2001 (September-December) 2002 2003 2004 2005 (January-August) 2005 (September-December) 2006 2007
Buxton, England; Pavilion Gardens
All My Colours (Zimbo)
NOTES: "Rare! SHINE SO HARD, 32 minutes, VHS of Echo & the Bunnymen playing live at Buxton in 1981, inter-cut with the Bunnymen in the snow. What is in that big bag Les is carrying? What book is Pete reading? Where is this jungle Will is walking through, listening to his walkman? Hear Mac uttering the immortal line 'Two Fabs please, Betty' as he buys two ice lollies. Directed by John Smith. Cameraman: Patrick Duval. Songs: Monkeys, Stars Are Stars, Pride, All That Jazz, Crocodiles, Over the Wall, Zimbo." - dealer advertisement
April , 1981
New York, New York, United States; Hurrahs
Show of Strength
With a Hip
Heaven up Here
The Pictures on My Wall
No Dark Things
Villiers Terrace
Toronto, Ontario, Canada; The Edge
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States; Startracker
Detroit, Michigan, United States; Bookies
Chicago, Illinois, United States; Tuts
Boston, Massachusetts, United States; Paradise Club
Los Angeles, California, United States; Whisky A Go-Go
(early show)
(late show)
Nottingham, England; Rock City
Turquoise Days
NOTES: The Blue Orchids served as the supporting band for this tour. The Nottingham show was the subject of an NME review (May 8th, 1981) titled "Bunnies Wail Back".
Aylesbury, England; Friars
The Disease
Liverpool, England; Empire Theatre
Bristol, England; Colston Hall
Edinburgh, Scotland; Odeon
Hammersmith, Greater London, England; Hammersmith Odeon
Sister Ray/The Disease
NOTES: "Sister Ray" is a Velvet Underground song.
Brussels, Belgium; University of Brussels (VUB): Auditorium Q
NOTES: For an online set of photographs from this show, check Philippe Carly's New Wave Photos.
Sneek, Netherlands; The Bolwerk
NOTES: "Het Bolwerk was in the beginning of the eighties a well-known youth center. I saw several groups over there like Television, Tom Verlaine solo, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and The Gun Club." -- theundertones.net forum post, January 5th, 2004
Sneek, Netherlands; Veermarkthal
Rotterdam, Netherlands; Eksit
The Puppet
Nijmegen, Netherlands; De Vereeniging
Hof Baden-Baden, Germany; Alter Bahnhof
(first set)
(second set)
Broke My Neck
Oslo, Norway; Club 7
Bonn, Germany; Rheinterrassen
Berlin, Germany; Kantkino
Villeurbanne [Lyon], France; Auditorium de l'ENTPE
NOTES: "In 1981, I was living in Geneva Switzerland, and had gone on June 17th to see the Bunnymen play at a local venue .… As it turned out, the gig had been canceled …. In the middle of the hall, a few members of the road crew were sitting around downing a few beers, and they explained that the equipment truck had been stuck at the East German border, so no gear, no show. But they did say I should try to make it to Lyon, France for the next gig. When I explained that I had no way to get there, they amazingly offered to give me a lift on the tour bus, as long as I could make my own way back; I was in! The following morning, I met up with Dave Bush and the rest of the crew, and joined them along with the band on the trip to Lyon. The bus carried both the band and the smallish crew of about five, and it was about half seats and half bunk beds for sleeping. I was naturally a little self conscious at first, but soon managed to strike up conversations with Will and Pete, along with the crew. In Lyon, I pitched in to help set things up, and the also helped break things down after the show. I remember the support band was a French group called Aeroplane. By the time the truck was ready to go, it was about two in the morning, so getting a train back to Geneva was going to be impossible until morning. Rather than hang out in Lyon overnight, they invited me to continue on to Paris on the bus, and naturally I was game! The bus went through the night to Paris, and they managed to find an unused bunk in the back for me to sleep in. In Paris the setup was a bit different …. The show was being broadcast by French radio which caused some setup headaches for the crew, but it was a terrific show, and I managed to take a lot of pictures. That night I slept on the floor in the hotel room of a couple of the road crew members, and as the following was a day off, several of us did some sightseeing including a trip up the Eiffel tower. Alas, later that evening, I realized that this adventure had to come to an end, and I made my way to the Gare du Midi and took the TGV train back to Geneva." – email to The Bunnymen Concert Log
Paris, France; Palais des Artes
Clermont-Ferrand, France; Maison du People
Milan, Italy; Odissea 2001
Firenze (Florence), Italy; Piazza delgi Uffizi
NOTES: "Le Via Luonge: 16 minutes, a film by Bill Butt, shot from the back of Pete de Freitas's motorbike as he rode to Florence through England, Italy and Switzerland, with a soundtrack by Will Sergeant." - dealer advertisement. "I think one of the best was in the early days playing the Uffizi Square in Florence, Italy. It was sponsored by the local Communist Party, but for some reason we got to play. It was mad -- you would have these original Michelangelo statues about 20 feet away from you on stage; you couldn't build a better stage set. Back stage would be the river." - Les Pattinson, interview with Peter Allen, 2000.
Leeds, England; Queens Hall
Stars Are Stars
Read It in Books
Do It Clean
Austin, Texas, United States; Club Foot
NOTES: Dark Motive served as the support band.
Atlanta, Georgia, United States; Club 688
Detroit, Michigan, United States; Traxx
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; East Side Club
New York, New York, United States; The Ritz
Toronto, Ontario, Canada; El Mocambo Club
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States; Duffy's
Portland, Oregon, United States; La Bamba's
Palo Alto, California, United States; Keystone
Sydney, Australia; Manley Vale Hotel
NOTES: "Show of Strength", "The Disease", "All I Want" and "All My Colours (Zimbo)" wound up as 'bonus tracks' on the 2003 HEAVEN UP HERE remastered release.
Hamburg, Germany; Markthalle
London, England; Oxford New Theatre
NOTES: "In December, 1981 Me and my two mates followed the Bunnymen on part of their British tour …. we went to London and saw them at the Oxford New Theatre on probably 7/12/81. The next day (8/12/81)we saw them at a gig in London … in Brixton or Catford … an old dancehall. We then got the train to Liverpool, stopping off at the army and navy stores where the Bunnymen bought their gear and saw them at the Royal Court Liverpool …. The next day we went to Glasgow … and saw them at the Glasgow Apollo …. By the end of the Glasgow gig we were knackered; the band looked knackered as well. Remember that Oxford was the best gig and Glasgow the worst. Wild Swans were the support; they were great …." - email to The Bunnymen Concert Log
London, England; The Hammersmith Palais (aka 'Palais de Dance')
Liverpool, England; Royal Court Theatre
No Hands/With a Hip
Glasgow, Scotland; Glasgow Apollo
NOTES: "It was so cold you could see the band's breath! Bunnymen were superb as always, especially Pete's awesome drumming …. The height of the stage always gave everything a different dimension. It was a great venue and a unique experience." - Apollomemories message board post
Leicester, England; University of Leicester
Corrections, additions and amendments warmly received and greatly appreciated:
Kristin F. Smith
blinfool@wyomail.com
I took as my starting point Steve Doughty's excellent and comprehensive Bunnymen Recordings site, and have filled in gaps using the Seven Seas Archive (which went back to January 1st, 1999 at the time I copied it all into text files), as well as the various other web pages and articles cited in my listings. This is still very much a work in progress. I have received a good deal of help from members of the Seven Seas and Bunnymen.com communities -- thank you all!
This page last updated: June 29th, 2007
AN ANNOTATED DISCOGRAPHY: Works by Echo and the Bunnymen, Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Electrafixion and Glide (off-site link)
Echo and the Bunnymen, Ian McCulloch and Electrafixion: Album Reviews (off-site link)
The Songwriter As Poet: Ian McCulloch and the Pre-Raphaelite Tradition (off-site link)
Bunnymen.info - The (Unofficial) news Source (off-site link, run by Charles Pham)
Aldems' Political Quotations: Apt and Otherwise
BlindFool and Scruffy Dog: Dilettantes-at-Large