Echo and the Bunnymen Trivia Quiz

Answer: A Drum Machine

Many quizzes regard the "drum machine" answer as gospel, yet the band have always denied this, saying it was taken from a friend of the band who always came up with stupid names. The former answer is now part of folklore though, and it's unlikely the band will ever shake it off.

The reason I chose the other answers? Well, Ian McCulloch was the band's frontman, so I thought some people may have presumed he was "Echo"; I chose the "vocal effect" option because you can put echo on your voice when recording, and finally the local Liverpool newspaper is, of course, The Echo.

Answer: Crocodiles

"Crocodiles" was an astonishing way to introduce the band to the public eye, featuring such remarkable compositions as "Stars Will Be Stars" as well as its eponymously titled number 37 hit, the astoundingly intense "Villiers Terrace" and the eerie sounding finale "Happy Death Men" amongst other gems.
The public immediately embraced the band and "Crocodiles" peaked at number 17 on the UK Album chart.

The other three choices, "Heaven Up Here", "Porcupine" and "Ocean Rain" were the band's second, third and fourth album releases respectively.

Answer: Ian McCulloch

As well as his Bunnymen output, McCulloch has released several highly regarded solo albums such as the sombre "Candleland", "Mysterio" and the more recent "Slideling", which had a more summery feel.

Will Sergeant was the band's guitarist, and also released a handful of solo albums, most recently under the moniker Glide, but his first attempt was in 1978, when he released "Weird As Fish"...and made a total of seven copies!

Julian Cope was the frontman of The Teardrop Explodes and Pete Wylie took centre stage for Wah! (also known as The Mighty Wah! and Shambeko Say Wah! at various stages in their career). Both men performed with McCulloch in a band called The Crucial Three before The Bunnymen were formed.

Answer: Liverpool

Liverpool was awash with talent in the 1980s, and has been consistent in churning out quality music since the 1960s.

Manchester was thrown into the spotlight in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the advent of the "baggy" sound. Bands like Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses were the forerunners of the day, and The Charlatans were regarded as a Manchester band, despite the fact they were formed in the West Midlands by a bunch of local lads. Only frontman Tim Burgess hailed from the North - Salford, to be exact - and this is probably where most folk's confusion stems from.

London has also been responsible for some groundbreaking artists over the years, and was fundamental to the UK Punk scene back in the 1970s. Many classic bands, such as The Clash, The Stranglers, The Sex Pistols and The Damned all originated from England's capital city.

Leeds has been the major breakthrough city at the start of the 21st century, with bands such as the Kaiser Chiefs, the Pigeon Detectives and the Sunshine Underground all making heady strides in recent years.

Answer: Pete De Freitas

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, De Freitas was a phenomenal drummer. Perhaps this is best sampled on the Bunnymen's second album "Heaven Up Here", which is heavily dependent on the band's rhythm section, and is regarded by many as their finest hour.

Les Pattinson was the band's bass player between 1978-1992, but he also returned for their 1997 comeback album "Evergreen".

Jake Brockman was the band's road manager, who also joined the band for a stint on guitar/synthesizer.

Damon Reece joined as drummer after the tragic passing of De Freitas.

Answer: Noel Burke

Not many bands go on to huge success after replacing their lead singer, and so it proved with the Bunnymen. Few fans could care less about the group at this stage, as the McCulloch croon was a major factor in the initial appeal.

Peter Coyle was a fellow Liverpudlian who sang vocals with The Lotus Eaters and scored a major hit in 1982 with the single "The First Picture Of You", peaking at number 15. Coyle also played in the band The Wild Swans with former Bunnymen drummer Pete De Freitas.

Jake Brockman was the band's road manager, who also joined the band for a stint on guitar/synthesizer.

Damon Reece joined as drummer after the tragic passing of De Freitas.

Answer: Donnie Darko

Richard Kelly's much debated modern day classic opens with Donnie Darko (played with tremendous conviction by rising star Jake Gyllenhaal) awakening from his slumbers, having fallen off his bicycle, to the unmistakeable tones of "The Killing Moon". For some reason, on the director's cut, this has been replaced with the INXS track "Never Tear Us Apart", which is nowhere near as effective.

My other three answers were just thrown in because I was trying to think of atmospheric films from the same year.

Answer: Electrafixion

Electrafixion achieved just the one UK top 40 hit, reaching number 27 with "Sister Pain" in 1996

As for my other options, Electroset also reached number 27 with the single "How Does It Feel" in 1992. This was a retitled cover of New Order's million selling "Blue Monday".

Electronic was something of a mini "supergroup" made up of New Order frontman Bernard Sumner and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, initially featuring Pet Shop Boys vocalist and former Smash Hits editor Neil Tennant on three early tracks.

Electric Soft Parade are a Brighton based indie-rock band featuring brothers Alex and Tom White. They scored two UK top 40 hits with "Empty At The End" (#39) and "Silent To The Dark II" (#23) in 1992.

Answer: People Are Strange

Surprisingly, the Bunnymen's excellent, faithful reworking of the Doors' standard was never a huge hit, peaking at a lowly number 29 on the UK charts. Many people will remember this track primarily though, if they are asked to recall the soundtrack.

Answer: Porcupine

"Porcupine" is actually my personal favourite from the Bunnymen catalogue, so I was delighted that it climbed as high as number 2 on the UK Album chart. Including the wonderful singles "The Cutter", which peaked at number 8, and "Back Of Love" (number 15), the entire album is so rich with atmospheric beauty that it still makes regular appearances in various magazines' "Best Album of the Eighties" polls.

"Ocean Rain" was the excellent follow up to "Porcupine". It featured the classic singles "The Killing Moon" and "Seven Seas", and peaked at number 4.

"Heaven Up Here" was the band's highly original and influential sophomore album, the highlight for me being the immense "Over The Wall".

"Echo and the Bunnymen" was the band's highest charting US album, reaching the heady heights of number 51. It reached number 4 in the UK but is generally regarded as one of their weaker efforts. I think it's better than it was given credit for, to be honest, and it did include the mighty fine numbers "Lips Like Sugar" and "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo" to temper any true fan's disappointment.