ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN + MUTANT VINYL – BRIGHTON CENTRE 14.3.26
Echo & The Bunnymen really need no introduction. Ian McCulloch (Mac) has been around since the late 70’s; as a band they hit their stride in the early 80s. In the post-punk/early goth/indie era alongside the likes of Siouxsie, early U2, New Order, and The Cure, somewhere in the mix with atmospheric guitar soundscapes, dark romanticism and haunting lyrics with Mac’s poster boy looks and hair, were Echo and the Bunnymen.
Fast forward March 2026 and I had heard that the Bunnymen had cancelled a gig at the last minute a few days earlier due to ill health. There were also reports that Mac relied on the audience to get him through some of the songs, so I approached reviewing tonight’s Brighton Centre gig with some trepidation, hoping it was going to be fine. I needn’t have worried!
The backdrop casts images from early videos, album covers, psychedelic swirls as well as their classic Bunnymen logo. The smoke machine from time to time billowed out, partially engulfing the lead singer and obscuring some of the band. It was a bit of stage craft that seemed unnecessary given their enigmatic songs already providing the drama. The setlist spans their back catalogue, but curiously omits tracks from their last album, ‘Meteorites’ from 2014.
The opening tracks reflect their more edgy, post-punk sound of ‘Going Up’ from 1980’s ‘Crocodiles’ album, ‘Heads Will Roll’ from 1983’s ‘Porcupine’ album, and ‘All That Jazz’ from ‘Crocodiles’. These are followed by the title track of ‘Crocodiles’ and ‘The Cutter’ from ‘Porcupine’, which is one of the Bunnymen’s most beloved tracks. Mac’s vocals have obviously matured over the years, perhaps losing touches of soaring grandeur and occasionally, felt strained, but overall he sang powerfully and with that poetic intensity we have come to expect. The songs, in fact, sounded glorious Will Sergeant on lead guitar, providing the Bunnymen’s ethereal melodic riffs sounding as good as ever.
The latter half of the set was, of course, their most well-known tracks, such as ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ from 1997’s ‘Evergreen’ album, which as a live rendition segues into Lou Reed’s ‘Walk On The Wild Side’; and is followed in two songs time by ‘Villiers Terrace’ from ‘Crocodiles’ which adds elements of The Doors ‘Roadhouse Blues’ and David Bowie’s ‘The Jean Genie’ which pay homage to the band’s influences. After this we are rewarded with their 1985 ‘Bring On The Dancing Horses’ single, which is followed by the magical ‘The Killing Moon’ from 1984’s ‘Ocean Rain’ album.
During the performance Mac did talk to the audience, but his broad Liverpudlian brogue was met with bemused silence from the audience. He was, however, able to raise a few laughs from the crowd. I was able to make out that he was in a good mood (he said so) and his clear and unambiguous disdain for Morrisey was also offloaded. The latter was brought about by someone wearing the aforementioned’s name on a t-shirt, probably as a deliberate provocation. His humour was also evident when a chair was brought out for him to perch on; the only indication that there may be some health issues. He joked that Sinatra, Val Doonican and Ronnie Corbett had also sat down. The cool guy dressed head to foot in black and wearing shades definitely had a lighter side. His attempts to get the crowd involved in the singing during ‘Dancing Horses’, despite explaining the chorus and the bridge, fell flat, due to his lack of clear instructions as to when the audience should actually start singing and then they just sang along regardless.
We were rewarded with an encore tune after ‘The Killing Moon’, this being ‘Lips Like Sugar’ from 1987’s self-titled album. After which, the house lights went up and people started vacating the room. However, just before we got to the stairs, I heard Mac. He was back on stage, talking to the audience, before the band went on to play the last song of the evening, the title tune from 1984’s ‘Ocean Rain’ album.It was a great song to end on. The lyrics and orchestral arrangement making this beautiful and heartbreaking, and performed live, it lost none of its emotional heft.
On our way out of the venue, we found out the band had actually requested the lights go up before they performed their final song, even if it meant some people who had already rushed for the exit, missed it. That was intentional. Like that hidden track on a CD, like a message for those who want to write them off, the Bunnymen had one last surprise for those who stuck around!
Echo & The Bunnymen:
Ian McCulloch – vocals
Will Sergeant – guitar
Stephen Brannan – bass
Simon Finley – drums
Pete Reilly – guitar
Mike Smith – keyboards
Echo & The Bunnymen setlist:
‘Going Up’ (from 1980 ‘Crocodiles’ album)
‘Heads Will Roll’ (from 1983 ‘Porcupine’ album)
‘All That Jazz’ (from 1980 ‘Crocodiles’ album)
‘Crocodiles’ (from 1980 ‘Crocodiles’ album)
‘The Cutter’ (from 1983 ‘Porcupine’ album)
‘Flowers’ (from 2001 ‘Flowers’ album)
‘Over The Wall’ (from 1981 ‘Heaven Up Here’ album)
‘Seven Seas’ (from 1984 ‘Ocean Rain’ album)
‘Rescue’ (from 1980 ‘Crocodiles’ album)
‘All My Colours’ (aka ‘Zimbo’) (from 1981 ‘Heaven Up Here’ album)
‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ (from 1997 ‘Evergreen’ album) / ’Walk On The Wild Side’ (Lou Reed cover)
‘Bedbugs And Ballyhoo’ (from 1987 ‘Echo & The Bunnymen’ album)
‘Villiers Terrace’ (from ‘Crocodiles’ 1980) / ‘Roadhouse Blues’ (The Doors cover) / ‘The Jean Genie’ (David Bowie cover)
‘Bring On The Dancing Horses’ (a 1985 single)
‘The Killing Moon’ (from 1984 ‘Ocean Rain’ album)
(encore 1)
‘Lips Like Sugar’ (from 1987 ‘Echo & The Bunnymen’ album)
(encore 2)
‘Ocean Rain’ (from ‘Ocean Rain’ 1984)
Support this evening came from Mutant Vinyl which is the work of British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Edwin James Pope, whose debut album, ‘Daffodils In Angell Town’ dropped a few years back.
Mutant Vinyl walked on to the stage to the sound of Gary Glitter’s ‘Rock And Roll Part 2’, which I’m sure was unintentional. It’s not often you hear that song played in public and it was completely incongruous to a band whose style was smooth, classy jazz. The musicianship was clearly evident as the band played jazz standards, such as ‘Misty’ and ‘Afro Blue’. The tracks were all instrumentals.
This is a very accomplished band. However, they seemed to almost want to fade into the background. They didn’t grab our attention by introducing themselves, nor the songs they were about to perform. Just as they walked onto the stage with no announcement, they similarly performed their set and then departed. Although the audience clapped approvingly at each song, it almost felt like this was music to take your seats to while waiting for the main event. Perhaps they wanted to be very understated and let the music do the talking. This is a pity because these are such well known pieces, that not to introduce the songs, let alone themselves, does both a huge disservice.
Multi-instrumentalist Edwin James Pope is the centre of the band with session musicians joining him for recordings and concerts. The band consisted of drums, keyboard, bass and rhythm guitars and the sax player, Edwin Pope. They’re known for a fusion of jazz, electronica and funk; the album ‘Daffodils In Angel Town’ received critical praise in 2019 for layered, relaxing ambient sounds. The jazz played this evening seems like a departure from that sound. Mutant Vinyl are clearly very talented; it would have been better if they had tried to build a rapport by telling the audience something about themselves. However, both bands were great in their very different ways.
Mutant Vinyl setlist:
‘Misty’
‘There Will Never Be Another You’
‘Everything’s In Its Right Place’
‘Afro Blue’
‘Cantaloupe Island’
‘Wayfarer’
‘A Night In Tunisia’
