JULIAN COPE – SAINT JULIAN LP – Nr MINT 1987 INDIE TEARDROP EXPLODES

Julian Cope – Saint Julian
(Island Records  1987  905711  US Pressing)

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition

UK Sleeve in Very Good+ condition
– some wear to edges/corners & crease on top right corner
Poly Lined Plain black inner sleeve

Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician, author, antiquarian, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator. Originally coming to prominence in 1978 as the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes, he has followed a solo career since 1983 and worked on musical side projects such as Queen Elizabeth, Brain Donor and Black Sheep.

Cope is also an author on Neolithic culture, publishing The Modern Antiquarian in 1998, and an outspoken political and cultural activist with a noted and public interest in occultism and paganism. As an author and commentator, he has written two volumes of autobiography called Head-On (1994) and Repossessed (1999); two volumes of archaeology called The Modern Antiquarian (1998) and The Megalithic European (2004); and three volumes of musicology called Krautrocksampler (1995), Japrocksampler (2007); and Copendium: A Guide to the Musical Underground (2012).

Saint Julian is the third solo album by Julian Cope. It has a very strong pop sound, compared to other Cope releases, and spawned several of his best known tracks (including “World Shut Your Mouth” and “Trampolene”, which were both hit singles).

Saint Julian was the first album recorded under a new Cope deal with Island Records, following two poorly selling albums on the Mercury/Polygram label. Encouraged by his new manager Cally Callomon, Cope cleaned up and changed his image: cutting his hair, wearing rocker’s leathers and embracing a “Rock God” perspective (as well as investing in a bizarre climbable microphone stand (with integral steps).

To record and tour the album, Cope put together a new backing group (informally known as the “Two-Car Garage Band”). This featured lead guitarist Donald Ross Skinner and former Waterboys drummer Chris Whitten (both of whom had played on Cope’s previous and ill-fated album Fried), plus bass player James Eller (who’d played alongside Cope on the second Teardrop Explodes album, Wilder) and Cope himself on vocals and rhythm guitar. For the album, Cope also played keyboards under the alias of “Double DeHarrison”, although Richard Frost joined the band to play keyboards for live appearances. Cope also used the DeHarrison pseudonym for the “Oregon guitar” playing on “A Crack in the Clouds” and would go on to use it again on subsequent solo albums.

Several songs on the album originated from much earlier than the others. “Screaming Secrets” had been a Teardrop Explodes song which never made it to album, while “Spacehopper” may date back to late 1970s writing sessions with Ian McCulloch (although only Cope was credited as songwriter).

The album’s new songs abandoned the collapsing psychedelic styles of Fried in favour of a crisp, punchier and more structured sound, drawing partially on Cope’s professed love for Detroit heavy rock acts such as early Alice Cooper. Early sessions were supervised by Ramones producer Ed Stasium and delivered the song “World Shut Your Mouth” (which became Cope’s biggest solo hit, reaching #19 in the UK in 1986), “Pulsar” and “Spacehopper”. The remaining album sessions were produced by Warne Livesey. The parent album was well received and generated two more singles (“Trampolene” and “Eve’s Volcano”) but the fresh momentum did not last. Cope fell out with Callomon, and the Two-Car Garage band disintegrated as James Eller joined The The and Chris Whitten left for Paul McCartney’s band.

Cope played a red Gibson ES-335 12-string guitar strung with 9 strings (a single course of E, A and D strings, with the G, B and high E strings doubled) to get a fuller sound. The distinctive electronic peal which punctuates “World Shut Your Mouth” is the start-up tone of Cope’s main keyboard

Cope has subsequently described Saint Julian as not being one of his favourite albums, although he acknowledges that “it has its moments.”

Track listing

All songs are written and composed by Julian Cope.

Personnel

• Julian Cope – vocals, 9-string rhythm guitar; (also performs pseudonymously as “Double DeHarrison” playing organ, Hohner Clavinet and ‘Oregon’ guitar on “A Crack in the Clouds”)
• Donald Ross Skinner – electric & slide guitars, ‘airhead’ guitar & screams on “Spacehopper”
• James Eller – bass guitar
• Chris Whitten – drums
• Warne Livesey – synthesizer, strings on “A Crack in the Clouds”
• Paul Crockford – Ace Tone organ on “Planet Ride”
• Richard Frost (credited as “Keith-Richard Frost”) – string machine on “Saint Julian”
• Kate St. John – cor anglais on “Saint Julian” & “A Crack in the Clouds”
• Dee Lewis, Tessa Niles – chorus vocals on “Eve’s Volcano”, chorus agreement vocals on “Planet Ride”

Some sources say that future Marillion singer Steve Hogarth sang backing vocals on the album, although he is uncredited on the inlay.