Echoes

This book ‘Echoes’ is the continuing story of my —Will Sergeant, cofounder and guitarist of Echo and the Bunnymen— journey in our band, we are learning on the job. The story starts when Sire Records head honcho, the late Seymore Stein, insists we replace our very primitive Drum Machine, the mini pops Jr. AKA Echo, with a real-life and not-in-the-slightest-bit primitive human drummer. We find our drummer in the form of the now deceased and much-missed Pete De Freitas. His baptism of fire was as we were bottled off the stage by Nazi Skinheads. The story continues with the joys and inventive eye-opening studio recording of our first two LPs at Rockfield Studios in the Welsh countryside. Touring distant lands, including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, and Germany. Featuring a death-defying journey through the frozen transit corridor into East Berlin. In the days when the wall was very firmly still rooted in concrete commie jackboots and dissecting that great city. Unnerving tales of fights, Acid adventures, biker gangs and back alley drunken gunmen. Post-gig trips to the secretive After-hours clubs of New York. Plus Hanging out with rock legends Robert Plant, Ray Manzarek (The Doors), Ginger Baker (Cream) and his little jack russle Toe-Rag. In Echoes, legendary guitarist and founding member of Echo & the Bunnymen, Will Sergeant, recounts the band's whirlwind rise to stardom with his trademark wryness and intelligence. Sharing never-before-told anecdotes - including the heady Rockfield Studio sessions and touring across the US, playing sold-out shows at Whisky a Go Go and experiencing the iconic New York club scene from dusk 'til dawn - and accompanied by snapshots of the cultural, social and political scene at the time, this is a memoir to remember.