Julian Cope Biography
by James Christopher Monger
English musician, writer, historian, and cosmic shaman Julian Cope came to fame in the late '70s and early '80s as the frontman for the Liverpudlian post-punk group Teardrop Explodes. An enigmatic storyteller, contrarian, mystic, and hallucinogen enthusiast, Cope embarked on a genre-defying solo career upon leaving the band in 1983. Beginning with World Shut Your Mouth in 1984, he released a string of LPs that married the Teardrops' love of debauched psych-pop with folk, chamber pop, Krautrock, ambient/electronica, and space and alternative rock. He remained popular in the U.K. but didn't attain commercial success overseas until the release of the slickly produced Saint Julian in 1987, which featured the hits "Trampolene" and "World Shut Your Mouth," the latter of which was performed live on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Released in 1991, Peggy Suicide saw Cope strip away the studio polish and deliver an ambitious and environmentally themed set of brooding funk, soul, folk, and cosmic garage rock, an aesthetic he would revisit again on 1992's Jehovahkill and 1994's Autogeddon. He continued to explore themes of neolithic history, rock & roll, cultural activism, ecology, and paganism well into the 2000s via eclectic left-field outings like Citizen Cain'd (2005), Psychedelic Revolution (2012), and Drunken Songs (2017). In addition to his musical works, which include stints with the bands Black Sheep and Brain Donor, Cope has written and published a number of books, ranging from a novel of fiction (One Three One) and a two-volume autobiography (Head On) to a pair of ornate coffee-table books on archaeology (The Modern Antiquarian and The Megalithic European) and guides to underground music in Germany (Krautrocksampler) and Japan (Japrocksampler).
Tracklist
1. East Easy Rider
2. Butterfly E
3. Almost Alive
4. Little Donkey
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