MM: Reward by Teardrop Explodes

The Teardrop Explodes were formed by vocalist and bassist, Julian Cope, in 1978. Cope had been a member of The Crucial Three, along with Ian McCulloch (Echo & the Bunnymen) and Pete Wylie (various incarnations of Wah!) The band were short lived, and while Cope and McCulloch tried to form other acts, their ego clashes prevented further collaboration.

Cope recruited Gary "Rocky" Dwyer, Paul Simpson and Mick Finkler to form the new band, which took it's name from a panel in issue #77 of the Dardevil comic [pictured left]. They signed with Zoo Records, run by David Balfe (who played keyboards for the band) and Bill Drummond (later of the KLF). A rivalry soon formed with their label-mates, McCulloch's Echo & the Bunnymen.

The Teardrop Explodes recorded their first album, Kilimanjaro, in 1980. During the recording, the band sacked Finkler, replacing him with Alan Gill. Gill decided to leave the band because he did not like the touring lifestyle. Before he left, he co-wrote "Reward" with Cope, which became the band's first single hit, reaching number 6 in the UK charts.

Zoo re-released Kilimanjaro with the addition of "Reward", and the album reached number 24 in the UK albums chart. While their second album, Wilder, also made it into the top 30, the band failed to recapture the success of the début. Artistic differences between Cope and Balfe, resulted a failure to complete recording of a third album, and Cope quit the band following a fateful tour in 1982, before going on to have sporadic success as a solo artist.

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