“I did the intro to The Killing Moon without thinking. We went for a curry – and the engineer spotted that run and put it at the start”: How happy accidents, disastrous finances and an un-tuneable 12-string made Echo and the Bunnymen’s classic album

A black-and-white shot of Will Sergeant performing with Echo and the Bunnymen at the Royal Albert Hall in 1983, with white stage lights in the background.

When Echo & the Bunnymen released their fourth album, Ocean Rain, in the spring of 1984, it received decidedly mixed reactions.

The dramatic change in the band’s sound – which included the use of a 35-piece French orchestra – was a big factor, although the Liverpool four-piece had already hinted at the shape of sounds to come with The Killing Moon, the album’s lead-off single.