Julian Cope
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Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
band
the Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single " Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. ...
and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side projects such as Queen Elizabeth, Brain Donor and Black Sheep. Cope is also an author on
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
culture, publishing ''The Modern Antiquarian'' in 1998, and a political and cultural activist with a public interest in occultism and paganism. He has written two volumes of autobiography, ''Head-On'' (1994) and ''Repossessed'' (1999); two volumes of archaeology, ''
The Modern Antiquarian ''The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain'' is a guide book written by Julian Cope, published in 1998. It is written as a travelogue of British megalithic sites, including Stonehenge and Avebury. Types of art ...
'' (1998) and ''
The Megalithic European ''The Megalithic European: The 21st Century Traveller in Prehistoric Europe'' (2004) is Julian Cope's second book on historic sites, this time looking at continental Europe and Ireland. Like its predecessor—'' The Modern Antiquarian''—the boo ...
'' (2004); and three volumes of
musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
, ''
Krautrocksampler ''Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards'', written by the musician and writer Julian Cope, is a book describing the underground music scene in Germany from 1968 through the 1970s. The book was first publis ...
'' (1995), ''
Japrocksampler ''Japrocksampler: How the Post-war Japanese Blew Their Minds on Rock 'n' Roll'' is a book written by author and musician Julian Cope and published by Bloomsbury on 3 September 2007. Overview The 304-page hardcover book is a companion piece to Co ...
'' (2007); and ''Copendium: A Guide to the Musical Underground'' (2012).


Early life

Cope's family resided in Tamworth,
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, but he was born in
Deri Deri may refer to : People * Aryeh Deri (born 1959), an Israeli politician * Frances Deri (1880–1971), an Austrian psychoanalyst * Miksa Déri (1854–1938), a Hungarian electrical engineer * Shlomo Deri (fl. 2000s), an Israeli politician * ...
,
Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...
, Wales, where his mother's parents lived, while she was staying there. Cope was staying with his grandmother near Aberfan on his ninth birthday, the day of the
Aberfan disaster The Aberfan disaster was the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and overlaid a natural spring. Heavy rain led ...
of 1966, which he has described as a key event of his childhood."Stone me!"
– interview with Julian Cope by Jon Savage in ''The Observer '', 10 August 2008.
He grew up in Tamworth with his parents and his younger brother Joss. He played Oliver in Wilnecote High School's production of the musical. Cope attended City of Liverpool C.F. Mott Training College (now Liverpool John Moores University), and it was here that he first became involved in music.


Music


1976–77: Early bands

In July 1977, Cope was one of the founders of Crucial Three, a Liverpool punk rock band in which he played bass guitar. Although the Crucial Three lasted for little more than six weeks and disbanded without ever playing in public, all three members eventually went on to lead successful Liverpool post-punk bands—singer Ian McCulloch with Echo & the Bunnymen and guitarist
Pete Wylie Peter James Wylie (born 22 March 1958) is an English singer/songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of the band variously known as Wah!, Wah! Heat, Shambeko! Say Wah!, JF Wah!, The Mighty Wah! and Wah! The Mongrel. Career Early b ...
with the Mighty Pah!. Post-Crucial Three, Cope, and McCulloch initially went on to form other short-lived bands UH? and A Shallow Madness (Cope had also spent time with Wylie in another short-lived band, Nova Mob). When Cope sacked McCulloch from A Shallow Madness, McCulloch went on to form Echo and the Bunnymen. The two former bandmates would maintain a frequently antagonistic rivalry from then on, often carried out in public or in the press.


1978–1983: The Teardrop Explodes

In 1978, Cope formed
the Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single " Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. ...
with drummer Gary Dwyer, organist Paul Simpson and guitarist Mick Finkler, with himself as singer, bass player and principal songwriter. Drawing on a post-punk version of West Coast pop music (which gained the nickname of "bubblegum trance"), the band became part of a wave of neo-psychedelic Liverpool bands. Cope and Dwyer (and later their manager-turned-keyboard player
David Balfe David Balfe (born 1958 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is a musician and record company executive, most notable for playing keyboards with the Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food independent record labels, signing Blur and for being the subj ...
, who served both as Cope's creative foil and his personal antagonist) were the only band constants, although seven other members passed in and out of the lineup during the band's fractious four-year existence. Several well-received early singles (including "Sleeping Gas" and "Treason") culminated in the band's biggest hit, "Reward", which hit number 6 in the UK singles chart and took the ''
Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...
'' album to number 24 in the album charts. Cope's photogenic charm and wild, garrulous interview style helped keep the band in the media eye, and made him a short-lived teen idol during the band's peak. Success brought the Teardrops plenty of attention, but no further stability. Their second album '' Wilder'' experimented with different and darker psychedelic styles, as well as delving deeper into Cope's complicated psyche: it spawned no major hits and sold relatively poorly at the time (despite being critically praised in retrospect). Excessive drug use plus continued infighting undermined the band, and a final lineup of Cope, Dwyer and Balfe split apart in 1982 after failed attempts to record a third album and a final disastrous tour. Despite the relatively short life of the band, The Teardrop Explodes has continued to sustain interest and praise since its demise and the band's back catalogue of recordings has been reissued several times over the last thirty years. Cope, however, has strenuously resisted taking advantage of any nostalgic and commercial opportunities to reunite the band.


1982–85: The Mercury years – ''World Shut Your Mouth'' and ''Fried''

In 1982 (accompanied by his new American wife Dorian Beslity), Cope moved to the
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
village of
Drayton Bassett Drayton Bassett is a village and civil parish since 1974 in Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England. The village is on the Heart of England Way, a footpath. Much of the housing is clustered together but more than half is 20th century in t ...
(close to his childhood home of Tamworth). Following the break up of the Teardrop Explodes, he spent a period in seclusion recovering from the strain of the group's final year. Cope's well-documented Teardrops-era
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
excesses, eccentric behaviour and subsequent retreat had led to him being labelled an "acid casualty" in the vein of
Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
and
Roky Erikson Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre. Biography Ericks ...
, an image which took him several years to shake off. During this period, Cope befriended a teenage Drayton Bassett musician called
Donald Ross Skinner Donald Skinner is a guitarist, songwriter and producer primarily known for his work with Julian Cope. Skinner is commonly known by the name Donald Ross Skinner with the addition of the middle name of ''Ross'' attributed to him by Cope after Gle ...
, who became his main musical foil for the next twelve years. In 1983 Cope began recording the songs for his first solo album, '' World Shut Your Mouth''. Although the album generally retained the uptempo pop drive of the Teardrops, it was also an introspective and surreal work with many references to childhood. Former Teardrops drummer
Gary Dwyer The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single " Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. ...
, guitarist Steve Lovell and
Dream Academy The Dream Academy were a British band consisting of singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes, multi-instrumentalist (chiefly oboe, cor anglais player) Kate St John, and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. The band is most noted for their 1985 hit singles " ...
oboist
Kate St John Kate St John (born October 2, 1957) is an English composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Classically trained on oboe, she gained a music degree at City University London. Her first band was The Ravishing Beauties with Virginia A ...
all contributed to the album, which was released on
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
in March 1984. '' World Shut Your Mouth'' was seen as out-of-step with the times, gained poor reviews and sold indifferently. A single from the album, "Sunshine Playroom", featured a disturbing video directed by David Bailey. During a concert at
Hammersmith Palais The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first ''palais de danse''  to b ...
on the subsequent promotional tour, Cope slashed across his bare stomach with a broken microphone stand in an act of frustrated self-mutilation. Although the wounds were superficial, it shocked the audience and resulted in another memorable addition to his reputation for bizarre behaviour. ''World Shut Your Mouth'' was followed six months later by 1984's '' Fried'' album for which Cope was joined by Skinner, Lovell, St John, ex-
Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...
drummer Chris Whitten and
Wah! Peter James Wylie (born 22 March 1958) is an English singer/songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of the band variously known as Wah!, Wah! Heat, Shambeko! Say Wah!, JF Wah!, The Mighty Wah! and Wah! The Mongrel. Career Early b ...
guitarist Steve "Brother Johnno" Johnson. The album was much more raw in approach than its predecessor, and although in many respects it prefigured the looser and more mystical style which Cope would follow and be praised for in the next decade, it sold poorly at the time (as did the accompanying single "Sunspots"). Notoriously, the sleeve featured a naked Cope crouched on top of the Alvecote Mound slag heap clad only in a large turtle shell.Julian Cope entry in ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', 3rd edition, page 226 (2003), ed. Peter Buckley (article written by Nig Hodgkins) The album includes a song called " Bill Drummond Said" about Cope's
A&R man Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...
at
WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...
, to which future KLF star Drummond responded with a song titled " Julian Cope Is Dead", pondering how much more famous Cope might have been had he been shot at the height of his fame. The commercial failure of ''Fried'' led to Polygram dropping Cope; he subsequently engaged a new manager Cally Callomon, and signed a deal with
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
.


1986–1992: The Island years


1986–1990: ''Saint Julian'' and ''My Nation Underground''

With Cally's encouragement, Cope made the effort to clean up and compete. He formed a new backing group (informally known as the "Two-Car Garage Band") featuring Skinner, Whitten, former Teardrops associate James Eller on bass guitar, and himself on vocals, rhythm guitar and assorted keyboards (Cope performed the latter under the alias of "Double DeHarrison" until the band hired Richard Frost as full-time keyboard player). This band lineup recorded Cope's third solo album '' Saint Julian'', mostly composed of crisp and memorable rock songs. It was trailed by the single "World Shut Your Mouth", which became Cope's biggest solo hit, reaching No. 19 in the UK in 1986 and becoming his only Top 20 solo hit. 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 Eller joined
The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...
and Whitten left for
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
's band. Back in London, and with only the faithful Skinner remaining, Cope enlisted his A&R man
Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American A&R executive, record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. In a career that has spanned over 30 years at major record labels he has produced and arranged hits for several ar ...
as producer and recorded a follow-up album called ''
My Nation Underground ''My Nation Underground'' is the fourth solo album by Julian Cope. It produced three singles including "Charlotte Anne" (which reached number 35 in the UK charts in September 1988 and was also Cope's only song to reach any position on the US ch ...
''. This featured a varied lineup of musicians including Fair, Skinner,
Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...
, eccentric percussionist Rooster Cosby (who was to remain a close Cope associate) and assorted sessions musicians (some of whom, such as James Eller, had contributed to the previous album). ''My Nation Underground'' produced only one Top 40 single, "
Charlotte Anne "Charlotte Anne" is a song by English singer Julian Cope released as the first single from his album ''My Nation Underground'' in 1988. The song was Cope's only chart-topping single on any U.S. chart, reaching number one on the Modern Rock Tra ...
", which also met with modest American success by reaching the top of the
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
. Subsequent singles " 5 O'Clock World" (a cover of a 1965 Vogues song) and the orchestral pop ballad "China Doll" both charted considerably lower, disappointing Island Records and further discouraging Cope, who had not enjoyed making the record and did not believe that it represented him properly as an artist. To comfort himself, Cope spent a single illicit weekend at the end of the ''My Nation Underground'' sessions to create a second, lo-fi and unauthorised album called '' Skellington''. Recorded in the same studio used for ''My Nation Underground'' on Island's money (and predominantly featuring the same core team of Cope, Skinner, Cosby and Fair) it was seen by Cope as a far more genuine artistic statement recorded at a fraction of the money and time. Neither Island Records nor Cope's current management team had any desire to release ''Skellington'' and Cope refused to record any other material while he feuded with them to try to get his new work released. Eventually, ''Skellington'' was released on the tiny Zippo label later in 1989, showing the poor relations between Cope and Island. In 1990, Cope followed up ''Skellington'' with a second lo-fi album called ''
Droolian ''Droolian'' is the sixth album by Julian Cope, released in 1990. Background ''Droolian'' was recorded against the background of Cope's disagreement with Island Records, the record label to which he was contracted at the time. During this ti ...
'', also recorded over three days. It was released only in Texas (on another small label, Mofoco) and the profits were used to aid of one of Cope's heroes, the former 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson, who at that time was in jail without legal representation.


1991–92: ''Peggy Suicide'' and ''Jehovahkill''

During this period, Cope discovered the book ''Guitar Army: Rock and Revolution with
The MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...
and the
White Panther Party The White Panthers were an anti-racist political collective founded in November 1968 by Pun Plamondon, Leni Sinclair, and John Sinclair. It was started in response to an interview where Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, w ...
'' by John Sinclair. He later described it as his "Holy Book" and enthusiastically embraced its one-take approach to making and recording music (as well as its message of rock- and-roll being a weapon of cultural revolution). This method typified Cope's musical approach from then on, as he forever left behind the more measured and constructed approach of ''Saint Julian'' and The Teardrop Explodes in favour of more spontaneous expression. Having repaired his relationship with Island Records, Cope began recording his next record against the background of the civil demonstrations which became the
Poll Tax Riots The poll tax riots were a series of riots in British towns and cities during protests against the Community Charge (commonly known as the "poll tax"), introduced by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The largest pr ...
. Cope joined the demonstrations and took a prominent role in them. Wearing a huge theatrical costume throughout the march, he was later featured on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's ''Poll Tax'' documentary, a lone protester walking down
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...
surrounded by seven lines of mounted police. These (and other) elements fed into the double album ''
Peggy Suicide ''Peggy Suicide'' is the seventh album by Julian Cope. It is generally seen as the beginning of Cope's trademark sound and approach, and as a turning-point for Cope as a maturing artist. Background ''Peggy Suicide'' was recorded and release ...
'', which was released on Island Records in 1991 and was heralded by critics as Cope's best work to date. On the album's songs, Cope laid bare many of his personal convictions including his hatred of organized religion and his increasing public interest in women's rights, the
occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
, alternative spirituality (including
paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...
and
Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
worship),
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
, and ecology."The S.P.A.C.E.R.O.C.K.E.R.’s Guide to Julian Cope"
(Aural Innovations magazine No. 23, April 2003)
Skinner, Rooster Cosby,
Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American A&R executive, record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. In a career that has spanned over 30 years at major record labels he has produced and arranged hits for several ar ...
and former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce all contributed to the record, as did a new sidekick in the shape of future
Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pi ...
lead guitarist Michael Watts (better known as Mike Mooney or "Moon-eye"). Although the album produced another well-received single ("Beautiful Love") the political content of ''Peggy Suicide'' caused more friction with Island, who had signed Cope as a marketable hit-making alternative rocker but increasingly found themselves dealing with a latter-day counter-culturalist and revolutionary. Cope toured the album, including several dates in Japan which were recorded (although the results were not released until 2004, on the live album ''
Live Japan '91 Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...
''.) In 1992, Cope released another double album. ''
Jehovahkill ''Jehovahkill'' is the eighth album by Julian Cope, released in 1992. After the critical success of ''Peggy Suicide'' (1991), Cope's idea for ''Jehovakill'' was to incorporate a krautrock attitude into his music. He began recording the album wit ...
'', on Island Records. Musically, the album reflected his interest in
Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...
(though in a more electro-acoustic based form) and his teenage fascination for Detroit hard rock. (A deluxe edition, with a disc of extra material, was released fourteen years later in 2006). Lyrically, the album was fiercely anti-Christian, with such songs as "Poet is Priest", "Julian H. Cope", and the single "Fear Loves This Place" espousing Cope's Paganesque perspective and being highly critical of the established Church. The content (and lack of sales) proved to be too much for Island Records. Despite the album reaching the UK Top 20, the label dropped Cope in the same week that his three shows sold out at London's 1,800 capacity
Town & Country Club The O Forum Kentish Town is a concert venue in Kentish Town, London, England owned by MAMA & Company, and originally built in 1934. History The venue was built in 1934 and was originally used as an art deco cinema. After the cinema was clos ...
. The music press mounted an outcry at Island's decision, with the ''
New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' (NME) featuring him on their front cover under the headline "Endangered Species" while '' Select'' magazine started a campaign to have Cope re-signed. Engaged in a tour of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Cope refused to comment.


1993–96: ''Rite'' to ''20 Mothers'' and ''Interpreter''

From this point onwards, Cope began to take greater personal control of his career and business affairs. While he continued to sign contracts with established record labels, he would begin to release more esoteric projects independently. The first of these projects (issued on Cope's own K.A.K. label) was a collaboration with Donald Ross Skinner: an album of instrumental jams called ''
Rite Rite may refer to: * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition Religion * Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations * Cath ...
'', inspired by Krautrock, Sly Stone-styled psychedelic funk and spiritual mysticism. Cope also took the opportunity to issue '' The Skellington Chronicles'' (an expanded version of ''Skellington'' along with a follow-up album in the same vein called ''Skellington 2: He's Back ... and this time it's personal'') and would record a number of tracks released eighteen years later as 2011's '' The Jehovahcoat Demos''. During this period, Cope began his work as a writer, completing the first volume of his autobiography and beginning to research works on Krautrock and Neolithic architecture. Signing to the Def Jam subsidiary American Recordings for a one-off album deal, Cope recorded ''
Autogeddon ''Autogeddon'' is the eleventh solo album by Julian Cope, released in 1994 on The Echo Label. According to the album's sleeve notes, written by Cope, it was "inspired by Heathcote Williams' epic poem of the same name and a little incident con ...
'', which was released in 1994. Continuing to build on the musical approach of ''Peggy Suicide'' and ''Jehovahkill'' but with a greater element of space rock, the album used the
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
as its central metaphor for individual and collective struggles between responsibility and selfishness, along with further stabs at patriarchy. ''Autogeddon'' was the first Cope album to feature synthesizer player
Thighpaulsandra Timothy Lewis – best known by the stage name Thighpaulsandra – is a Welsh experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist, known mostly for performing on synthesizers and keyboards. He began his career working with Julian Cope in the late ...
, who would become another key Cope collaborator. In the same year, Cope and Thighpaulsandra would form the ambient-electronic project Queen Elizabeth: the eponymous ''Queen Elizabeth'' album was released on the Echo Label, Cope's mainstream home for the next two years. Cope's next album under his own name was 1995's '' 20 Mothers'' which revisited many of his existing lyrical preoccupations but with a more sprawling and eclectic musical approach (including stronger elements of pop and folk) and more directly personal and reflective material dealing with Cope's own family. The album received very positive reviews and also spawned Cope's last hit to date, the Top 40 single "Try, Try, Try", which led to two Top of the Pops performances. The subsequent British live tour (featuring Cosby, Mooney, Thighpaulsandra, and keyboard-player-turned-bass-guitarist Richard Frost) was fraught with tension, and Mooney subsequently moved on to
Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pi ...
.Thighpaulsandra biography
on homepage
Cope had also parted company with his long-term foil Donald Ross Skinner during the recording of ''20 Mothers'', although the parting was relatively amicable. Having been dropped by Echo when he refused to visit the US, Cope then signed to Cooking Vinyl and delivered the '' Interpreter'' album in 1996. This continued in a similar but more disciplined vein to its predecessor, with stronger elements of techno and humour (as exemplified in songs like "Cheap New Age Fix") among the more serious topics, such as those inspired by Cope's attendance at the Newbury Bypass protests.


1997–present: Head Heritage


1997–2006: Assorted solo and collaborative work; Brain Donor

Cope's battle with music industry operatives (whom he referred to as "greedheads") saw him finally turn his back on the mainstream music industry from this point onwards. From 1997, Cope opted for full career independence, launching his Head Heritage organisation as combined record label, website and discussion forum. The first Head Heritage release was 1997's '' Rite 2'', Cope's follow up to 1993's ''Rite'' (with Thighpaulsandra taking over from Donald Ross Skinner as creative foil). It was followed in the same year by the second Queen Elizabeth album, ''QE2: Elizabeth Vagina'', which expanded on its predecessor's cosmic rock experiments. Thighpaulsandra would then follow Michael Mooney into Spiritualized (as would Cope's string arranger Martin Shellard), once more depriving Cope of a key collaborator. Cope's next full solo album was 1999's ''
Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
'', which consisted of a single 73-minute mantra for voices and electronics (although Thighpaulsandra has claimed credit for some of the work). In 1999, Cope launched another side project. This was the garage-rock/ heavy metal power trio Brain Donor, which featured Cope on bass, Anthony "Doggen" Foster on guitar and
Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pi ...
's Kevin "Kevlar" Bales on drums. The band was as much theatrical as musical, featuring full face makeup, platform boots and ostentatious double-neck guitars. Cope stated that the band's aim was to fuse the swaggering arena rock of
KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
and
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
with elements of Japanese heavy metal, Detroit garage rock and
Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...
. He also described Brain Donor as "pure white lightning played by forward-thinking motherfuckers" while also asserting that he loathed the "microcephalous ass (of) real heavy metal", seeing Brain Donor as part of his ongoing shamanic efforts. In 2000, Cope released another solo album – '' An Audience with the Cope''. While appearing to be pitched as a retrospective live recording, it consisted of a series of newly written psychedelic studio jams. Since 1998, Cope had developed a parallel reputation as a serious
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
. This resulted in his 2001 album ''
Discover Odin ''Discover Odin'' is an album and booklet written by Julian Cope and released in a limited edition in 2001. It was produced in collaboration with the British Museum as a companion CD programme to Cope's two nights of spoken word and music at the ...
'' being a limited-edition tie-in with a talk he had given at the British Museum, featuring a mixture of spoken-word tracks exploring Nordic mythology and various musical tracks including a Cope setting of the epic Norse poem "
Hávamál ''Hávamál'' ( ; Old Norse: ,Unnormalised spelling in the :Title: Final stanza: ../ref> classical pron. , Modern Icelandic pron. , ‘Words of he High One) is presented as a single poem in the Icelandic , a collection of Old Norse poems fr ...
". In the same year Head Heritage released the first two Brain Donor singles, "She Saw Me Coming" and "Get Off Your Pretty Face", followed by the début Brain Donor album '' Love Peace & Fuck''. Cope, Doggen and a returning Thighpaulsandra also teamed up as the drummer-less psychedelic/meditational heavy metal group L.A.M.F. who released the ''Ambient Metal'' album the same year. Brain Donor's "Get Back on It" single followed in 2002, as did the third album in Cope's ''Rite'' series, ''
Rite Now ''Rite Now'' is the eighteenth solo album by Julian Cope, released in 2002. It is also the third album in the ''Rite'' series following the earlier albums ''Rite'' (1992) and '' Rite²'' (1997). Mostly instrumental, the album features four "med ...
''. In 2003, Cope performed at the
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
as well as launching his own three-day ''
Rome Wasn't Burned in a Day ''Rome Wasn't Burned in a Day'' is the nineteenth solo album by Julian Cope, released in 2003. Released to coincide with a three-night festival of the same name, organised by Cope, on 30 October, 31 October and 1 November 2003 in London. The a ...
'' event. A tie-in album, also called ''Rome Wasn't Burned in a Day'', was released to mark the event and included an "eight-minute long Armenian epic" called "Shrine of the Black Youth (Tukh Manukh)". The album was recorded by a trio of Cope, synth player Christopher Patrick "Holy" McGrail and Donald Ross Skinner (returning to work with Cope after seven years). The year also saw more Brain Donor activity via the "My Pagan Ass" single and the album ''Too Freud To Rock'n'Roll, Too Jung To Die'' and an appearance on Sunn O)))'s collaborative album ''
White1 ''White1'' is the third album by Sunn O))), released in 2003. It was the most significant departure from their original style to date. Each track was experimental in its own way, with Julian Cope reciting poetry for half of "My Wall", Norwegi ...
'' with Cope reciting occultic druid poetry on the opening track, "My Wall". Cope released two more albums in 2005. The first of these was the long-delayed '' Citizen Cain'd'', an album which Cope had promised for several years and now delivered as a short double album (71 minutes over two discs) sold at a single album price. (According to Cope, the two-disc format was due to some of the songs being "too psychologically exhausting" to fit together onto a single album). The second album, ''
Dark Orgasm ''Dark Orgasm'' is the twenty-first solo album by Julian Cope, released in 2005. It contains eight songs of guitar-heavy hard rock split into two short CDs.
'' was a forthright hard-rock exercise which Cope described as "a violent sequence of outcast broadsides leveled at the coming new 21st-century conservatism." Meanwhile, Brain Donor (proving to be an enduring Cope project) was presented to America via a self-titled compilation album. Plans to tour the United States were dropped because the
INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS Biology *'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies * INS, the gene for the insul ...
refused to grant Cope a visa. 2006 saw the release of the third proper Brain Donor album (''Drain'd Boner'') and the fourth album in the ''Rite'' series ('' Rite Bastard'').


2007–present: ''Black Sheep'' and beyond

Cope's 2007 album, '' You Gotta Problem With Me'', was something of a return to his early solo material: more post-punk styled, and featuring swathes of
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
and orchestral percussion. Conceptually, it continued his attacks on religion, bigotry, corporate greed and environmental destruction. As with '' Citizen Cain'd'', Cope divided the fifty-six minutes of material across two CDs and also included lavish packaging including printed poems. ''You Gotta Problem With Me'' was followed by 2008's '' Black Sheep'', which Cope described as "a musical exploration of what it is to be an outsider in modern Western Culture" and which featured his most outrightly anarchic pronouncements to date. Dominated by Mellotron, hand drums and acoustic guitars, the album also featured Doggen and McGrail plus new recruits Michael O'Sullivan and Ady "Acoustika" Fletcher. In November 2008, Cope released the ''Preaching Revolution EP'', mingling acoustic protest songs with rockabilly pieces: along with material from the unreleased ''Diggers, Ranters, Levellers EP'', these songs would be reissued on Cope's limited-edition Cope solo album, '' The Unruly Imagination''. Cope, McGrail, O'Sullivan, and Acoustika went on to form a new ten-piece Cope side project (also called Black Sheep) which included new cohorts such as drummer Antony "Antronhy" Hodgkinson, "Fat Paul" Horlick and former Universal Panzies leader Christophe F. To date, Black Sheep has generated two further albums, both released in 2009 – ''Kiss My Sweet Apocalypse'' and ''Black Sheep at the BBC''. 2009 also saw the release of a fourth Brain Donor album (''Wasted Fuzz Excessive'') and a live Queen Elizabeth album '' Hall'', recorded in 2000.


Writing


Autobiography

In the course of one of his many record company stand-offs, Cope began to write his first autobiographical book, ''Head-On'', which covered the period from 1976 to 1982, focusing on his time before and during the life of the Teardrop Explodes and ending with the break-up of the band. This was followed a few years later by ''Repossessed'', covering the years 1983 to 1989 and the recording of Cope's first series of solo albums, as well as the writing of ''Head-On'' (The books were republished in one volume in 2000, titled ''Head-On/Repossessed'').


Music commentary

Cope has long been an avid champion of obscure and underground music. While still a member of the Teardrop Explodes, he was instrumental in the critical rehabilitation of the reclusive singer Scott Walker, compiling '' Fire Escape in the Sky: The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker'' for release by
Bill Drummond William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with wh ...
's Zoo Records. This sparked renewed interest in the work of Walker (although years later Cope commented that the singer's "Pale White Intellectual" outlook on life no longer held any fascination for him). Cope established himself as a
musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
with his books ''
Krautrocksampler ''Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards'', written by the musician and writer Julian Cope, is a book describing the underground music scene in Germany from 1968 through the 1970s. The book was first publis ...
'', ''
Japrocksampler ''Japrocksampler: How the Post-war Japanese Blew Their Minds on Rock 'n' Roll'' is a book written by author and musician Julian Cope and published by Bloomsbury on 3 September 2007. Overview The 304-page hardcover book is a companion piece to Co ...
'' and ''Copendium''. Released Scorpions and Karat "
krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...
" by the British music press. Reviews at the time were ecstatic, with ''
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' citing it as "a work of real passion and scholarship". ''SMASH hits'' agreed: "This is a superb book ... this is an extraordinary book." ''Bunty]'' went further, writing: "Brilliantly researched, Krautrocksampler abounds with revelations, and Cope's enthusiasm verges on the lethal ... a sort of lysergic
Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for '' Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music ...
." In the ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'', the reviewer wrote: "German 1970s minimalism is invading the British rock scene ... an Englishman is to blame ... Krautrocksampler is a lively history of a fascinating period, half encyclopedia, half psychedelic detective story." Cope's writing has also won respect in academic circles. His second work as a musicologist, ''Japrocksampler'' – subtitled ''How the post war Japanese blew their minds on rock and roll'' – was published by
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
in October 2007. His Album of the Month reviews on the Unsung section of his website (collected and published in 2012 as ''Copendium'') have promoted bands such as
Comets on Fire Comets on Fire were an American noise rock band from Santa Cruz, California, United States. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarist and vocalist Ethan Miller and longtime friend bassist Ben Flashman, who were seeking to create rhythmically a ...
, Sunn O))) (with whom he performed a guest vocal on their
White1 ''White1'' is the third album by Sunn O))), released in 2003. It was the most significant departure from their original style to date. Each track was experimental in its own way, with Julian Cope reciting poetry for half of "My Wall", Norwegi ...
album) and several Japanese bands which feature in ''Japrocksampler''. Unsung is another community-based site that invites contributors' reviews, and Cope and the site's numerous contributors have been instrumental in kick-starting the interest in bands like
Sir Lord Baltimore Sir Lord Baltimore was an American heavy metal band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 1968 by lead vocalist and drummer John Garner, guitarist Louis Dambra, and bassist Gary Justin. Some have cited the 1971 review of their debut record, ...
,
Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...
, Les Rallizes Denudes,
Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
and
the Groundhogs Groundhogs are an English blues and rock band founded in late 1963, that toured extensively in the 1960s, achieved prominence in the early 1970s, and continued sporadically into the 21st century. Tony McPhee (guitar and vocals) is the sole c ...
. Cope is also considered to be one of the first bloggers; he has been airing his sometimes controversial views since 1997 via his website's "Address Drudion" on the first day of each month.


Archaeology and antiquarianism

1998 saw the release of Cope's bestseller ''
The Modern Antiquarian ''The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain'' is a guide book written by Julian Cope, published in 1998. It is written as a travelogue of British megalithic sites, including Stonehenge and Avebury. Types of art ...
'', a large and comprehensive full-colour 448-page work detailing
stone circles A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The b ...
and other ancient monuments of prehistoric
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, which sold out of its first edition of 20,000 in its first month of publication and was accompanied by a
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
documentary. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' called the book: "A ripping good read ... it is deeply impressive ... ancient history: the new rock 'n' roll." ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' said: "A unique blend of information, observation, personal experience and opinion which is as unlike the normal run of archaeology books as you can imagine." The historian
Ronald Hutton Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 b ...
went further, calling the book: "the best popular guide to
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
and
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
monuments for half a century." ''The Modern Antiquarian'' was followed in 2004 with an even larger 484-page study of similar monuments across Europe entitled ''
The Megalithic European ''The Megalithic European: The 21st Century Traveller in Prehistoric Europe'' (2004) is Julian Cope's second book on historic sites, this time looking at continental Europe and Ireland. Like its predecessor—'' The Modern Antiquarian''—the boo ...
'', the most extensive study of European megalithic sites to date. In addition to his books on prehistoric monuments, Cope hosts a community-based Modern Antiquarian website that invites contributors to add their own knowledge of the ancient sites of Britain and Ireland. Cope has lectured nationally on the subject of
prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
, and also at the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
on the subjects of
Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in t ...
and
Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
, where Cope appeared in five-inch
platform boots Platform shoes are shoes, boots, or sandals with an obvious thick sole, usually in the range of . Platform shoes may also be high heels, in which case the heel is raised significantly higher than the ball of the foot. Extreme heights, of both ...
and his hairspray set off fire alarms, causing the building to be evacuated.


Fiction

On 19 June 2014 Cope's first novel ''One Three One'', subtitled "A Time-Shifting Gnostic Hooligan Road Novel", was published by
Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...
. Named for a
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
n motorway, ''One Three One'' was well reviewed by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' who wrote that "the musician's fiction debut is brilliant, serious, funny – and completely bonkers". Comedian
Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall. Lee b ...
interviewed Cope for ''
The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...
'' and admits that "there were whole swathes of ''One Three One'' where I couldn't tell what was going on (or) which time stream we were in...but I didn't care". Cope writes about many fictional bands and musicians in the book and has recorded music in the guise of these characters, some of which he has released under the same fictional
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
s. Other musical artists have collaborated with Cope for these releases, also under the book's fictional names, including Stephen O'Malley and Holy McGrail (as
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
group Vesuvio) and with Robert Courtney and
Donald Ross Skinner Donald Skinner is a guitarist, songwriter and producer primarily known for his work with Julian Cope. Skinner is commonly known by the name Donald Ross Skinner with the addition of the middle name of ''Ross'' attributed to him by Cope after Gle ...
(as ravers Dayglo Maradona), amongst others. These releases were released via various imprints of Cope's Head Heritage label.


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums

*2004 ''Live Japan '91'' *2019 ''Barrowlands - live in Glasgow 1995''


Compilation albums

*1992 ''
Floored Genius ''Floored Genius: The Best of Julian Cope and The Teardrop Explodes 1979–91'' is a compilation album by Julian Cope, released in 1992, combining Cope's work with The Teardrop Explodes and his early solo work. The album contains key singles ...
– The Best of Julian Cope and the Teardrop Explodes 1979–91'' ( UK #22) *1993 '' Floored Genius 2 – Best of the BBC Sessions 1983–91'' (compilation of material recorded for
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
)
*1997 ''The Followers of Saint Julian'' (rarities compilation) *1997 ''Leper Skin – An Introduction To Julian Cope'' ("best of") *2000 '' Floored Genius 3 – Julian Cope's Oddicon of Lost Rarities & Versions 1978–98'' (rarities) *2002 ''The Collection'' (1983–1992) *2007 ''Christ vs Warhol'' (rarities) *2009 ''Floored Genius 4 – The Best of Foreign Radio, Rare TV Appearances, Festival Songs & Miscellaneous Lost Classics 1983–2009'' (rarities) *2015 '' Trip Advizer – The Very Best of Julian Cope 1999–2014'' ("best of") *2021 ''Cold War Psychedelia'' *2021 ''Cope's Notes #2'' *2022 ''Cope's Notes #3''


Singles

;Notes *A ^ "Competition" charted at No. 30 on the
UK Independent Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...
. *B ^ "World Shut Your Mouth" also charted on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Mainstream Rock Tracks chart at No. 22 and the five track 12" EP charted at No. 109 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart.


Collaborations and other projects


With Queen Elizabeth

*1994 ''Queen Elizabeth'' *1997 ''QE2: Elizabeth Vagina'' *2009 ''Queen Elizabeth Hall''


With L.A.M.F.

*2001 ''Ambient Metal''


With Brain Donor

*2001 "She Saw Me Coming" (single) *2001 "Get Off Your Pretty Face" (single) *2001 ''Love Peace & Fuck'' *2002 "Get Back on It" (single) *2003 "My Pagan Ass" (single) *2003 ''Too Freud To Rock'n'Roll, Too Jung To Die'' *2005 ''Brain Donor'' (U.S. compilation album) *2006 ''Drain'd Boner'' *2009 ''Wasted Fuzz Excessive''


With Black Sheep

*2009 ''Kiss My Sweet Apocalypse'' *2009 ''Black Sheep at the BBC''


With Sunn O)))

*2003 '' My Wall''


With various (''One Three One'' related releases)

*2014 Neon Sardinia – ''S’akkabadòra-Hèmina'' *2014 Dayglo Maradona – ''Rock Section / American Werewolf EP'' *2014 Dayglo Maradona – "Rock Section (
Andrew Weatherall Andrew James Weatherall (6 April 1963 – 17 February 2020) was an English musician, DJ, songwriter, producer and remixer. His career took him from being one of the key DJs in the acid house movement of the late 1980s to being a remixer of trac ...
remix)" *2014 Vesuvio – ''Vesuvio''


With Dope

*2017 ''Dope'' *2017 ''Guerilla Grow'' *2018 ''Seven Disquieting Dirges: Performed by Sub Bass Madmen & Throwback F.X. Contrarians'' *2018 ''Dope on Drugs'' *2018 ''Village Idiot Dope'' *2019 ''Black Math'' *2019 ''Odin on Acid''


Bibliography

* ''Head-on: Memories of the Liverpool Punk Scene and the Story of The Teardrop Explodes, 1976–82'' (1994) * ''
Krautrocksampler ''Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards'', written by the musician and writer Julian Cope, is a book describing the underground music scene in Germany from 1968 through the 1970s. The book was first publis ...
: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik – 1968 Onwards'' (1995) * ''
The Modern Antiquarian ''The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain'' is a guide book written by Julian Cope, published in 1998. It is written as a travelogue of British megalithic sites, including Stonehenge and Avebury. Types of art ...
: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey through Megalithic Britain'' (1998) * ''Repossessed: Shamanic Depressions in Tamworth & London (1983–89)'' (1999) * ''
The Megalithic European ''The Megalithic European: The 21st Century Traveller in Prehistoric Europe'' (2004) is Julian Cope's second book on historic sites, this time looking at continental Europe and Ireland. Like its predecessor—'' The Modern Antiquarian''—the boo ...
: The 21st Century Traveller in Prehistoric Europe'' (2004) * ''
Japrocksampler ''Japrocksampler: How the Post-war Japanese Blew Their Minds on Rock 'n' Roll'' is a book written by author and musician Julian Cope and published by Bloomsbury on 3 September 2007. Overview The 304-page hardcover book is a companion piece to Co ...
: How the Post-war Japanese Blew Their Minds on Rock 'n' Roll'' (2007) * ''Copendium: An Expedition into the Rock 'n' Roll Underworld'' (2012) * ''One Three One'' (2014)


References


External links


Head Heritage
– Julian Cope's own site
Guardian bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Julian 1957 births English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists English male singers English songwriters People from Caerphilly Musicians from Liverpool People from Tamworth, Staffordshire Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University Living people Crucial Three members The Teardrop Explodes members Island Records artists Scouse culture of the early 1980s British post-punk musicians English modern pagans Performers of modern pagan music English occultists British male songwriters