In October 1978, McCulloch founded Echo & the Bunnymen with Will Sergeant (guitar), Les Pattinson (bass), and a drum machine (allegedly named Echo), making their live début at Eric's in November that year. In October 1979 the Bunnymen exchanged the drum machine for Pete de Freitas on drums. With their line up solidified, the Bunnymen played in the late 1970s and early 1980s, releasing their critically praised debut album, Crocodiles in 1980, and the heavier, bass driven, Heaven up Here in 1981. They released their third album Porcupine in 1983 with the lead single "The Cutter" finishing in the Top 10 of the UK Charts. Ocean Rain followed in 1984.
In 1988, McCulloch left the group to pursue a solo career under the impression the Bunnymen would be laid to rest, if only temporarily. When the remaining Bunnymen continued using the name with new singer Noel Burke, the split became permanent with McCulloch referring to the band as "Echo & the Bogusmen".
In 1990, McCulloch released the album Candleland which reflected a more mature outlook on the world, owing to the recent deaths of McCulloch's father and his friend Pete de Freitas. The album peaked at number 18 in the UK Charts. It yielded two Modern Rock Tracks hits, "Proud To Fall" (No. 1 for 4 weeks) and "Faith and Healing." His album Mysterio was released in 1992, but the public's interest in the former Bunnyman was waning and it sold less than its predecessor. Shortly after, McCulloch left the public eye to devote more time to his family.
McCulloch rekindled his relationship with Will Sergeant, leading to the formation of Electrafixion in 1994. The band released the album Burned which peaked at number 38 in the UK and included the top-30 hit "Sister Pain." The band soon found themselves performing set lists composed of half Electrafixion songs and half Echo & the Bunnymen songs.
In 1997, Echo & the Bunnymen reformed and released the album Evergreen to positive reviews and chart success. Evergreen made the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart and the single "Nothing Lasts Forever reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.[12] The reformed Bunnymen have since recorded several further albums, the most recent being Meteorites[/abum] which was released in 2014.
Lips Like Sugar
Ian McCulloch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Grace on the water
Lips like sugar
Lips like sugar
Just when you think you've caught her
She glides across the water
She calls for you tonight
To share her moonlight
You'll flow down her river
She'll ask and you'll give her
Lips like sugar
Sugar kisses
Lips like sugar
Sugar kisses
She knows what she knows
I know what she's thinking
Sugar kisses
Sugar kisses
Just when you think she's yours
She's flown to other shores
To laugh at how you break
And melt into her lake
You'll flow down her river
But you'll never give her
Lips like sugar
Sugar kisses
Lips like sugar
Sugar kisses
She'll be my mirror
Reflect what I am
A loser and winner
The king of Siam I am
And my Siamese twin
Alone on the river
Mirror kisses
Mirror kisses
Lips like sugar
Sugar kisses
Lips like sugar
Sugar kisses
The lyrics to Ian McCulloch's song "Lips Like Sugar" convey the image of a woman who is elusive and tempting, like a swan gracefully gliding across the water. Her lips are compared to sugar, and the singer remarks on how just when he thinks he has caught her, she slips away. She calls for him to join her in the moonlight, and he willingly obliges, flowing down her river and giving her the sugar kisses she desires.
However, the singer also recognizes that he is not the only one to be tempted by this woman, as she knows what she wants and plays with the affections of multiple men. He compares himself to a Siamese twin, always connected to her and reflecting her image, even though he is, at times, a loser in this game of love.
Overall, the lyrics can be interpreted as a warning against obsession and the dangerous allure of someone who is beautiful and enticing but ultimately unobtainable. The singer is drawn in by this woman's lips, but he also recognizes that he can never truly have her, as she is always just out of reach.
Line by Line Meaning
She floats like a swan
She moves gracefully and glides smoothly, just like a swan on water
Grace on the water
She is poised, elegant and beautiful as she moves on the water
Lips like sugar
Her lips are sweet and irresistible, like sugar
Just when you think you've caught her
Just when you think you have her, she slips away
She glides across the water
She moves effortlessly and smoothly on the water
She calls for you tonight
She beckons you to come to her tonight
To share her moonlight
To bask in the moonlight with her
You'll flow down her river
You will be carried away by her river of emotions
She'll ask and you'll give her
She'll demand something from you, and you'll readily give it to her
Sugar kisses
Her kisses are sweet and addictive, like sugar
She knows what she knows
She is confident and sure of herself
I know what she's thinking
I understand her thoughts and feelings
Just when you think she's yours
Just when you think you have her, she slips away
She's flown to other shores
She has moved on to someone else
To laugh at how you break
To mock you and find it funny how you fall apart
And melt into her lake
And become immersed in her emotions and feelings
She'll be my mirror
She'll reflect my true self back to me
Reflect what I am
Show me myself, as I truly am
A loser and winner
Both vulnerable and victorious, simultaneously
The king of Siam I am
Metaphorically, I am a powerful ruler, in this relationship
And my Siamese twin
We are inseparable and joined together, in this relationship
Alone on the river
Together on this journey, but alone in this particular moment
Mirror kisses
Kissing my reflection, which is also her
Contributed by Adalyn V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@CynthiaInBloom
my dad raised me at a very young age with so many great 80's bands like
Echo and tje Bunny Men
The Psychedelic Furs
OMD
Simple Minds
A Flock of Seagulls
Thompson Twins
The Cure
Toto
When in Rome
Pet Shop Boys
A-ha
and at my age, many of my friends dont even know who these all are. and it's so great when i play all of my favorite bands/songs bc they are all basically just amazed and shocked at what they are listening to.
i like ro think i was raised right
💕👌
@MrFightinghellfish
All I wanted to do in the 80’s was get to the future. Now that I’m here, I just want to go back.
@garywalton3482
Yeah, but its too late now I'm afraid. There is still a future. What it will be the choice is ours.
@shonhurt4520
So true.
@djtoman6875
Great comment, and probably a sentiment shared by many many millions. Back then all we worried about was mutual nuclear annihilation, which turned out to be a hyped up threat. Now it seems that innocence is so rare it's all but gone.
@arturodelagarza3213
@Brendon Walker I WOULD LIKE TO GO BACK MYSELF, BUT WITH WHAT I KNOW KNOW. CAN YOU IMAGINE? I LOVE SCIENCE. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TRIP. I WOULD PLAY THE LOTTERY AND GIVE MONEY TO ALL KINDA OF CHARITIES. STOP AND GIVE MONEY TO THE PEOPLE THAT WERE HURTING. TO VETERANS JUST HAVE A BLAST HELPING PEOPLE.
@uncleruckus3149
We all wanted to grow up and have better technology... But now we wish we were kids... One thing about the 80s that nobody mentions thats different from now would be that in the 80s if you were a broke kid(like I was) life really sucked... These days lower class kids can afford all types of shit, youtube, video games they're never bored... In the 80s if you were broke you get nothing, the most boring life you could imagine, if you couldn't afford cable and video games you were really fucked in the 80s, it was more expensive and hard to make money with such low minimum wage, things have become more socialistic now with more govmnt programs to help, free phones etc...
@metaldog88
I'm 60 and I'm going to see them live in Sept 2023 - decades after seeing them in 1986! Long live the Bunnymen!
@BachataKnight
Funny we just planned a trip to see them a couple hours ago, then I read this. I'm 45
@judykarey8150
Thats Awesome. Should be A Fun Night.
@ryanhenry7425
excited to see ya?ll there!