36 Facts About Julian Cope

Julian David Cope was born on 21 October 1957 and is an English musician and author.

Julian Cope was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes 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.

Julian Cope has written two volumes of autobiography, Head-On and Repossessed ; two volumes of archaeology, The Modern Antiquarian and The Megalithic European ; and three volumes of musicology, Krautrocksampler, Japrocksampler ; and Copendium: A Guide to the Musical Underground.

Julian Cope's family resided in Tamworth, Staffordshire, but he was born in Deri, Glamorgan, Wales, where his mother's parents lived, while she was staying there.

Julian Cope was staying with his grandmother near Aberfan on his ninth birthday, the day of the Aberfan disaster of 1966, which he has described as a key event of his childhood.

Julian Cope grew up in Tamworth with his parents and his younger brother Joss.

Julian Cope played Oliver in Wilnecote High School's production of the musical.

In July 1977, Julian Cope was one of the founders of Crucial Three, a Liverpool punk rock band in which he played bass guitar.

When Julian Cope sacked McCulloch from A Shallow Madness, McCulloch went on to form Echo and the Bunnymen.

In late 1977, Julian Cope joined the punk band The Mystery Girls with Pete Wylie, Pete Burns and Phil Hurst.

In 1978, Julian Cope formed the Teardrop Explodes with drummer Gary Dwyer, organist Paul Simpson and guitarist Mick Finkler, with himself as singer, bass player and principal songwriter.

Julian Cope has strenuously resisted taking advantage of any nostalgic and commercial opportunities to reunite the band.

In 1982, Julian Cope moved to the Staffordshire village of Drayton Bassett.

Julian Cope's well-documented Teardrops-era LSD excesses, eccentric behaviour and subsequent retreat had led to him being labelled an "acid casualty" in the vein of Syd Barrett and Roky Erikson, an image which took him several years to shake off.

In 1983 Julian Cope began recording the songs for his first solo album, World Shut Your Mouth.

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 Julian Cope would follow and be praised for in the next decade, it sold poorly at the time.

Julian Cope formed a new backing group featuring Skinner, Whitten, former Teardrops associate James Eller on bass guitar, and himself on vocals, rhythm guitar and assorted keyboards.

Julian Cope fell out with Callomon, and the Two-Car Garage band disintegrated as Eller joined The The and Whitten left for Paul McCartney's band.

Subsequent singles "5 O'Clock World" and the orchestral pop ballad "China Doll" both charted considerably lower, disappointing Island Records and further discouraging Julian Cope, who had not enjoyed making the record and did not believe that it represented him properly as an artist.

In 1990, Julian Cope followed up Skellington with a second lo-fi album called Droolian, recorded over three days.

Julian Cope later described it as his "Holy Book" and enthusiastically embraced its one-take approach to making and recording music.

Julian Cope joined the demonstrations and took a prominent role in them.

From this point onwards, Julian Cope began to take greater personal control of his career and business affairs.

Julian Cope had parted company with his long-term foil Donald Ross Skinner during the recording of 20 Mothers, although the parting was relatively amicable.

From 1997, Julian 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, Julian Cope's follow up to 1993's Rite.

Julian Cope stated that the band's aim was to fuse the swaggering arena rock of KISS and Van Halen with elements of Japanese heavy metal, Detroit garage rock and Blue Cheer.

Since 1998, Julian Cope had developed a parallel reputation as a serious antiquarian.

In 2003, Julian Cope performed at the Glastonbury Festival as well as launching his own three-day Rome Wasn't Burned in a Day event.

The first of these was the long-delayed Citizen Cain'd, an album which Julian Cope had promised for several years and now delivered as a short double album sold at a single album price.

You Gotta Problem With Me was followed by 2008's Black Sheep, which Julian 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.

Julian Cope has long been an avid champion of obscure and underground music.

Julian Cope is 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.

Julian Cope has lectured on the subject of prehistory, and at the British Museum on the subjects of Avebury and Odin, where Julian Cope appeared in five-inch platform boots and his hairspray set off fire alarms, causing the building to be evacuated.

Julian 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 pseudonyms.

Julian Cope is married to Dorian with whom he's had two daughters.