Echo & The Bunnymen: “Seven Seas” (1984)

Bunnymyth 4.2: OCEAN REIGN. The third of three UK Top 20 singles from Ocean Rain, “Seven Seas” is one of the brighter entries on their iridescent and indigo masterpiece. I’ve never been able to unlock the song’s meaning, though I suspect it has something to do with heading out on the road (on tour?) when you’re feeling blue. The flip side is a bonus cover of The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” that adds some additional lightness to the oft-melancholy bunnymien. The UK extended singles included a few tracks that, like Love, were recorded live for the Play At Home program. If you’re interested in the silly side of the Bunnymen, there’s a lip-synched performance of this song from Top of the Pops featuring Pete de Freitas in a penguin costume and what one can only hope is not Will Sergeant in a fish costume.

Original 7-inch Version
A1. Seven Seas (Will Sergeant/Ian McCulloch/Les Pattinson/Pete de Freitas) (3:57)
B1. All You Need Is Love (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)

Double 7-inch single & 12-inch single
1.Seven Seas
2. All You Need Is Love
3. The Killing Moon
4. Stars Are Stars (acoustic)
5. Villier’s Terrace (acoustic)

12-inch single (US promo version)
A1. Seven Seas
B1. Silver

The Players
Pete de Freitas, Ian McCulloch, Les Pattinson and Will Sergeant.

The Plastic
Released on July 6, 1984 as a 7-inch, double 7-inch and 12-inch single with picture sleeves in the UK (Korova, KOW35/KOW35F/KOW35T) and as a promotional 7-inch and 12-inch single in the US (Sire, 7-29288/PRO-A-2614) and as a 12-inch single in Canada (Korova, 2493 200). The song reached #16 on the UK charts.

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