I strongly suspect that Sergeant started writing the first volume of his memoirs, Bunnyman, during the Covid restrictions. I think he wrote this one after we were allowed out into the world once again, blinking and wide eyed. Bunnyman had something of the same atmosphere of restriction and closed-off horizons, although those were a feature of Sergeant’s 1970s upbringing – something I recognise myself. There’s only a few years between us and while he lived in Liverpool and I in London, there wasn’t so much difference between the two cities then.

They did, however, diverge markedly from the 1980s onwards. Echoes picks up the story with the Bunnymen making their first album, the growing importance and recognition of the Liverpool scene (Julian Cope, Pete Wylie, etc) and the sudden proliferation of record labels. Yes, the Bunnymen were talented but reading this memoir, it did all rather fall into their laps. To give them credit, they made the most of the opportunity, and produced one of the all time best debut albums in Crododiles (I can see you’ve got the blues in your alligator shoes/Me, I’m all smiles, I got my crocodiles).

For anyone, like me, who read NME, Melody Maker and Sounds through the early 80s, it’s a trip behind the curtain and through the words on the page to what was happening with the bands we were following. The Bunnymen were, for a while, the best band in the world. This covers the start of that period and for anyone who was around at the time and into this music, it’s a great reminder of when music really was the most important thing in life.