The Teardrop Explodes

The Teardrop Explodes (also known as Teardrop Explodes) were a British post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The group was started by Julian Cope, singer and bass player, together with Gary "Rocky" Dwyer who became the group's drummer, later recruiting Paul Simpson on keyboards and Mick Finkler on guitar, all coming from various bands active on the fervent late-70s Liverpool music scene.

The group released their debut single Sleeping Gas in February 1979, on Liverpool's Zoo records with keyboard player Paul Simpson leaving soon afterwards, later replaced by David Balfe who had been co-managing the band. A second single Bouncing Babies released in the summer, gained further interest on the indie scene, and the group recorded their first Peel session in October. A third single Treason (It's Just a Story) was released in early 1980 on Zoo, again gaining much patronage from John Peel. Their debut album Kilimanjaro was released in October 1980. tensions during the recording sessions over the summer meant that guitarist Finkler left, replaced by Alan Gill. His tenure was short-lived, however, and he was in turn replaced by Troy Tate.

A new single released form the album, When I Dream, gained radio paly although like its predecessors failed to make the Top 40 in the UK. The album itself reached no.35 in the charts upon its released. Fortunes changed for the Teardrops however in early 1981 with the release in January of a brand new single, not on the album, entitled Reward. Despite modest chart beginnings, the single eventually reached no.6 in March, giving the band their commercial breakthrough.