Talk about publicity to the max! It just so happens that weeks after Echo and the Bunnymen are due to release a box set reissue of their 1984 classic Ocean Rain, the English legends are getting a little love, and publicity from none other than NASA.
No, not the DJ duo known as N.A.S.A. The real NASA, aka the folks who launch into space.
The story goes something like this: Colonel Timothy L. Korpa is both an astronaut and a hardcore Echo and the Bunnymen fan. It just so happens that on June 13th, Korpa will embark on a mission to the International Space Station – a mighty feat for sure, and the perfect promotional tool for a band getting ready to celebrate a new release.
Korpa, who has been a Bunnymen fanatic since his teens recently contacted the band via their website about his upcoming three-month mission on the ISS. Though Ocean Rain is Korpa’s favorite, he gave the choice to the band to pick which of their albums they would like him to take on his mission, saying that he would snap photos in space with the album and crew of the ISS and give the album back to the band as a souvenir when he returns to Earth. The Bunnymen ecstatically shipped out to Korpa an autographed copy of Ocean Rain right away.
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As mentioned, Echo and the Bunnymen will reissue Ocean Rain in a new box set on May 30th. The release will include a live version of the album recorded at the Liverpool Arena last November, plus a DVD documentary and booklet. The first 1000 copies ordered will be signed by McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant.
Echo & the Bunneymen 2009 Tour Dates:
06/28 – Pilton, UK @ Glastonbury Music Festival
07/04 – Kent, UK @ Hop Farm
08/02 – Jersey City, NJ @ All Points West Music Festival
09/04 – Stradbally, IE @ Electric Picnic
12/18 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy
12/19 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy