Will Sergeant: “I’ve Been Ostracised” | Echo & the Bunnymen & Courtney Love

Will Sergeant, guitarist and co-founder of Echo & the Bunnymen, joins Mark Millar on the XS Noize Podcast to discuss "Weird as Fish," his memoirs, Echo & the Bunnymen’s later albums, creative freedom, Courtney Love and the happy accident behind “The Killing Moon.” Originally released as an audio episode on March 26, 2025, this archive interview is now being presented on YouTube as part of the XS Noize archive. In this in-depth conversation, Will looks back on his homemade experimental project "Weird as Fish," recorded in 1978 before Echo & the Bunnymen fully took shape, and explains why the record still feels like an odd, fascinating snapshot of his earliest creative instincts. Will talks about using the guitar as a sound source rather than a traditional instrument, experimenting with tape machines, and how not knowing “the rules” helped shape one of the most distinctive guitar styles in British post-punk. He also discusses writing his acclaimed memoirs "Bunnyman" and "Echoes," revisiting his childhood, the Liverpool punk and post-punk scene, Eric’s, Joy Division, The Fall, Bowie, Love, The Velvet Underground and the cultural energy that helped form Echo & the Bunnymen. The conversation moves through the Bunnymen catalogue beyond the classic first four albums, including the 1987 self-titled “Grey Album,” "Reverberation," "Electrafixion," "Evergreen," "What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?," "Meteorites" and "The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon." Will speaks candidly about his changing creative role within Echo & the Bunnymen, why he still loves playing live, and how outside projects have become an important outlet for his ideas. He also opens up about working on Courtney Love’s forthcoming record, being given complete freedom to add guitars and sounds remotely, and why that experience reminded him of what he can still bring creatively. The interview closes with Will reflecting on the legacy of Echo & the Bunnymen, the enduring power of “The Killing Moon,” and how one of the band’s most famous guitar parts began as a complete happy accident. Chapters 00:00 Will Sergeant joins XS Noize 00:08 Up the Reds and life after touring 01:10 Weird as Fish and releasing early experimental music 02:21 Using guitar as a sound source 03:33 Working outside Echo & the Bunnymen 03:58 Writing Bunnyman and Echoes 09:33 Memory, research and recreating the past 11:20 Writing compared to making music 12:20 Liverpool, punk and post-punk 14:04 Eric’s and the Liverpool music scene 15:37 Revisiting difficult memories 17:19 Plans for a third book 19:28 Stories left out of the memoirs 20:31 Developing his guitar style 22:55 Telecasters, Dr. Feelgood and live energy 25:18 Talking about the later Bunnymen albums 25:37 The Grey Album and slick production 27:51 Bedbugs and Ballyhoo and the B-sides 30:04 Reverberation and life after Ian McCulloch 32:20 Electrafixion and working with Mac again 33:52 Why Electrafixion became the Bunnymen again 36:05 Returning with Evergreen 36:41 What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? 39:00 Meteorites and working with Youth 40:34 The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon 41:18 Will’s changing role in the Bunnymen 42:35 Five Echo & the Bunnymen songs to understand the band 44:50 Needing other creative outlets 45:17 “I’ve been ostracised” creatively 46:03 Courtney Love and being given free rein 47:41 The Killing Moon and Will’s song choices 48:10 The underrated Bunnymen songs 50:11 Music as the soundtrack to memory 53:27 Brian Eno, Bowie and Heaven Up Here 54:16 The Bunnymen moment Will would relive 56:28 Echo & the Bunnymen’s legacy 57:05 The happy accident behind The Killing Moon 59:12 What’s next for Will Sergeant 1:02:46 Closing thoughts Follow XS Noize Instagram → /xsnoizemusic Facebook → /xsnoizemusic X / Twitter → https://x.com/xsnoizemusic Listen & watch more episodes YouTube → @thexsnoizepodcast Website → https://www.xsnoize.com About XS Noize XS Noize is a music platform featuring interviews, reviews and news with some of the most influential artists in the world. Hosted & produced by Mark Millar. Related topics Will Sergeant interview Echo & the Bunnymen interview Echo and the Bunnymen The Killing Moon I’ve been ostracised creatively Courtney Love Weird as Fish Bunnyman memoir Echoes memoir Ian McCulloch Les Pattinson Pete de Freitas Echo & the Bunnymen Grey Album Reverberation Electrafixion Burned Evergreen What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? Meteorites The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon Bedbugs and Ballyhoo Silver Lips Like Sugar Ocean Rain Crocodiles Heaven Up Here Porcupine Liverpool post-punk Eric’s Liverpool Joy Division The Fall David Bowie Brian Eno The Velvet Underground Love Arthur Lee Dr. Feelgood Telecaster guitar Post-punk guitar Music memoirs XS Noize Podcast #WillSergeant #EchoAndTheBunnymen #TheKillingMoon #XSNoizePodcast #CourtneyLove