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Echo and the Bunnymen Keyboardist Jake Drake-Brockman Dies

  • Posted on Sep 4th 2009 9:45AM by John D. Luerssen
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Jake Drake-Brockman, a keyboardist for Echo and the Bunnymen, died in a motorcycle crash on the Isle of Man on Tuesday. Known as "the fifth Bunnyman," Brockman played on several of the band's hits before joining as a full-time member in 1989, and their upcoming album, 'The Fountain,' was the seventh to feature his work. He was 53.

According to the Isle of Man Today, Brockman was seriously injured after his motorcycle collided with another motorist. He was airlifted to a hospital, but died in the intensive care unit. The other driver was uninjured.

In a statement, his family and wife Sally Mundy said, "Jake was always a classic bike enthusiast, he loved sailing thought he was invariably seasick ... Music was central to Jake's life." Brockman also played in the dance band Bom and worked as a sound recordist for the BBC.

"Jake was one of the most gentle, funny and genuine men you could ask to ever meet," Peter Allen, the webmaster for the band's official site website, told IOM Today. "He played on most of the band's biggest hits and toured with the band from the early '80s. He will be hugely missed not just by the band, but by thousands of fans who met him over the years." The band's website simply says, "Our thoughts are with his wife, family and friends."

In 1989, original Bunnymen drummer Pete de Freitas, 27, was also killed in a motorcycling accident, when he was traveling en route to Liverpool from London.
  • Filed under: News, R.I.P.
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Steve

Having Suddenly lost both family and friend
It's Tragic how quick we can come to an end

enjoy the moment enjoy the fun
we never know when our time will come
to the Family and Friends "my best wishes please take"
to the band " a song in memory to Jake "

Every success with Fountain
I Think I Need It Too [is amazing]

October 06 2009 at 7:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Rob


I love ALL music, AC/DC, Springsteen, etc.....Echo and the Bunnymen were, and ARE, one of the great bands of all time, AMAZING SONG LYRICS!

If you've never heard of them, just go check them out, you'll be glad you did!

September 24 2009 at 1:03 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
jeffb

my thoughts and prayers go out to Jake's family, friends
and the band Echo and the Bunnymen, one of rock best
underrated bands to come out of the 80's from England.
Like the Pretenders loosing band members is crushing, I've
read the band is also about to release a new collection
of tunes featuring Jake, I hope they tour & keep his spirit
alive in the music, sad loss. Many, many excellent cuts
from so many albums/cds.

September 22 2009 at 4:51 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Robert Plant

To Doug - A Zero, eh? Jake played for a band that some here have heard of, others liked and some did not, but what is fact is that the Bunnymen had millions of fans around the world who drew some pleasure from what Jake & Co did. When he left the band, he carved out a new career for himself as a sound recordist for the BBC. For the last 10 years, or so, he travelled the world from Antartica to the Arctic, from the deserts to the rain forests, as part of a crew that specialised in making some of the world's most highly acclaimed wildlife documentaries. They recorded for posterity the endangered species, those threatened with extinction largely as a result of our actions. They also filmed the world's most dangerous animals in the most extreme environments, so that future generations will see the marvels that we, the present generation, may be responsible for preserving, or destroying. He also worked on other documentaries, one of which required him to climb Mount Everest! Again, Jake's involvement in bringing pleasure to millions around the world cannot be denied. Very recently, he formed part of 'The Hookham Boys', a new band made up of members of Massive Attack, The Cocteau Twins, Goldfrapp and Spiritualized who'd all got together to play gigs (to rave reviews) on a, 'Pay what you can' basis with all proceeds going to the Teenage Cancer Trust - not spreading AIDS, as conjectured elsewhere in this toilet of twisted opinions, but helping kids fight for their lives.

You will therefore understand that your ignorant and cowardly dismissal of Jake as a, 'Zero' is a little harsh in the eyes of those who actually knew him, but to give you the benefit of the doubt, it may be an accurate assessment when judged by the dizzying heights of your own achievements. However, I doubt it. It is also doubtful that you will ever leave a legacy like Jake's due to the fact you feel the need to masturbate your ego in a forum at the expense of someone you don't know and who tragically cannot say a word in his own defence. Shame on you.

The world is a poorer place without Jake; but because I do not know you, or anything else about you Doug, other than your idiotic comment and the attitudes it betrays, it may be unfair to say that, by comparison Sir, you should have been a wank stain in your Dad's pyjamas, so in the interests of fairness, I won't say it, I'll just think it.

To the 'donorcycle' crowd, your opinions are cretinously insensitive and infantile, embracing a puerile phrase you've heard. It is a global fact that the vast majority of motorcyclists are killed by inattentive car drivers, just as Jake was on Sept 1. Instead of joining the braying chorus of intellectual pygmies boasting about how much safer you are in your SUVs, ask what responsibility you can take for improving the situation and saving human life. Don't remain dull, lazy and ignorant, you can do something to improve your world - give it some thought.

To iddottaw, it appears your nickname at the local gaybar is 'Cock breath' - why would that be? Based on your crazed obsession with everything Gay, perhaps it is a rhetorical question.

September 11 2009 at 10:26 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Robert Plant

To Doug - A Zero?

Jake played for a band that some here have heard of, others liked and some did not, but what is fact is that the Bunnymen had millions of fans around the world who drew some pleasure from what Jake & Co did. When he left the band, he made a new career for himself as a sound recordist for the BBC. For the last 8 years, or so, in this job he travelled the world from Antartica to the Arctic, from the deserts to the rain forests, as part of a crew that specialised in making some of the most highly acclaimed wildlife documentaries. They recorded for posterity the endangered species, those threatened with extinction largely as a result of our actions. They filmed the world's most dangerous animals in the most extreme environments, so that future generations will see the marvels that our present generation may be responsible for preserving, or destroying. He also worked on other documentaries, one of which required him to climb Everest! Again, Jake's involvement in bringing pleasure to millions around the world cannot be denied. Very recently, he formed part of 'The Hookham Boys', a new band made up of members of Massive Attack, The Cocteau Twins and Spiritualized who'd all got together to play gigs (with rave reviews) on a, 'Pay what you can' basis with all proceeds going to the Teenage Cancer Trust - not spreading AIDS, as conjectured elsewhere in this toilet of twisted opinions, but helping kids fight for their lives.

You will therefore understand that your ignorant and cowardly dismissal of Jake as a, 'Zero' is a little harsh in the eyes of those who actually knew him, but to give you the benefit of the doubt, perhaps it is accurate when judged by the dizzying heights of your own achievements. However, I doubt you will ever leave a legacy like Jake's due to the fact you feel the need to masturbate your ego in a forum at the expense of someone you don't know and who tragically cannot say a word in their own defence. Shame on you.

The world is a poorer place without Jake; by comparison, Sir, you should have been a wank stain in your Dad's pyjamas.

To the 'donorcycle' crowd, your opinions are cretinously insensitive and infantile, embracing a silly phrase you've heard. It is a global fact that the vast majority of motorcyclists are killed by inattentive car drivers, just as Jake was Sept 1. Instead of joining the braying chorus of intellectual pygmies boasting about how much safer you are in your SUVs, ask what responsibility you can take for improving the situation.

To iddottaw, it appears your nickname at the local gaybar is 'Cock breath' - why would that be? Based on your crazed obsession with everything Gay, perhaps it is a rhetorical question.

September 11 2009 at 4:31 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Mindmachine

Oh man, I still cant believe it....:((( R.I.P. Jake, you'll be missed.

September 09 2009 at 7:31 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
JQ

Wow, I really can't believe the number of people here who haven't heard of them, and then additionally snidely commenting in such a manner like they knew something about music.
They are one of the biggest post-punk bands with gothic rock leanings, right up there with Joy Division, The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Bauhaus, The Church, and Killing Joke.

"The Killing Moon" is probably their most noted song, and was the biggest song next to Gary Jule's (awful) cover of Tears For Fears' "Mad World" in the film, Donnie Darko.

Many bands have paid tribute or mentioned Echo & The Bunnymen as influences, including Coldplay, Hole (Courtney Love's band), Simple Minds, Flaming Lips, Billy Corgan (of The Smashing Pumpkins), and Seal.

Jake will be missed =(

September 06 2009 at 4:28 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
adders

Some of the comments that have appeared here are disgraceful.

That was all I was going to write but I'll add this...

I never met Jake but saw him several times with the Bunnymen in the eighties and early nineties. They were some of the best gigs I had ever been to.


September 06 2009 at 2:53 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Kurt

Wow, some of these comments don't speak to well of the Spinner reader base.

de mortuis nil nisi bonum

And, if you appreciate music, you'd probably like The Bunnymen.

RIP Jake Brockman.

-Kurt

September 05 2009 at 6:54 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
howsoonisnow1985

Loved Echo and the bunnymen, so sad, I would hate to be their keyboardist especially if I rode a motorcycle?
If you never heard of them then that is probably better.

September 05 2009 at 6:01 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
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