It’s a balmy spring evening in north London, and Ian McCulloch, the Bunnymen’s iconic front man and dagger-sharp wit, is discussing “The Idolness Of Gods”, the epic and soul-wrenching ballad at the heart of new album The Fountain. ”I can’t imagine anyone else singing it,” he says. ”It’s beautiful, pure, there’s a real strength to it. I haven’t heard any poetry quite like that, telling you about the crying inside, life as you grow older.”

Mac is in a playful mood, and with good reason. The past few years have been a triumphant period for Echo & The Bunnymen, a group he formed in Liverpool in 1978 with guitarist Will Sergeant. In September 2008, they were invited to perform their 1985 orchestral-rock masterpiece, Ocean Rain, at the Royal Albert Hall, with similar sell-out shows following shortly afterwards in New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre and the massive new arena in their native Liverpool.