Bunny

Bunny is the name used by more than one act, including a Belgian project led by Nico “Bunny” Renson and an English band formed in Doncaster in 1998. The Belgian artist is from Belgium and releases work under the Bunny name, including Leave, which becomes a radio hit in Belgium.

Belgian artist led by Nico “Bunny” Renson

Nico Renson grows up in Belgium, in a small town between the Dutch and German borders, and starts writing songs from an early age. He learns keyboards at nine, later studies film directing in Brussels, and then moves to London after crossing the Channel from Belgium. There he forms several rock bands, plays small venues, and lives in squats while trying to build a career.

After being knocked off a motorbike on Waterloo Bridge, he uses the insurance payout to buy a home recording studio and records a set of personal songs. He later works as a songwriter, moves into a recording studio, writes and records for other artists, and composes themes for television and commercials. In 2006, after writing a song for a children’s album, he releases those earlier bedroom recordings as his first solo album, Play to my own tune. The single Leave gains heavy radio play in Belgium and the record receives critical praise.

Back in the UK, he forms a band with bassist Pete Cherry, drummer Don Bannister and guitarist Miles Pring. Pete Cherry and Bunny have already collaborated for years, Don Bannister and Pete Cherry know each other from a session for Courtney Love, and Miles Pring had previously played with Bunny in a punk/rock band. Bunny and the Hype describe their music as “Heart felt Hi-Fi”, with melodic pop songs and a sunny sound influenced by mid-1980s Californian session music. His stated influences include Robert Palmer, Steely Dan, Roxy Music, Hall and Oates, the Doobie Brothers, Bill Withers, Steve Winwood, Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, the Bee Gees and Billy Joel.

Doncaster band formed in 1998

Another Bunny forms in Doncaster in mid-1998, taking shape from shared admiration for acts such as Royal Trux, The Butthole Surfers, Girls Against Boys, Beck, dEUS, The Flaming Lips, Love, Blues Explosion, the MC5, Clinic, Elvis, Guided by Voices, Neu!, Devo, The Stooges, Brainiac, The Ramones, The Make Up and The 13th Floor Elevators. The band plays its first gig in February 1999 and then tours widely across the UK.

Its live dates include appearances with Snowpony, Ten Benson, Snow Patrol, Titan, Groop Dogdrill and Mika Bomb. In July 2000 it records a session at the Barfly at The Monarch in Camden for XFM DJ John Kennedy’s X-posure show, and the performance is broadcast a few days later. In August 2000 the band releases its debut single, Ambulance Drive, on Tugboat Records, a small offshoot of Rough Trade. The single reaches number 9 in the UK indie charts and receives airplay on Radio 1, as well as playlisting on XFM and WOXY 97X in Oxford, Ohio.

In June 2001 the band follows with an eight-track mini-album, Big Evil Skeleton Show No Mercy, issued through its own Cubbyhole Records and distributed by Cargo. The record receives a 7/10 review in the NME, reaches number 9 in the NME turn-ons, and leads to an NME ON night at the Barfly with Hell Is for Heroes. The opening track, Audio Landscape, is playlisted by WOXY 97X and becomes the station’s second most requested song in early September. Bunny also takes part in a web chat with WOXY listeners, and the station’s end-of-year poll places the mini-album at number 52 and Ambulance Drive at number 87.