Hatred of the band reached such a level that a petition calling on

Hatred of the band reached such a level that a petition calling on them to split up was launched by a jealous young Julian Cope resulting from a rivalry with the Crucial Three . Displayed in local shop Probe Records , the petition gathered numerous signatures, including those of the band themselves. According to Cope’s autobiography, “Of course, Bill Drummond was into the whole thing and told us we needed 14,000 signatures, then they’d split up. We got about nine.” In the 1980s, Drummond became the manager of Cope’s band the Teardrop Explodes .