Born January 31, 1961 in Buxton, England, Lloyd Cole formed the Commotions in 1982 while
studying philosophy at the University of Glasgow. Lloyd Cole is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was lead vocalist of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole's cuttingly literate lyrics, unabashedly romantic stance, and knack for melodies both simple and ornate form a solid base for his frequent genre shifts.
Starting off fronting the Commotions and delivering some of the '80s most iconic jangle pop songs, like
"Perfect Skin" and the quintessential Rattlesnakes album, Cole soon undertook a solo career that didn't stay in one place for long. The Commotions' debut studio album, Rattlesnakes (1984), contained literary and pop culture references to such figures as Arthur Lee, Norman Mailer, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, Simone de Beauvoir, Truman Capote and Joan Didion. The band produced two more studio albums, Easy Pieces (1985) and Mainstream (1987), before disbanding in 1989.
He went from straightforward rock on 1990's self-titled album to lushly orchestrated pop on 1991's
Don't Get Weird on Me Babe; he swerved into jangle pop on 1995's Love Story, then he settled down to make country rock-inspired music for a time before delving into electronics for a record of duets with Hans-Joachim Roedelius on 2013's Selected Studies, Vol. 1. Albums made in the wake of this newfound interest, like 2023's On Pain, merged the warm songcraft of earlier work with the colder textures of electronic pop.
He has since released solo albums on smaller independent labels. Sanctuary Records released Music in a Foreign Language (2003) in the UK. Recorded largely by Cole himself (including tracks recorded
directly onto a Mac), the songs had a stark, folk-inspired singer-songwriter style. The album was released in the US by the One Little Indian label, which also collected a number of outtakes (recorded from 1996 to 2000) on 2002's Etc. and released an instrumental ambient electronica album, Plastic Wood, the same year. It featured new versions of Nick Cave's "People Ain't No Good" and his own "No More Love Songs".
On 30 January 2023, Cole announced his twelfth studio album On Pain to be released on 23 June 2023:
an album featuring eight songs recorded in Cole's attic and produced by Chris Merrick Hughes. Four of the songs are co-written by founding Commotions members Blair Cowan and Neil Clark. It was preceded by the upbeat single and music video "Warm by the Fire". It received 4-star reviews by Uncut, Mojo and AllMusic and it entered the UK Albums Chart at number 23.
LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS - RATTLESNAKES 1984 (2004 24th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITIION 2 CD)
One of the finest debuts of the '80s, and possibly the defining album of the whole U.K. indie jangle
scene that also included Prefab Sprout, Aztec Camera, and dozens of other bands, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' Rattlesnakes is a college rock masterpiece of smart, ironic lyrics and sympathetic folk-rock-based melodies. The Glasgow-based band (Lloyd Cole on guitar and vocals, Neil Clark on lead guitar, Blair Cowan on keyboards, Lawrence Donegan on bass, and Stephen Irvine on drums) has a level of interplay remarkable in a group that had been playing for less than two years, and for all the attention given to Cole's hyper-literate lyrics, the album's finest moments are things like the slinky
interludes between the wry verses on the Renata Adler-inspired "Speedboat" and Clark's glorious extended solo at the end of the album's finest song, "Forest Fire." Originally released in the U.S. by Geffen but reissued on CD as part of Capitol's acquisition of the Commotions in 1988 (with the original cover, which had been changed for the Geffen release), Rattlesnakes consists of ten perfect, or close to it, pop songs in just a hair under 36 minutes.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions – Rattlesnakes
Label: Polydor – 9821820
Series: Deluxe Edition
Format: 2 x CD, Album, Remastered, Reissue 2004
Country: UK & Europe
Released: 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative, Pop Rock
CD1. RATTLESNAKES
01. Perfect Skin 3:14
Written-By – Cole
02. Speedboat 4:40
Written-By – Cole
03. Rattlesnakes 3:26
Written-By – Cole, Clark
04. Down On Mission Street 3:46
Written-By – Cole
05. Forest Fire 4:36
Written-By – Cole
06. Charlotte Street 3:53
Written-By – Cole
07. 2cv 2:53
(Written-By – Cole
08. Four Flights Up 2:35
Written-By – Donegan, Cole
09. Patience 3:38
(Written-By – Cowan, Cole
10. Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? 3:06
(Written-By – Cole, Clark
Flac Size: 241 MB
CD2. DEMOS + LIVE + RADIO SESSIONS + B-SIDES / OUTTAKE
DEMOS
01. Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken - Demo 2:09
Written-By – Cole, Clark
02. Perfect Skin - Demo 3:26
Written-By – Cole
LIVE
03. Glory - Live At Nightmoves (15/6/84) 2:29
Written-By – Verlaine
04. Beautiful City - Live At The Marquee (5/11/84) 3:43
Written-By – Cole
05. Charlotte Street - Live At The Marquee (5/11/84) 3:40
Written-By – Cole
06. Sweetness - Live At The Barrowlands (9/9/85) 2:42
Written-By – Cole
07. 2cv - Live At The Barrowlands (9/9/85) 2:57
Written-By – Cole
RADIO SESSIONS
08. Patience - Saturday Live - BBC Radio 1 Session (26/5/84) 3:21
Written-By – Cowan, Cole
09. Forest Fire - Richard Skinner Session - BBC Radio 1 (5/7/84) 4:13
Written-By – Cole
10. Speedboat - Richard Skinner Session - BBC Radio 1 (5/7/84) 3:59
Written-By – Cole
11. Rattlesnakes - Richard Skinner Session - BBC Radio 1 (5/7/84) 3:36
Written-By – Cole, Clark
B-SIDES / OUTTAKE
12. The Sea And The Sand 3:03
Written-By – Cole
13. You Will Never Be No Good 2:39
Written-By – Cowan, Cole
14. Andy's Babies 2:52
Written-By – Donegan, Cole
15. Glory 2:39
Written-By – Verlaine
16. Sweetness 2:51
Written-By – Cole
17. Beautiful City (Rattlesnakes Recording) 3:38
Written-By – Cole
18. Jesus Said 3:14
Written-By – Cole, Clark
Flac Size: 376 MB
LINE - UP
Lyrics By, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Lloyd Cole (tracks: 1.1 to 1.10)
Drums, Tambourine – Stephen Irvine (tracks: 1.1 to 1.10)
Electric Bass – Lawrence Donegan (tracks: 1.1 to 1.10)
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Neil Clark (tracks: 1.1 to 1.10)
Keyboards [Electric And Acoustic] – Blair Cowan (tracks: 1.1 to 1.10)
LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS - EASY PIECES 1985
Producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, as is their wont, created a shimmering pop surface for
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' second album, Easy Pieces, sweetening the tracks with string and brass countermelodies and emphasizing the chiming highs of the guitar and keyboards for an attractive sound that echoed the earnestness of British bands like the Hollies and Herman's Hermits circa 1966. It was, of course, like sugarcoating cyanide capsules, given Cole's pleasantly sung lyrics, which detailed philosophical disillusionment, romantic discord, and, yes, at least attempted suicide.
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Easy Pieces
Label: Polydor – 827 670-2 Y H, Polydor – 827 670-2
Format: CD, Album, Stereo
Country: Europe
Released: 1985
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Pop Rock
TRACKS
01. Rich 4:23
Written-By – Cole
02. Why I Love Country Music 2:58
Written-By – Cowan, Cole
03. Pretty Gone 3:30
Written-By – Cole, Clark
04. Grace 4:04
Written-By – Cole
05. Cut Me Down 4:27
Written-By – Cole
06. Brand New Friend 4:51
Written-By – Cowan, Cole
07. Lost Weekend 3:14
Written-By – Cowan, Cole, Clark
08. James 3:49
Written-By – Cole
09. Minor Character 3:42
Written-By – Cole, Clark
10. Perfect Blue 4:31
Written-By – Cole
11. Her Last Fling 2:47
Written-By – Cole
12. Big World 2:17
Written-By – Cole
13. Nevers End 2:33
Written-By – Cole
LINE - UP
Neil Clark – guitar
Lloyd Cole – vocals, guitar
Blair Cowan – keyboards
Lawrence Donegan – bass guitar, guitar
Stephen Irvine – drums, tambourine
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS
Jimmy Thomas, Jimmy Helms, Lance Ellington, Jimmy Chambers, Tony Jackson, Lynda Hayes – additional vocals
Anne Dudley – string arrangements
Gary Barnacle – brass arrangements
NOTES
Tracks 1 to 10 are the original LP, Easy Pieces.
Track 11 was the b-side of the Rich single.
Tracks 12 & 13 were the b-sides of the Lost Weekend single.