Lloyd Cole

Lloyd Cole (2010).

Lloyd Cole (born January 31, 1961 in Buxton , England ) is a British singer and songwriter who had his greatest success in the 1980s with his band Lloyd Cole and the Commotions .

Life

Lloyd Cole, around 1987.

Philosophy student Lloyd Cole and some of his fellow students at the University of Glasgow formed the band The Commotions in 1982 . Originally founded as a large soul band, the number of members quickly fell to five: In addition to Cole as a singer, these were keyboardist Blair Cowan , guitarist Neil Clark , bassist Lawrence Donegan and drummer Stephen Irvine . Already in 1984 the band released the debut album Rattlesnakes with the major Polydor . The first single Perfect Skin (UK 26) could already reach the top 30 in the UK. The follow-up album Easy Pieces released two veritable radio hits with Lost Weekend (UK 17) and Brand New Friend (UK 19). The third album Mainstream in 1987 was both the high point and the end of the band's career. The single My Bag (UK 46) even hit the disco charts.

Lloyd Cole moved to New York City and continued to work as a solo artist. While his debut - released in 1990 under the name Lloyd Cole and recorded with Fred Maher (drums), Robert Quine (guitar) and Matthew Sweet (bass) - still resembled the independent work with the Commotions , the 1991 album performed Don't Get Weird on Me, Babe a turn to lavishly produced ( Paul Buckmaster ) and string-heavy pop.

The great commercial success failed to materialize, and so Cole had difficulties finding a US distribution for his 1993 album Bad Vibes . With the album Love Story in 1995 Cole found his way back to his roots with the Commotions , not least because Neil Clark played the guitar again. The relationship with Polydor was disrupted due to unsatisfactory sales, although Lloyd Cole had a top 30 hit in the UK charts for the first time in several years with Like Lovers Do (UK 24). The record company refused to release the 1996 album Etc. to publish. A compilation released in 1998 called Collection , on the other hand, did not sell well enough to want a new album to be released.

Lloyd Cole and Jill Sobule (left) at a concert in Seattle , Washington .

It was not until 2000/2001 that Cole was able to free himself both contractually and artistically and with his 1-album-1 tour band The Negatives (with Jill Sobule , Dave Derby , Adam Schlesinger and Michael Kotch ) the album The Negatives (produced by Stephen Street ) publish, as well as the album Etc. finally bring out his trip to the Electronica Plastic Wood and a Bootleg Loaded: Live in New York to the fans.

2003 followed the album Music in a Foreign Language with Nick Cave - Cover People Is not No Good . For the 20th anniversary of the debut album, Polydor released a deluxe edition of Rattlesnakes in 2004 . For a short tour in Ireland and Great Britain with a total of five concerts in Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester and London, Lloyd Cole and The Commotions reunited with the original line-up in October 2004. In 2006 the album Antidepressant was released . In 2007 three BBC recordings were made Live at the BBC , including two live CDs by Lloyd Cole And The Commotions (including a recording of the Glastonbury performance in 1985) and a live CD from 1995 with solo pieces by Lloyd Cole. In April and June 2008, Lloyd Cole came to Great Britain and Ireland for 16 concerts, where in April 2008 two concerts in Dublin were recorded for a live CD. This first live CD by Lloyd Cole was released at the end of January 2009 together with a recording by Radio Bremen from October 2003 under the title Folksinger Vol 1 and 2. Also in late January 2009 by Tapete Records in Hamburg, a number of rarities (B-sides, outtakes album, promotional and cover versions) from 1989 to 2006 a total of four CDs under the title Cleaning Out The Ashtrays published.

In April 2009 Lloyd Cole toured Germany to a total of six One-Man-Show Club concerts (Berlin, Hamburg, Oldenburg, Münster, Cologne & Karlsruhe).

On September 10, 2010, the new album Broken Record was released by Wallpaper Records in Hamburg . For the first time in several years there was a Writers Retreat , which appeared on August 27 ! again a single that was released exclusively as a vinyl single. With his new band The Small Ensemble ( Matt Cullen and Mark Schwaber ) Lloyd Cole returned to Germany for a total of seven concerts in November 2010 as part of a European tour. In the spring of 2011, Lloyd Cole again traveled with The Small Ensemble for an extended tour through Germany and Western Europe.

Private

Lloyd Cole is a passionate golf player with a handicap of 5.3. Cole is married and lives in Easthampton , Massachusetts with his wife and two children .

Discography

Studio albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		DE	CH	UK
1984	Rattlesnakes Polydor 823 683	-	-	UK13 gold (30 weeks)UK	First published: October 8, 1984 with The Commotions Producer: Paul Hardiman
1985	Easy Pieces Polydor 827 670	-	-	UK5 gold (18 weeks)UK	First published: November 18, 1985 with The Commotions producers: Clive Langer , Alan Winstanley
1987	Mainstream Polydor 833 691	-	-	UK9 gold (20 weeks)UK	First released: October 26, 1987 with The Commotions Producer: Ian Stanley
1990	Lloyd Cole Polydor 841 907	DE38 (9 weeks) DE	-	UK11 silver (6 weeks)UK	First published: February 13, 1990 Producers: Fred Maher , Lloyd Cole, Paul Hardiman
1991	Don't Get Weird on Me Babe Polydor 511 093	-	-	UK21 (3 weeks) UK	First published: September 16, 1990 Producers: Fred Maher, Lloyd Cole, Paul Hardiman
1993	Bad Vibes Fontana 518 318	-	-	UK38 (2 weeks) UK	First published: October 11, 1993 Producer: Adam Peters
1995	Love Story Fontana 528 529	-	-	UK27 (2 weeks) UK	First published: September 25, 1995 Producers: Adam Peters, Stephen Street
2010	Broken Record wallpaper 946 902	DE58 (1 week) DE	-	-	First published: September 10, 2010 Producers: Dave Derby, Lloyd Cole
2013	Standards wallpaper 261	DE98 (1 week) DE	-	UK74 (1 week) UK	First published: June 24th, 2013 Producer: Lloyd Cole
2019	Guesswork	DE93 (1 week) DE	CH84 (1 week) CH	UK75 (1 week) UK	Initial release: July 26th, 2019 Producer: Lloyd Cole

More studio albums

• 2000: The Negatives (with The Negatives; XIII BIS Records 155 482)
• 2001: Plastic Wood (The Establishment 139 002; release: June)
• 2001: Etc: Lost Songs, Tunes 1996-2000 (The Establishment 139 012; release: October 4th)
• 2003: Music in a Foreign Language ( Sanctuary 182; release: May 9th)
• 2006: Antidepressant (Sanctuary 429; release: September 25th)
• 2015: 1D Electronics 2012 ~ 2014 ( Bureau B 211; release: September 4th)

Live albums

• 1985: In Concert - 370 (with The Commotions; recording: Hammersmith Odeon September 1, 1985; BBC Transcription Services 4675; release: December 16)
• 1986: In Concert - 370 (with The Commotions; recording: Glastonbury Festival June 21, 1986; BBC Transcription Services 4675; release: October 14th)
• 2004: 15th October 2004 Hammersmith Apollo (with The Commotions; 2 CDs; recording: Hammersmith Apollo , on the 20th anniversary of the Rattlesnake release; Instant Live 00015; release date: October 14th)
• 2007: Live at the BBC Volume One (with The Commotions; recording: 1984 for BBC Radio 1 ; Polydor 984 950 4)
• 2007: Live at the BBC Volume Two (with The Commotions; 2 CDs; recording: 1985/86 for BBC Radio 1; Polydor 984 951 1)
• 2009: Folksinger Volume 1: Radio Bremen (recording: Sendesaal Radio Bremen on October 1, 2003; wallpaper 149)
• 2009: Folksinger Volume 2: The Whelan (Photo: Whelan's, Dublin , March 25-27, 2008; wallpaper 150)
• 2010: Slaughterhouse Studios 01/22/2010 (The Lloyd Cole Small Ensemble; recording: January 2010; wallpaper 197)
• 2016: Live at the Brooklyn Bowl (with The Leopards; 2 CDs; recording: August 19, 2016; Live Here Now ; release: December 9)
• 2016: Live at the Union Chapel (2 CDs; recording: Union Chapel, Islington, October 3 and November 4, 2016; Live Here Now; release: December 9)

Compilations

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		DE	UK
1989	1984-1989 Polydor 837 736	-	UK14th gold (7 weeks)UK	First published: March 26, 1989 with The Commotions
1999	The Collection Mercury 538 104	-	UK24 (5 weeks) UK	First release: January 11th, 1999 including 8 tracks with The Commotions

More compilations

• 2002: The Bigger Picture (Chrysalis Music UK)
• 2004: The Singles (incl. 10 tracks with The Commotions; Universal 982 404 7)
• 2009: Cleaning Out the Ashtrays: Collected B-Sides & Rarities 1989–2006 (box with 4 CDs; wallpaper 138)
• 2015: Don't Look Back: An Introduction to Lloyd Cole and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (incl. 10 tracks with The Commotions; Spectrum Music 2205; release: March 23)
• 2015: Collected Recordings 1983–1989 (box with 5 CDs + DVD; Universal International Music BV ; release: June)
• 2017: In New York Collected Recordings 1988–1996 (box with 6 CDs; Universal International Music BV; release: March 17th)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		UK
1984	Perfect Skin Rattlesnakes	UK26 (10 weeks) UK	First published: April 1984 with The Commotions Author: Lloyd Cole
	Forest Fire Rattlesnakes	UK41 (6 weeks) UK	First published: August 13, 1984 with The Commotions Author: Lloyd Cole
	Rattlesnakes Rattlesnakes	UK65 (3 weeks) UK	First published: October 29, 1984 with The Commotions Authors: Lloyd Cole, Neil Clark
1985	Brand New Friend Easy Pieces	UK16 (9 weeks) UK	First published: September 2, 1985 with The Commotions Authors: Lloyd Cole, Blair Cowan
	Lost Weekend Easy Pieces	UK17 (7 weeks) UK	First published: October 28, 1985 with The Commotions Authors: Lloyd Cole, Blair Cowan, Lawrence Donegan
1986	Cut Me Down Easy Pieces	UK38 (4 weeks) UK	First published: January 6, 1986 with The Commotions Author: Lloyd Cole
1987	My Bag mainstream	UK46 (4 weeks) UK	First published: September 22, 1987 with The Commotions US Dance Charts : January 1989 No. 48 (1 week) Authors: Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
1988	Jennifer She Said Mainstream	UK31 (5 weeks) UK	First published: December 28, 1987 with The Commotions Backing Vocals: Nicky Holland Authors: Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
	From the Hip (EP) mainstream	UK59 (2 weeks) UK	First published: April 11, 1988 with The Commotions incl. From the Hip , Please , Lonely Mile , Love Your Wife Authors: Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
1990	No Blue Skies Lloyd Cole	UK42 (4 weeks) UK	First published: January 22nd, 1990 Backing vocals: Matthew Sweet, Nicky Holland Writer: Lloyd Cole
	Don't Look Back Lloyd Cole	UK59 (3 weeks) UK	First published: March 28, 1990 Backing Vocals: Nicky Holland Writer: Lloyd Cole
1991	She's a Girl and I'm a Man Don't Get Weird on Me Babe	UK55 (2 weeks) UK	First published: August 19, 1991 Authors: Lloyd Cole, Robert Quine
1993	So You'd Like to Save the World Bad Vibes	UK72 (2 weeks) UK	First published: September 13, 1993 Author: Lloyd Cole
1995	Like Lovers Do Love Story	UK24 (3 weeks) UK	First published: September 4th, 1995 Author: Lloyd Cole
	Sentimental Fool Love Story	UK73 (2 weeks) UK	First published: November 20, 1995 Author: Lloyd Cole
1996	Baby love story	UK99 (1 week) UK	First published: April 29, 1996 Author: Lloyd Cole

More singles

• 1983: Down at the Mission (with The Commotions)
• 1988: Forest Fire (Remix) (with The Commotions; release: April 3rd)
• 1990: Downtown (release: October)
• 1991: Weeping Wine (release: October 21)
• 1992: Butterfly (release: March 2nd)
• 1993: Morning Is Broken
• 1998: That Boy
• 1999: Fool You Are
• 2000: Impossible Girl (with The Negativs)
• 2001: What's Wrong with This Picture? (with The Negativs)
• 2003: No More Love Songs
• 2003: Cutting Out
• 2010: Writers Retreat! (Release: August 30th)
• 2010: That's Alright

swell

1. ↑ golfdigest.com
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Chart sources: DE CH UK
3. ↑ ^{a b c} UK gold / platinum database
4. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7

Web links

Commons : Lloyd Cole  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website (English)
• Lloyd Cole at Allmusic (English)
• Lloyd Cole at Discogs (English)