Lloyd Cole
(born 31 January 1961) is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989, and for his subsequent solo work.
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LLOYD COLE TICKETS
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Early life
Cole was born in
Buxton,
Derbyshire.
[1] He grew up in nearby
Chapel en le Frith and went to New Mills
Grammar School and later attended Runshaw College in Leyland Lancashire. After failing in law at
University College London, he later attended (but did not graduate from) the
University of Glasgow, where he studied philosophy and
English and met the other members of The Commotions.
Career
The Commotions' 1984 hip debut,
Rattlesnakes
, contained literary and
pop culture name-checks to such figures as
Norman Mailer,
Grace Kelly,
Eva Marie Saint,
Truman Capote and
Joan Didion. The group produced two more albums,
Easy Pieces
and
Mainstream
, before disbanding in 1989, when Cole relocated to
New York to record with various artists, including
Fred Maher,
Robert Quine and
Matthew Sweet.
[2]
This solo setting produced two acclaimed albums,
Lloyd Cole
in 1990 and 1991's
Don't Get Weird on Me Babe
. The latter was recorded in two parts: one side continued the New York rock mastered on his first solo album, while the other side featured a session orchestra, much in the style of
Burt Bacharach or
Scott Walker. Although some reviewers have claimed
Don't Get Weird on Me Babe
(the title being a quotation from the American
minimalist writer
Raymond Carver) to be a creative peak, it produced significantly fewer record sales. While he remained with
Polydor as his record label, the US distribution contract with
Capitol Records ended. (US rights were immediately picked up by
Rykodisc).
Cole continued redefining his sound with
Bad Vibes
(1993), a collaboration with producer/
remixer Adam Peters, using a harder and
psychedelia-inspired sound.
Love Story
(1995) established stripped-down, largely acoustic sound landscapes with the help of
Stephen Street (famous for his work with
Blur and
The Smiths) and former Commotions
Neil Clark and
Blair Cowan; the album produced a minor hit, affording Cole a rare mid-90s appearance on
Top of the Pops
, with the song "Like Lovers Do".
Following a massive purge of the artist roster that came with
Universal Music's takeover of
Polygram and Cole's disappointment with the label, his contract was terminated despite at least two full-length recordings being locked in its vaults (later released in 2002 by
One Little Indian).
In 2000, after being a solo artist for more than a decade (and a couple of years without a contract), Cole teamed with a younger generation of New York musicians under the name The Negatives. The group consisted of
Jill Sobule,
Dave Derby of the
Dambuilders, Mike Kotch and Rafa Maciejak, who recorded an eponymous CD, released mainly in
France. He has since released solo albums on smaller
independent labels.
Sanctuary Records, the company responsible for the revival of
Morrissey, 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. One Little Indian, home of
Björk, released
Music in a Foreign Language
in the U.S.; they 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.
In 2004, to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of
Rattlesnakes
, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions reformed to perform a one-off, sellout tour in the
U.K. and
Ireland which generated some media interest, mostly in UK broadsheets. The reformation was never intended to be permanent and Cole released another solo album in 2006,
Antidepressant
, using his usual home recording outfit by playing all the instruments himself with friends like Sobule, Derby and the guitar work of former Commotion Neil Clark on some tracks.
[3] The lyrics focus on the reality of a young American
middle-class parent: leaving New York for a life in the
suburbs, worring about the
stock market crash,
fantasies of escaping marriage, or being "no longer young, no longer driven to distraction, not even by
Scarlett Johansson." Also in 2008, a boxed set with his complete collection of
b-sides and alternative takes and previously unreleased material was released by Tapete Records under the title
Cleaning Out the Ashtrays
.
Cole is on tour frequently, playing intimate club venues in a one-man acoustic setting and presenting rock songs from his past career remodelled to simple folk songs. He interacts extensively with the audience and some songs are told rather than played as
spoken word or
stand-up comedy. Performances recorded in April 2008 at Whelan's in
Dublin and in 2003 in
Bremen (also broadcast by
Radio Bremen) were used for two live albums called the Folksinger series.
[4]
Personal life
Cole married his
American wife, Elizabeth Lewis, in December 1989.
[5] They live in
Easthampton, Massachusetts with their sons William and Frank.
As an avid
golfer, Cole is known for playing concerts in towns suspiciously close to famous golf courses. He shares a passion for this sport with
Alice Cooper, who is said to have introduced the song "Only Women Bleed" by claiming "not even Lloyd Cole has written a song about
menstruation" when playing live (which he in fact has). Cole's 5.3 hcp tied 11th place on
Golf Digest
's top 100 list of musicians (tied with Cooper and
Dan Tyminski).
He has also published articles in golf journals and even starred in a commercial for a local golf supply store located near his home.
Covers
Cole has recorded and performed a number of songs by
Marc Bolan: "
Children of the Revolution", "The Slider", "Mystic Lady", and "Romany Soup". Cole has also covered "I'm Not Willing" by
Moby Grape, "Being Boring" by
Pet Shop Boys, "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "Chelsea Hotel" by
Leonard Cohen, "People Ain't No Good" by
Nick Cave, "Vicious" by
Lou Reed, "I Don't Believe You", "She Belongs to Me", "You're a Big Girl Now", "I Threw it All Away" ", "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (
Black session live) and "Most of the Time" by
Bob Dylan, "
Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" by
The Beatles, "Waterloo Sunset" by
The Kinks,
[6] "Human" by
The Human League (with
Stephin Merritt's 6ths), "
Believe" by
Cher (done as a lark), "Glory" by
Television, "If I Were a Carpenter", "Lady Came From Baltimore", and "Reason To Believe" by
Tim Hardin, "Pocket Calculator" by
Kraftwerk, "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" by
Burt Bacharach, "These Days" by
Jackson Browne (not to be confused with Cole's own song "These Days" om Mainstream), "Rock 'n' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" by
AC/DC and "Chinese Translation" by
M. Ward. His versions often differ drastically in arrangement to the originals.
Cole's "Rattlesnakes" has been covered by
Tori Amos, while
Sandie Shaw has recorded a version of "
(Are You) Ready to Be Heartbroken?".
[7]
In 2006,
Scottish band
Camera Obscura released the song "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" as an
answer song to Cole's 1984 hit "(Are You) Ready to Be Heartbroken?".
Discography
Albums
With the Commotions
- Rattlesnakes
(1984), UK #13, Sweden #25, Canada #68, Australia #28
- Easy Pieces
(1985), UK #5, Sweden #25, Canada #77, Australia #14
- Mainstream
(1987), UK #9, Sweden #31, Australia #54
- 1984-1989
(1989), UK #14, Australia #85
- Lloyd Cole. The Commotions. The Singles
(2004)
- Rattlesnakes - Deluxe Edition
(2004)
Solo
- Lloyd Cole
(1990), UK #11, Sweden #6, Australia #49, Germany #38
- Don't Get Weird on Me Babe
(1991), UK #21, Sweden #7
- Bad Vibes
(1993), UK #38, Sweden #8
- Love Story
(1995), UK #27, Sweden #9
- Collection
(1998), UK #24, Sweden #56
- Plastic Wood
(2001)
- Etc.
(2001)
- 2001 - Collected Recordings by Lloyd Cole
(2001)
- Music in a Foreign Language
(2003), UK #114
- Antidepressant
(2006), UK #156; Sweden #20; France #152
- Cleaning Out the Ashtrays
(2009), 4CD b-sides and rarities collection
- Radio Bremen: Folksinger Volume 1
(2009), live recording
- The Whelan: Folksinger Volume 2
(2009), live recording
With the Negatives
Singles
Year
| Title
| Charts
| Album
|
US Modern Rock
| UK Singles Chart
| Ireland
| Australia
|
1984
| "Perfect Skin"
| -
| 26
| -
| 54
| Rattlesnakes
|
"Forest Fire"
| -
| 41
| -
| 87
|
"Rattlesnakes"
| -
| 65
| -
| 59
|
1985
| "Brand New Friend"
| -
| 19
| 11
| 73
| Easy Pieces
|
"Lost Weekend"
| -
| 17
| 10
| -
|
1986
| "Cut Me Down"
| -
| 38
| 12
| -
|
1988
| "My Bag"
| 13
| 46
| 20
| -
| Mainstream
|
"Jennifer She Said"
| -
| 31
| 27
| -
|
"From the Hip"
| -
| 59
| -
| -
|
1990
| "No Blue Skies"
| -
| 42
| -
| 92
| Lloyd Cole
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"Don't Look Back"
| -
| 59
| -
| -
|
"Downtown"
| 5
| -
| -
| -
|
1991
| "She's A Girl And I'm A Man"
| 7
| 55
| -
| -
| Don't Get Weird On Me Babe
|
"Tell Your Sister"
| 6
| -
| -
| -
|
1992
| "Butterfly"
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1993
| "So You'd Like to Save the World"
| -
| 72
| -
| -
| Bad Vibes
|
"Morning Is Broken"
| -
| 83
| -
| -
|
1995
| "Like Lovers Do"
| -
| 24
| -
| -
| Love Story
|
"Sentimental Fool"
| -
| 73
| -
| -
|
1996
| "Baby"
| -
| 121
| -
| -
|
1998
| "That Boy"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Collection
|
2000
| "Impossible Girl"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| The Negatives
|
2003
| "No More Love Songs"
| -
| -
| -
| -
| Music in a Foreign Language
|
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