Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) 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.

Early life

Cole was born in

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

, Derbyshire, England. He grew up in nearby

Chapel-en-le-Frith Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish, in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the highland areas between the Saxon lands (below ...

and went to New Mills Comprehensive School and later attended

Runshaw College Runshaw College is a Further education, Higher and Further Education college based in Leyland, Lancashire, Leyland, England. History Runshaw College was established in 1974. It initially catered solely for school leavers from Balshaw's Church o ...

Leyland, Lancashire Leyland ( ) is a town in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, 6 miles (10 km) south of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The population was 35,578 at the 2011 Census. The name of the town is Anglo-Saxon, meaning "untilled land". History Leyland ...

. He studied a year of law at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

but switched to the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, where he studied philosophy and English, and also met the future members of the Commotions.

Career

1984–1989: Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

The Commotions' debut studio album, '' Rattlesnakes'' (1984), contained literary and

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

references to such figures as Arthur Lee,

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. ...

Eva Marie Saint Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American retired actress. In a career that spanned nearly 80 years, she won an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two British Academy Film Awa ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

and

Joan Didion Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer and journalist. She is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism, along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe. Didio ...

. The band produced two more studio albums, '' Easy Pieces'' (1985) and ''

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'' (1987), before disbanding in 1989. Songs by the band include " Perfect Skin", " Rattlesnakes", "

Forest Fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), dese ...

", " Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?", " Lost Weekend" and " Jennifer She Said". Cole subsequently relocated to New York City and recorded with various musicians, including Fred Maher,

Robert Quine Robert Wolfe Quine (December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004) was an American guitarist. A native of Akron, Ohio, Quine worked with a wide range of musicians, though he himself remained relatively unknown. Critic Mark Deming wrote that "Quine's eclect ...

and

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

1990–1992: ''Lloyd Cole'' and ''Don't Get Weird on Me Babe''

This solo setting produced two studio albums: ''

Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) 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. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He ...

'' in 1990 – preceded by the single " No Blue Skies" – and '' Don't Get Weird on Me Babe'' in 1991. The latter was recorded in two parts: one side continued the New York rock of his debut solo studio album, while the other side featured a session orchestra, much in the style of

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

or Scott Walker. While he remained with

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

as his record label, the US distribution contract with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

ended. (US rights were picked up by

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

.) " She's a Girl and I'm a Man", " Weeping Wine" and "

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" were released as singles. "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

" (from ''Lloyd Cole'', 1990) was featured in the American psychological thriller film '' Bad Influence'' (1990) – starring

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with starring roles in ...

and

James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...

– while "Pay for It" (from ''Don't Get Weird on Me Babe'', 1991) was on the soundtrack of ''When the Party's Over'', starring

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...

1993–1999: ''Bad Vibes'', ''Love Story'' and ''The Collection''

Cole recorded '' Bad Vibes'' in 1993, a collaboration with producer and

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

er Adam Peters, using a harder sound. " So You'd Like to Save the World" and " Morning Is Broken" were released as singles. '' Love Story'' (1995) was recorded with the help of

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album '' Viva Hate'' following the ...

(who has worked with Blur and

the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

) and former Commotion Neil Clark. It produced a minor hit with the song " Like Lovers Do", affording Cole a mid-1990s appearance on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''.

2000–2009: ''The Negatives'', ''Music in a Foreign Language'', ''Antidepressant''

In 1997 and 1998, Cole played with some 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 Western Europe and North America. He has since released solo albums on smaller independent labels.

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is, as of 2013, a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest ...

released ''Music in a Foreign Language'' (2003) in the UK. Recorded largely by Cole himself (including tracks recorded directly onto a

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), the songs had a stark,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

-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 Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

album, ''Plastic Wood'', the same year. It featured new versions of

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

's "People Ain't No Good" and his own "No More Love Songs". In 2004, to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of ''Rattlesnakes'', Lloyd Cole and the Commotions reformed to perform a one-off tour of the UK and Ireland. The reformation was never intended to be permanent, and Cole released another solo studio 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. In 2009, Cole released ''Cleaning Out the Ashtrays'' – a collection of outtakes, B-sides, rarities and alternative versions of his solo work. Notable cover versions include

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

's " Chelsea Hotel #2", T. Rex's " The Children of the Revolution" and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

's " For the Good Times", which he recorded with Jill Sobule.

2010–2018: ''Broken Record'', ''Standards'' and ''Selected Studies Vol. 1''

''Broken Record'', released in September 2010 preceded by the single "Writer's Retreat", marked a departure from his solo recordings, as it was performed by a band of longstanding friends and working partners, including Fred Maher, Joan As Police Woman, Rainy Orteca, Dave Derby and Blair Cowan – as well as two musicians, Matt Cullen (guitar; banjo) and Mark Schwaber (guitar; mandolin), with whom Cole tours, billed as 'Lloyd Cole Small Ensemble'. The recording of the album was entirely financed by advance purchases by his fans and contributions from Tapete Records, which later distributed the album and also oversaw and negotiated the rights to release a boxed set with his complete collection of B-sides, alternative takes and previously unreleased material, under the title ''Cleaning Out the Ashtrays''. A further album co-funded by fans, ''

Standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

'', was released in June 2013, and includes contributions from Fred Maher and

, Blair Cowan (The Commotions) and Joan Wasser (a.k.a. Joan As Police Woman). It was preceded by the single and music video "Period Piece". Other notable songs on the album were Cole's re-make of John Hartford's "California Earthquake", "Women's Studies" and favourite "Myrtle and Rose". For the first time since 1999's ''The Collection'', Cole appeared on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

for one week at position 74. In February 2013 a new album of electronic music by Cole and

Hans-Joachim Roedelius Hans-Joachim Roedelius (born 26 October 1934) is a German electronic music, electronic musician and composer, known as a co-founder of the influential 'kosmische musik, kosmische' groups Cluster (band), Cluster and Harmonia (band), Harmonia. He ...

was released, called ''Selected Studies Vol. 1''. In 2016, Cole went on tour with the Leopards to celebrate the release of the ''Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Collected Recordings 1983–1988'' box set. Live album ''Lloyd Cole and the Leopards – Live at Brooklyn Bowl'' was released through his website along with several live recordings of shows he performed with his son William on guitar. In early 2017 the single "Man on the Verge" was released as a taster for the ''Lloyd Cole in New York – Collected Recordings 1988–1996'' box set.

2019–present: ''Guesswork'' and ''On Pain''

Cole's eleventh studio album '' Guesswork'' was released on 26 July 2019 by earMUSIC. Recorded (mostly) in his attic studio in Massachusetts, ''Guesswork'' was produced by Cole and mixed by German producer Olaf Opal, with executive production from

Chris Hughes Christopher Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The ...

. The record was mastered by Kai Blankenberg at Skyline Tonfabrik in

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. The electronic sounding album also featured contributions from, among others, Fred Maher and former Commotions Blair Cowan and Neil Clark. It was preceded by the singles "Violins" and "Night Sweats". In 2021, ''Cleaning Out the Ashtrays'' – the 2009 collection of outtakes, alternative versions of his solo work, and cover versions – was released digitally. 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 Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' and

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

and it entered the UK Albums Chart at number 23. The second single "The Idiot" – released on 25 August 2023 – is a homage to

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's and

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

's friendship during their Berlin era in the late 1970s. According to ''Clashmusic.com'', the video for "The Idiot" is a touching vision of love and friendship, shot not in Berlin but in

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's legendary Horseshoe Bar. The first leg of the On Pain Tour started in Newcastle on October 6, 2023 and finished in Amsterdam on November 6. The show consisted of a semi-acoustic part and an electric part, both performed with Commotions co-founders Blair Cowan and Neil Clark, and Icelandic drummer Signy Jakobsdottir. On 8 December 2023, the ''Wolves Disco and Boogaloo Remixes'' single was released, featuring 'Wolves' remixes by

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...

a.o.

Personal life

Cole married his American wife, Elizabeth Lewis, in December 1989. They live in

Easthampton, Massachusetts Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The city is in the Pioneer Valley, near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. The population was 16,211 at the 2020 census. History E ...

Cover versions

Some of Cole's songs have been covered by other artists. " Rattlesnakes" has been covered by

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

on her concept album '' Strange Little Girls'' (2001), while Sandie Shaw released a version of " (Are You) Ready to Be Heartbroken?" in 1986. In 2006, Scottish

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band

Camera Obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...

released the song "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" as an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

to Cole's 1984 hit "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?".

Discography

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions * '' Rattlesnakes'' (1984) * '' Easy Pieces'' (1985) * ''

'' (1987) Lloyd Cole and the Negatives * ''The Negatives'' (2000) Solo * ''

'' (1990) * '' Don't Get Weird on Me Babe'' (1991) * '' Bad Vibes'' (1993) * '' Love Story'' (1995) * ''Plastic Wood'' (2001) * '' Music in a Foreign Language'' (2003) * ''Antidepressant'' (2006) * ''Cleaning Out The Ashtrays'' (2009) ''(Collected b-sides and rarities 1989-2006)'' * ''Broken Record'' (2010) * ''

'' (2013) * ''1D Electronics 2012–2014'' (2015) * '' Guesswork'' (2019) * '' On Pain'' (2023)

References

External links

Official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Lloyd 1961 births Living people People from Buxton English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English expatriate musicians in the United States Alumni of University College London Alumni of the University of Glasgow Fontana Records artists Tapete Records artists Polydor Records artists Sanctuary Records artists