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Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British rock/pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK; it also had success in several other countries including Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden and New Zealand. After they broke up in 1989, Cole embarked on a solo career but the band reformed briefly in 2004 to perform a 20th anniversary mini-tour of the UK and Ireland. Band history The band were formed whilst Cole (who was born in Derbyshire, England) was studying at the University of Glasgow. They signed to Polydor Records; their debut single "Perfect Skin" reaching number 26 on the UK chart in spring 1984, while the second single "Forest Fire" reached 41. Their first album, ''Rattlesnakes'', was released in October 1984. Produced by Paul Hardiman and featuring string arrangements by Anne Dudley, it peaked at No. 13 in the UK and was certified gold for sales over 100,000 copies. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 635,640. Straddling the border between historic Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, the city now forms the Glasgow City Council area, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and is governed by Glasgow City Council. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands. Glasgow has the largest economy in Scotland and the third-highest GDP per capita of any city in the UK. Glasgow's major cultural institutions – the Burrell Collection, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera – enjoy international reputations. The city was the European Capital of Culture in 1990 and is notable for its architecture, cult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rattlesnakes (album)
''Rattlesnakes'' is the debut album by British group Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, released on 12 October 1984. The album reached number 13 on the UK Albums Chart and included the singles "Perfect Skin" (number 26 in UK), "Forest Fire" (number 41 in UK, number 25 in New Zealand) and "Rattlesnakes" (number 65 in UK, number 31 in the Netherlands). Composition and recording The bulk of the album was written by frontman Lloyd Cole, who formed the band while a student at the University of Glasgow. Cole cited Bob Dylan and Booker T. & the M.G.'s as major influences, but also noted the impact of his studies in English and philosophy on both the album's title, a reference to the novel '' Play It as It Lays'' by Joan Didion, and its lyrics, which also reference Renata Adler, Simone de Beauvoir and Norman Mailer. The album's songs were written at Glasgow Golf Club, where Cole's father worked as club master and where the family lived. Cole recalled, " 'Perfect Skin' and 'Forest Fire' we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Stanley
Ian Christopher Stanley (born 28 February 1957) is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He was previously a member of the English band Tears for Fears for most of the 1980s, and played a key role in the making of their multi-platinum selling second studio album ''Songs from the Big Chair''. Biography Career After offering them free use of his recording facility, Stanley became a member of Tears for Fears, contributing on synthesizers, drum machines, organ, pianos and backing vocals on their first three albums. He also co-wrote (with Roland Orzabal) many of their songs from the period 1983–1985, and was a part of the production team during this era as the band worked with producer Chris Hughes at their studio, The Wool Hall, in Bath. He has appeared in several Tears for Fears music videos, including ''Change'' (in which he plays one of the two masked musicians), '' Mothers Talk'' (version 1 & 3), ''Shout'', '' Everybody Wants to Rule the World'', ''Head ove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mainstream (Lloyd Cole Album)
''Mainstream'' is the third and final studio album by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. It was produced by Ian Stanley and released by Polydor Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US on 26 October 1987. It included the singles "My Bag", "Jennifer She Said" and "From the Hip". Although the album reached number nine in the UK, it failed to chart in the US and was not embraced by all critics: ''Mainstream'' is the only Lloyd Cole and the Commotions album not to sell at least 100,000 copies in the US. Recording The album took two years to make as finding a producer proved difficult. The band first went with Chris Thomas, when that did not work out they brought in Stewart Copeland. With Copeland they only recorded one track, "Hey Rusty", then finally found Ian Stanley. Bass player Lawrence Donegan reflected in 2004 that "with the previous LP, '' Easy Pieces'', we had tried to broaden out and make more of a pop record and it hadn't really worked. It sounded rushed and the son ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elvis Costello And The Attractions
Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Costello number 80 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Costello began his career as part of London's pub rock scene in the early 1970s and later became associated with the first wave of the British punk and new wave movement that emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s. His critically acclaimed debut album ''My Aim Is True'' was released in 1977. Shortly after recording it, he formed the Attractions as his backing band. His second album '' This Year's Model'' was released in 1978, and was ranked number 11 by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of the best albums from 1967 to 1987. Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single " Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. The group also launched the career of group frontman Julian Cope as well as that of keyboard player and co-manager David Balfe (later a record producer, A&R man and founder of Food Records). Other members included early Smiths producer Troy Tate. Along with other contemporary Liverpudlian groups, The Teardrop Explodes played a role in returning psychedelic elements to mainstream British rock and pop, initially favouring a modernised version of lightly psychedelic late '60s-influenced beat-group sound (sometimes described as "bubblegum trance") and later exploring more experimental areas. In addition to their musical reputation, the band (and Cope in particular) had a reputation for eccentric pronouncements and behaviour, sometimes vergi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madness (band)
Madness are an English ska and pop band from Camden Town, North London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up.Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Retrieved on 19 June 2007. Madness's most successful period was from 1980 to 1986, when the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. (UB40 shared the same number of weeks, the largest for any British group in the decade, but over a longer period.), IMDb.com, Retrieved on 10 June 2007. Madness have had 15 singles reach the UK top ten, including " One Step Beyond", "Baggy Trousers" and " It Must Be Love", one UK number-one single "House of Fun" and two number ones in Ireland, "House of Fun" and " Wings of a Dove". " Our House" was their biggest US hit, reaching number 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2000, the band received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Winstanley
Alan Kenneth Winstanley (born 2 November 1952) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer. His early career during the mid-1970s was as an audio engineer, working on albums by The Stranglers in addition to releases by Joe Jackson and Generation X. He also worked with songwriter Brian Wade producing teen pop singer Nikki Richards' single "Oh Boy!" in 1978. Notable studio albums produced or co-produced by Winstanley * ''Generation X'' (1978) (Winstanley engineered). * '' One Step Beyond...'' – Madness (1979) * ''The Raven'' – The Stranglers (1979) * ''4 Out of 5 Doctors'' – 4 Out of 5 Doctors (1980) * '' Absolutely'' – Madness (1980) * ''Kilimanjaro'' – The Teardrop Explodes (1980) * '' 7'' – Madness (1981) * ''Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary - Tenpole Tudor (1981) * '' Too-Rye-Ay'' – Dexys Midnight Runners (1982) * '' The Rise & Fall'' – Madness (1982) * ''Punch the Clock'' – Elvis Costell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clive Langer
Clive Langer (born 19 June 1954 in Hampstead, London, England) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films '' Still Crazy'' and '' Brothers of the Head''. Prior to his record producing career he was a guitarist with the British cult band Deaf School. Langer sometimes performed under the alias of 'Cliff Hanger', and his production work was sometimes attributed to 'Clanger'. After Deaf School, in mid 1977, Langer joined Big in Japan which he suggested to his friend Bill Drummond (later founder of Zoo Records and member of The KLF) to form, but Langer quit shortly afterwards and began a new band, Clive Langer and the Boxes. Their releases were ''I Want the Whole World'', a 12" EP released in 1979 on Radar Records. and ''Splash!'', an album released in 1980 on F-Beat Records. Langer co-wrote the song "Shipbuilding" with Elvis Costello, and played organ on the vers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Easy Pieces
''Easy Pieces'' is the second album by the British band Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. It was released on Polydor Records in the UK on 22 November 1985 and included the hit singles "Brand New Friend" (#19 in UK), "Lost Weekend" (#17 in UK) and "Cut Me Down" (#38 in UK). The title of the album derives from the film ''Five Easy Pieces'', which Cole described as "one of my very favourite films", saying, "I want to write at least five songs out of that film". Following the praise and healthy sales of their debut album ''Rattlesnakes'' the previous year, ''Easy Pieces'' became the band's fastest-selling album, selling more in its first two weeks than ''Rattlesnakes'' had managed in a whole year. It was also their highest charting album in the UK, peaking at number 5, aided by three top 40 singles. However, despite ''Easy Pieces''' commercial success, the reception from critics was lukewarm and the band themselves were unhappy with the end result. Cole would later say, "It strikes me t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics). They form a key part of the 1990s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement. Following the release of their debut single "Suicide Alley", Manic Street Preachers were joined by Richey Edwards as co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist, the band became as a quartet. The band's early albums were in a punk vein, eventually broadening to a greater alternative rock sound, whilst retaining a leftist political outlook. Their early combination of androgynous glam imagery and lyrics about "culture, alienation, boredom and despair" gained them a loyal following. Manic Street Preachers released their debut album, '' Generation Terrorists'', in February 1992, followed by '' Gold Against The Soul'' in 1993 and ''The Holy Bible'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University at the age of five, the youngest person ever to have been admitted. She had to leave at the age of eleven when her scholarship was discontinued for what ''Rolling Stone'' described as "musical insubordination". Amos was the lead singer of the short-lived 1980s pop group Y Kant Tori Read before achieving her breakthrough as a solo artist in the early 1990s. Her songs focus on a broad range of topics, including sexuality, feminism, politics, and religion. Her charting singles include "Crucify", "Silent All These Years", " God", " Cornflake Girl", " Caught a Lite Sneeze", " Professional Widow", " Spark", " 1000 Oceans", " Flavor" and " A Sorta Fairytale", her most commercially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
