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 grew up in nearby

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

and went to New Mills Comprehensive School and later attended Runshaw College in Leyland, Lancashire. He studied a year of law at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

but switched to the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, 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

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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 novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...

, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint,

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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. The band produced two more studio albums, ''

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 " ...

'' (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, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

", "

Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken? "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?" is a song by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from the 1984 album ''Rattlesnakes''. The song was covered by Sandie Shaw in 1986. Her version reached number 68 on the UK Singles Chart in June that year. In 2006, Ca ...

", " 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.

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 and songwriter. He was lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He grew up in ne ...

'' in 1990 – preceded by the single " No Blue Skies" – and ''

Don't Get Weird on Me Babe ''Don't Get Weird on Me Babe'' is the second solo album by the English musician Lloyd Cole, released in 1991. The title comes from a Raymond Carver expression. Unlike the original release, the American version of the album leads with the "rock" ha ...

'' 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 ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

or Scott Walker. While he remained with

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-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 the United States. ...

as his record label, the US distribution contract with

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

ended. (US rights were picked up by Rykodisc.) " She's a Girl and I'm a Man", " Weeping Wine" and "

Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

" were released as singles. "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers 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 distric ...

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

James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He has portrayed eccentric characters in films such as the drama ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, the action scien ...

– 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 producer. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Sandra Bullock, various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Bullock was ...

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

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

remix A remix (or reorchestration) 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, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

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 music 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 spl ...

(who has worked with Blur and the Smiths) 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, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''.

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 Jill Sobule (born January 16, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl (Jill Sobule song), I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel (Jill Sobule song), Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film ''Cl ...

Dave Derby Dave Derby is an American songwriter, recording artist, producer, and composer who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and now resides in New York City. Derby serves as a songwriter and producer foGramercy Arms a New York City musical and artist colle ...

the Dambuilders The Dambuilders was an indie rock band that began in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, in 1989 and later relocated to Boston. They released seven LPs (six studio albums & one compilation) and a number of EPs before breaking up in 1998. Members have gone o ...

, Mike Kotch and Rafa Maciejak, who recorded an eponymous CD, released mainly in Western Europe and North America. Songs from the album like "Past Imperfect", "Vin Ordinaire" and "No More Love Songs" returned to Cole's live sets regularly throughout his career. In 2000, Cole took time out from recording to "learn Macromedia Flash and build the first Lloyd Cole website."

Macromedia Flash Macromedia Flash may refer to: *Adobe Animate, a multimedia authoring and computer animation program formerly known as ''Macromedia Flash'' *Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia software platform ...

was a popular web authoring tool at that time. The official Lloyd Cole website has subsequently been redeveloped. 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,

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-inspired singer-songwriter style. The album was released in the US by the

One Little Indian One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In th ...

label, which also collected a number of outtakes (recorded from 1996 to 2000) on 2002's ''Etc.'' and released an instrumental

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

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 started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

album, ''Plastic Wood'', the same year. Cole has mentioned ''Music in a Foreign Language'' as his favourite studio album. It featured new versions of

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

's "People Ain't No Good" and his own "No More Love Songs". Both the title track and "Late Night, Early Town" became staples in his live sets. 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. The album included "Woman in a Bar" and "The Young Idealists" a.o. Cole has mentioned "Rolodex Incident" as a personal favourite. 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's " Chelsea Hotel #2", T. Rex's " The Children of the Revolution" and Kris Kristofferson's " For the Good Times", which he recorded with

2010–2018: ''Broken Record'', ''Standards'' and ''Selective 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,

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 th ...

'', was released in June 2013, and includes contributions from Fred Maher and Matthew Sweet, 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 a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

for one week at position 74. In February 2013 a new album of electronic music by Cole and Hans-Joachim Roedelius was released, called ''Selective 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. The record was mastered by Kai Blankenberg at Skyline Tonfabrik in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

. The electronic sounding album also featured contributions from a.o. 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'', ''

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'' and

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's and

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

's friendship during their Berlin era in the late '70's. According to CLASH Music the video for "The Idiot" is a touching vision of love and friendship, shot not in Berlin but in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

's legendary Horseshoe Bar. Directed by Doug Arrowsmith and starring the dancers Kaelin Isserlin (as 'David') and Ryan Kostyniuk (as 'Jim'). The first leg of the On Pain Tour kicked off 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. The setlist featured songs from all over Lloyd's and The Commotions' career and all his band and solo albums. On December 8, 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). Mogw ...

a.o. MOJO Magazine listed '' On Pain'' at #42 in their best albums of 2023 Top 100.

Live performances

In 2010, Cole formed a small ensemble consisting of American musicians Mark Schwaber and Matt Cullen and, in October and November of that year, completed a tour of Europe. Further tours of New Zealand and Australia and Europe followed in 2011. In autumn 2016, Cole undertook a short tour of the UK and Europe, titled 'The Retrospective', playing acoustic versions of songs written between 1983 and 1996.

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 on the southeastern edge of the Pioneer Valley near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. The population was 16,211 at the 2020 c ...

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 ''Strange Little Girls'' is a concept album released by singer-songwriter Tori Amos in 2001. The album's 12 tracks are covers of songs written and originally performed by men, reinterpreted by Amos from a female point of view. Amos created f ...

'' (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 DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band Camera Obscura 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 "

In popular culture

"Downtown" was on the soundtrack of 1990 movie Bad Influence, starring Rob Lowe and James Spader. "Margo's Waltz" from Lloyd's second solo album ''Don't Get Weird On Me Baby'' was featured in the 1998 hit movie

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men who ...

, starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller. "Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?" was featured in the 1997 movie Fever Pitch. "Music In A Foreign Language" and "My Other Life" from Lloyd's 2003 ''Music In A Foreign Language'' album were on the soundtrack of the

Eytan Fox Eytan Fox ( he, איתן פוקס; born on August 21, 1964) is an Israeli film director. Biography Eytan Fox was born in New York City. His family immigrated to Israel when he was two. His father, Seymour Fox, was a Conservative rabbi and a prof ...

movie Ha-Buah (2006). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476643/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_lk

Discography

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions * '' Rattlesnakes'' (1984) * ''

'' (1985) * ''

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

'' (1990) * ''

'' (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 British expatriates 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