Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rock/pop band that formed in

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 popul ...

, 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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Band history

The band were formed whilst

Cole Cole may refer to: Plants * Cole crops of the genus ''Brassica'', especially cabbage, kale, or rape (rapeseed). People * Cole (given name), people with the given name Cole * Cole (surname), people with the surname Cole Companies *Cole Motor ...

(who was born in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England) was studying at 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 , ...

. They signed to

Polydor Records 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. ...

; 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 Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera '' Crotalus'' and '' Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small an ...

'', was released in October 1984. Produced by

Paul Hardiman Paul Hardiman is a British record producer. He worked with Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (on their debut ''Rattlesnakes'') and Lloyd Cole's solo career. His other production credits include Chris de Burgh's most commercially successful albums '' ...

and featuring string arrangements by

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genre ...

, it peaked at No. 13 in the UK and was certified gold for sales over 100,000 copies. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' included it in its Top 100 Albums of All Time list, and the title track was later covered by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer

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 ...

. The Welsh band

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

included the album amongst their top ten list. The band's follow-up album, ''

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 " ...

'', was produced by

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 ''Br ...

and

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 album ...

(who had previously produced for Madness,

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. T ...

and

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 nom ...

). Released in November 1985, the album was a quicker commercial success than its predecessor (entering the UK album chart at No. 5, and certified gold within a month). The singles "Brand New Friend" and "Lost Weekend" were the band's first and only UK top 20 hits (reaching No. 19 and No. 17 respectively). Two years later, the band released their third and final album, ''

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...

''. Produced by

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-plat ...

(former writer and keyboard player of

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new wav ...

), the album peaked at No. 9 in the UK and was also certified gold, but contained only one UK top 40 single, "Jennifer She Said" (No. 31). Its first single "My Bag", and a later release, the ''From the Hip'' EP, failed to make the top 40. In 1989, the band decided to split up and released a "best of" compilation, ''1984–1989'', which was their fourth top 20 album (UK No. 14) and fourth gold certification. Following this, Cole embarked on a solo career with the release of his eponymous album in 1990. On the first two Commotions albums, Cole was the band's main songwriter (though he co-wrote several songs with various bandmembers). The third album is credited to the band as a whole. In 2006, Scottish band

Camera Obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a aperture, small hole or lens at one side through which an image is 3D projection, projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions su ...

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 the Commotions' 1984 hit "(Are You) Ready to Be Heartbroken?".

Band members

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 ...

(born 31 January 1961) –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

* Blair Cowan (born 1960?) –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Lawrence Donegan Lawrence Donegan (born 13 July 1961) is a Scottish journalist and former musician.Lawrence Donegan

(born 13 July 1961) –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Neil Clark (born 3 July 1958) – guitar *

Stephen Irvine Stephen Irvine (born 1959) is a Scottish musician, formerly a member of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Following the breakup of that band, he continued to work in the music industry and as a session musician worked with Del Amitri, Étienne Da ...

(born 16 December 1959) –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

The band's manager Derek McKillop is credited as a full band member in the credits of the group's third album, ''Mainstream''.

Post-breakup careers

*Cole moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and later to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

to pursue a solo career with Polydor/Capitol Records and later appeared on Rykodisc, before establishing self-published entities in the United States. His solo career has found him collaborating with the late

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 ...

Fred Maher Frederick J. Maher is an American drummer, music programmer and record producer. He was a member of the bands Massacre (1980–81), the Dance, Material, Scritti Politti, and has recorded and toured with Lou Reed. In 1984 he released ''Basic'', ...

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 ...

and

Jill Sobule Jill Sobule (born January 16, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film ''Clueless''. Her folk-inflected compositions alternate between ironic, ...

. *Clark continued working with Cole on almost all of his solo releases and full band tours. He was also a member of the short-lived group Bloomsday, with Irvine (of the Commotions) and Chris Thomson of The Bathers. He later worked as a website designer and wrote music for film and TV. *Cowan collaborated with Cole and his new backing band in New York on Cole's first two solo albums. He played with Del Amitri, Paul Quinn and the Independent Group, the

Kevin McDermott Orchestra Kevin Francis McDermott (born 10 February 1962 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter. Early life Kevin Francis McDermott was born 10 February 1962, to Evelyn and Frank McDermott. He has two younger brothers, Paul, ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. *Donegan is a journalist and an author – he was a golf journalist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and published several non-fiction titles, including ''No News at Throat Lake'' and ''Four Iron in the Soul''. *Irvine joined former bandmate Clark in Bloomsday, and as a session musician worked with Del Amitri,

Étienne Daho Étienne Daho (; ; born 14 January 1956) is a French singer. He has released a number of synth-driven and rock- surf influenced pop hit singles since 1981. Career Daho was born in Oran, French Algeria. He sings in a low, whispery voice somew ...

and

Sarah Cracknell Sarah Cracknell (born 12 April 1967) is an English singer-songwriter and lead singer of the electronic music band Saint Etienne. Career Cracknell's career started with the Windsor-based indie band The Worried Parachutes in 1982. Following the d ...

. He is also managing artists and bands.

Discography

* ''

'' (1984, No. 13 UK) * ''

'' (1985, No. 5 UK) * ''

'' (1987, No. 9 UK)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole and the Commotions, Lloyd Musical groups from Glasgow Scottish rock music groups British indie pop groups Scottish new wave musical groups Jangle pop groups Musical groups established in 1982 1982 establishments in Scotland Musical groups disestablished in 1989 Geffen Records artists Polydor Records artists