| Lloyd Cole and the Commotions | |
|---|---|
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (October 2004) |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genres | Rock, pop, indie pop |
| Years active | 1982–1989, 2004 |
| Labels | Polydor |
| Members | |
| Lloyd Cole Blair Cowan Lawrence Donegan Neil Clark Stephen Irvine |
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Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British 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. After breaking 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.
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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 in the UK charts in Spring 1984, while the second single "Forest Fire" reached 41. The first album, Rattlesnakes, was released in October 1984. Produced by Paul Hardiman and featuring string arrangements by Anne Dudley, the album peaked at #13 in the UK and was certified Gold for sales over 100,000 copies. NME included in its Top 100 Albums of All-Time list, and the title track was later covered by the American singer Tori Amos. The Welsh band Manic Street Preachers included the album amongst their top ten list.
Due to the insistence of their label , the follow-up album, Easy Pieces, was produced by Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley (who had previously produced Madness, The Teardrop Explodes and Elvis Costello and the Attractions). Released in November 1985, the album was a much quicker commercial success than its predecessor (entering the UK album chart at #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 #19 and #17 respectively).
Two years later, the band released their third and final album, Mainstream. Produced by Ian Stanley (former writer and keyboard-player of Tears for Fears), the album peaked at #9 in the UK and was also certified Gold, but contained only one UK Top 40 single, "Jennifer She Said" (#31).
In 1989, the band decided to split up and released a "best of" compilation, 1984-1989, which was their fourth Top 20 album (UK #14) and fourth Gold certification. Following this, Cole embarked on a solo career with the release of his self-titled 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, though Cole remained the sole lyricist. Particularly notable were Cole's knowingly pretentious lyrics (he was studying Philosophy at the University of Glasgow when the band started) and namedropping the likes of Norman Mailer, Leonard Cohen, Arthur Lee, Grace Kelly, Truman Capote, Simone de Beauvoir, Nancy Sinatra, and Eva Marie Saint as well as referring to Sean Penn (somewhat sympathetically) as "Mr. Madonna".
| Year | Title | Charts | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Ireland | Australia | US Modern Rock |
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| 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 | - | - | |
| 1987 | "My Bag" | 46 | 20 | - | 13 | Mainstream |
| 1988 | "Jennifer She Said" | 31 | 27 | - | - | |
| "From the Hip" | 59 | - | - | - | ||