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.[1]
"Downtown" (from Lloyd Cole, 1990) was featured in the American psychological thriller film Bad Influence (1990)[7] – starring Rob Lowe and James Spader – 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.[citation needed]
1993–1999: Bad Vibes, Love Story and The Collection
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.[8] 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. 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."[9]Macromedia Flash 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, folk-inspired singer-songwriter style. [citation needed] 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 ambientelectronica 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'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.[citation needed]
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. [citation needed] The reformation was never intended to be permanent,[citation needed] 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.[10] The album included "Woman in a Bar" and "The Young Idealists" a.o. Cole has mentioned "Rolodex Incident" as a personal favourite.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
A further album co-funded by fans, Standards, was released in June 2013, and includes contributions from Fred Maher and Matthew Sweet,[12] 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 for one week at position 74.[13]
In February 2013 a new album of electronic music by Cole and Hans-Joachim Roedelius was released, called Selected Studies Vol. 1.[14]
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.[citation needed] 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. 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.[citation needed]
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,[15]Mojo and AllMusic[16] and it entered the UK Albums Chart at number 23.[17]
Second single "The Idiot" - released on August 25 - is a homage to David Bowie's and Iggy Pop's friendship during their Berlin era in the late '70's.[18] According to CLASH Music the video for "The Idiot" is a touching vision of love and friendship, shot not in Berlin but in Toronto's legendary Horseshoe Bar. Directed by Doug Arrowsmith and starring the dancers Kaelin Isserlin (as 'David') and Ryan Kostyniuk (as 'Jim'). [19]
The first leg of the On Pain Tour kicked off in Newcastle on October 6, 2023 and finished in Amsterdam on November 6.[20] 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.[21]
On December 8, 2023, the Wolves Disco and Boogaloo Remixes single was released, featuring 'Wolves' remixes by Mogwai a.o.[22]
MOJO Magazine listed On Pain at #42 in their best albums of 2023 Top 100, Classic Rock Magazine at #3.
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.
In 2023 Lloyd took a four piece band on the road (including himself on bass), in support of his On Pain album. Starring Commotions co-founders Blair Cowan and Neil Clark, and Icelandic drummer Signy Jakobsdottir. The show consisted of a semi-acoustic part and an electric part.
