Showing posts with label Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Show all posts

Saturday 29 August 2020

Jennifer she said - Lloyd Cole & the Commotions

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions had an interesting but short career during the 1980's. Starting out with the album 'Rattlesnakes' (1984) and three successful singles, their second album 'Easy Pieces' (1985) did even better - at least, in the UK. When their third album 'Mainstream' did slightly worse, the album called it a day and Lloyd Cole went solo.

'Jennifer she said' was the band's penultimate single, and it was released in a rather impressive four panel fold out sleeve. As it turns out, it's also the penultimate single by the band that I shall buy - I only need 'Lost weekend' to complete the set. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6322
Found: Discogs.com, received August 22, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Jennifer she said' / 'Perfect blue'

Monday 17 October 2011

Brand new friend - Lloyd Cole & the Commotions

'Brand new friend' was the first single from Lloyd Cole & the Commotions' second album 'Easy pieces'. The title betrayed the content of the album: Lloyd Cole was never known for making 'easy' music. This single is a fine example of a carefully crafted song with subtle instrumentation.

The single actually did better than all of the singles before it, reaching number 19 in the UK singles chart, while also reaching the Irish singles chart for the first time, peaking at number 11.

My collection: 7" single no. 5195
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Brand new friend' / 'Her last fling'

Tuesday 10 November 2009

Rich - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

'Rich' is a single taken from Lloyd Cole & the Commotions' second album 'Easy pieces', released in 1985. The B-side of this single is taken from their debut album 'Rattlesnakes'. For me, the reason for buying this single was the B-side, but I'm glad to say that the A-side is actually very good too.

The information I have suggests that this single was actually only released in Europe. A DJ 12" from the UK exists, but I have not heard about any commercial copies. Which makes this single a bit of a rarity.

My collection: 7" single no. 4176
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 8, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Rich' / 'Down on Mission street'

Thursday 9 July 2009

Forest fire (remix) - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

After Lloyd Cole & the Commotions decided to call it quits, the record company released a compilation album with all their single releases. To accompany the album, a single was released. A remix of the track 'Forest fire' was made by Bruce Lampcov. The single did not chart.

The band broke up in 1989 amid reports of personality clashes between members, but they reformed in 2004 to perform a 20th anniversary mini-tour of the UK and Ireland.

My collection: 7" single no. 2476
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 16, 1995
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Forest fire (remix)' / 'Perfect blue (remix)'

Wednesday 1 July 2009

From the hip ep - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

The 'From the hip EP' was the last single release of Lloyd Cole & the Commotions before the band broke up and Lloyd Cole continued solo. The song 'From the hip' was taken from the band's 1987 album 'Mainstream', but the three other tracks were new recordings. The EP reached number 56 in the UK singles chart.

Neil Clark continued working with Lloyd Cole on almost all of his solo releases and full band tours. He was also member of the short-lived group Bloomsday. Blair 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 and Texas. He is now an IT-specialist at British Telecom. Lawrence Donegan became a journalist and author. Stephen Irvine, finally, worked as a session musician with Del Amitri, Sarah Cracknell and Etienne Daho.

My collection: 7" single no. 1076
Found: HMV, London, October 19, 1989
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'From the hip', 'Please' / 'Lonely mile', 'Love your wife'

Tuesday 16 June 2009

Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

'Rattlesnakes' was the title track of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' debut album, released in 1984. While it only peaked at number 65 in the UK, the single was the band's only hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 31.



The repeated mention of Simone de Beauvoir in the lyric gave the band their literary, slightly geeky image. Cole cites Bob Dylan and Booker T. & the MGs as major influences, but also notes 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.

My collection: 7" single no. 3360
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, 2002
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Rattlesnakes' / 'Sweetness'

Tuesday 26 May 2009

Forest fire - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

The second single by Lloyd Cole & the Commotions was released in a limited edition gatefold sleeve. The record shop where I bought my singles was importing singles from the UK, so I was lucky enough to score a copy. I wonder if I would have bought this single if it didn't come in a limited edition: I was always very choosy about which single to buy and this cannot have been at the top of my list.

Still, 'Forest fire' is one of the band's stronger tracks, even if that didn't reflect in the Dutch chart position (it did not chart). In the UK, it stalled at number 41, which was a disappointment in comparison to their debut single 'Perfect skin'.

My collection: 7" single no. 241
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Forest fire' / 'Andy's babies'

Sunday 17 May 2009

Perfect skin - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

It was 1984 when this video appeared on television regularly - say, every other hour. The new band Lloyd Cole and the Commotions appeared on the scene with this single and eventually scored a hit with it in the UK, peaking at number 26. For reasons I could never explain, the single did not chart in the Netherlands.

It was even stranger that I didn't buy this single, leaving me to search for it for over a decade. Truth be told, I didn't have to buy it the first couple of years because I'd seen and heard it so often that I wouldn't play the single anyway...

My collection: 7" single no. 2377
Found: Record Exchange, London, July 1, 1995
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Perfect skin' / 'The sea and the sand'

Tuesday 5 May 2009

My bag - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

'My bag' was the first single taken from the 1987 album by Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, 'Mainstream'. Though not a very accessible song, it reached number 46 in the UK singles chart. 'Mainstream' was the last album by Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, produced by the group and Ian Stanley, keyboard-player of Tears for Fears.

My collection: 7" single no. 3700
Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 5, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'My bag' / 'Jesus said'

Tuesday 21 April 2009

Cut me down (remix) - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. The band consisted of Lloyd Cole, Blair Cowan, Lawrence Donegan, Neil Clark and Stephen Irvine. Their debut album 'Rattlesnakes', released in 1984, was a commercial and critical success. When they released 'Easy pieces' a year later, they continued this success.

'Cut me down' was the third single from this second album. Released as a limited edition double pack, it included two live tracks from September 1985 ('Are you ready to be heartbroken?') and December 1984 ('Forest fire'). 'Cut me down' peaked at number 38 in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 3650
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 18, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Cut me down (remix)' / 'Are you ready to be heartbroken? (live)' // 'Perfect blue (Instrumental)' / 'Forest fire (live)'

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