Lloyd Cole is an English singer and songwriter. He was lead vocalist of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989. The Commotions’ 1984 debut studio album, Rattlesnakes, contained literary and pop culture references to such figures as Arthur Lee, Norman Mailer, Grace Kelly, Eva Saint Marie, Simone de Beauvoir, Truman Capote and Joan Didion.
The group produced two more albums, Easy Pieces and Mainstream, before disbanding in 1989. Songs by the band include “Perfect Skin”, “Rattlesnakes”, “Forest Fire”, “Are You Ready to be Heartbroken?”, “Lost Weekend” and “Jennifer She Said”. Cole subsequently relocated to New York City and recorded with various musicians, including Fred Maher, Robert Quine and Matthew Sweet.
His solo work produced two studio albums, Lloyd Cole in 1990 – preceded by the single “No Blue Skies” – and “Don’t Get Weird on Me Babe” 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 or Scott Walker. While he remained with Polydor as his record label, the US distribution contract with Capitol Records ended. “She’s a Girl and I’m a Man”, “Weeping Wine” and “Butterfly” were released as singles.
Cole recorded Bad Vibes in 1993, a collaboration with producer/remixer 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 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.
n 1997 and 1998 Cole played with some New York musicians under the name the Negatives. 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 Lloyd’s live sets regularly throughout his career. He has since released solo albums on smaller independent labels.
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. The recording of the album was entirely financed by advance purchases by his fans and contributions from Tapete Records. The studio album Guesswork was released in July 2019 by earMUSIC. Recorded (mostly) in his attic studio in Massachusetts. It was preceded by the singles “Violins” and “Night Sweats”.
To finish I want share Sandie Shaw’s version of Are You Ready to be Heartbroken
