
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
Introduction
One of the albums I strongly associate with the 1980s is the debut album by Lloyd Cole And The Commotions. The band has never been able to equal the level of that album and after just 3 albums the band was done. But Rattlesnakes still is, and forever will be, an album with a number of astounding songs.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
In 1983 Lloyd Cole and Blair Cowan leave the university of Glasgow, Scotland, to fully immerse themselves into a career in music. Soon a full band is founded under the moniker Lloyd Cole And The Commotions and in February 1984 they sign a record deal with Polydor UK. On May 11, 1984, the band’s debut single, the beautiful Perfect Skin is released, followed by the equally great Forest Fire on August 17. Those singles created quite a buzz for the upcoming album.

Lloyd Cole And The Commotions – Rattlesnakes
Rattlesnakes
The debut album, Rattlesnakes, was released on October 12, 1984, and was hailed by critics in the UK and Europe. The music sounded nostalgic (even back then), the lyrics intelligent and the vocals uniquely original, impassioned yet distant. The lyrics stood out for their name-calling, frequently referencing literature, artists, movies and magazines, like Greta Garbo, Leonard Cohen, Eva Marie Saint, Simone de Beauvoir, Grace Kelly, Truman Capote, Arthur Lee, Norman Mailer, Cosmopolitan, New York Times and On The Waterfront. Even though the band didn’t really connect with The Smiths, who debuted in that very same year, they shared the ‘jingle-jangle’ in their music.
The band was remarkably successful in the selection of their singles. One by one magnificent songs and all part of the album’s highlights. The album is rather short, especially compared to running-times these days, around 35 minutes in length. On the other hand, scarcity makes popular, which most certainly applies to this album.
Review
In 1984 Lloyd Cole And The Commotions were on my radar. For me, the band is strongly connected to that year. Also see 1984 is 40 years ago: 40 singles that gave the year its color.
The nostalgia the music conveys is just as strong today as it was back in 1984. Despite my personal 1984 connection , the music on the album is quite timeless. Speedboat, Charlotte Street and Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? are as good as the singles.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions Rattlesnakes: a unique moment in time. Highly recommended!

Lloyd Cole And The Commotions – Rattlesnakes – Singles
Singles
The album produced three beautiful singles.
- Perfect Skin
(released on May 11, 1984) - Forest Fire
(released on August 17, 1984) - Rattlesnakes
(released on November 2, 1984)
Songs
All lyrics by Lloyd Cole, all music by Lloyd Cole, unless stated otherwise.
- Perfect Skin
- Speedboat
- Rattlesnakes (Lloyd Cole, Neil Clark)
- Down On Mission Street
- Forest Fire
- Charlotte Street
- 2cv
- Four Flights Up (Lloyd Cole, Lawrence Donegan)
- Patience (Lloyd Cole, Blair Cowan)
- Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? (Lloyd Cole, Neil Clark)
The American album release contains remixes (made by The Cars’ Ric Ocasek) of Perfect Skin, Four Flights Up and Patience.
Musicians
- Lloyd Cole – vocals, guitar
- Neil Clark – guitar
- Blair Cowan – keyboards
- Lawrence Donegan – bass
- Stephen Irvine – drums, tambourine

Lloyd Cole And The Commotions – The final two albums
After Rattlesnakes
On November 18, 1985, the successor, Easy Pieces, was released. The album had more success (in England) than its predecessor, but was panned by the critics. Even the band wasn’t satisfied with the result. Lloyd Cole: “It strikes me that there’s something really fresh on the first album which has been dragged onto the second album, and the freshness is not there and something to replace the freshness is not there either”.
The follow-up, Mainstream, released on October 26, 1987, turned out to be the last album. The album wasn’t successful and was followed by a tour (to meet contractual obligations). In 1989 the band said goodbye with the compilation 1984-1989.
In 2004 a Deluxe Edition of Rattlesnakes was released and the band reconvened for a short tour of the UK and Ireland.
In closing
What do you think about Lloyd Cole And The Commotions and Rattlesnakes? Let me know!
Video/Spotify
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: Lloyd Cole And The Commotions – Rattlesnakes. The A Pop Life playlist on Spotify has been updated as well.