LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS – MAINSTREAM LP – Nr MINT 1987

Lloyd Cole and The Commotions – Mainstream
(Capitol Records  1987  C190893  US Press)

 Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– still in original shrinkwrap
Inner Sleeve has a couple of small splits
Lyric Insert in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are 1 or 2 light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British rock/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 they broke 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.

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 chart in spring 1984, while the second single “Forest Fire” reached 41. Their first album, Rattlesnakes, was released in October 1984. Produced by Paul Hardiman and featuring string arrangements by Anne Dudley, it peaked at No. 13 in the UK and was certified Gold for sales over 100,000 copies. NME included it 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.

The band’s follow-up album, Easy Pieces, was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (who had previously produced Madness, The Teardrop Explodes and Elvis Costello and the Attractions). Released in November 1985, the album was a quicker commercial success than its predecessor (entering the UK album chart at No. 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 No. 19 and No. 17 respectively).

Two years later, the band released their third album, their final one whilst together, Mainstream. Produced by Ian Stanley (former writer and keyboard player of Tears for Fears), the album peaked at No. 9 in the UK and was also certified gold, but contained only one UK Top 40 single, “Jennifer She Said” (No. 31). Its first single “My Bag”, and a later release, the From The Hip EP, failed to make the Top 40.

In 1989, the band decided to split up and released a “best of” compilation, 1984-1989, which was their fourth Top 20 album (UK No. 14) and fourth Gold certification. Following this, Cole embarked on a solo career with the release of his eponymous 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 university 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”.

In 2006, Scottish band Camera Obscura released the song “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken” as an answer song to the Commotions’ 1984 hit “(Are You) Ready to Be Heartbroken?”.

Mainstream is the third and final studio album by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. It was produced by Ian Stanley and released by Polydor Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US on 26 October 1987. It included the singles “My Bag”, “Jennifer She Said” and “From the Hip”. Although the album reached number nine in the UK, it failed to chart in the US and was not embraced by all critics: Mainstream is the only Lloyd Cole and the Commotions album not to sell at least 100,000 copies in the US.

All tracks written and composed by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, except where noted.

1. “My Bag” – 3:56
2. “From the Hip” (Neil Clark, Cole, Blair Cowan, Lawrence Donegan, Stephen Irvine, McKillop) – 3:57
3. “29” – 5:28
4. “Mainstream” – 3:14
5. “Jennifer She Said” – 3:02
6. “Mr. Malcontent” – 4:49
7. “Sean Penn Blues” – 3:28
8. “Big Snake” (lyrics: Cole, music: Ian Stanley) – 5:16
9. “Hey Rusty” – 4:30
10. “These Days” – 2:27

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

• Lloyd Cole – guitar, vocals
• Neil Clark – guitar
• Blair Cowan – keyboards
• Lawrence Donegan – bass
• Stephen Irvine – drums

Additional personnel

• Jon Hassell – trumpet on “Big Snake”
• Nicky Holland – backing vocals on “29”, string arrangements on “Jennifer She Said”
• Tony Jackson – backing vocals on “Mainstream”
• John Sloman – backing vocals on “Mainstream”
• Fraser Speirs – harmonica on “Sean Penn Blues”
• Tracey Thorn – vocals on “Big Snake”
• Tommy Willis – lap steel guitar on “29”

Production

• Femi Jiya – engineer
• Ian Stanley – producer
• Bruce Lampcov- Mixer
• Stewart Copeland – producer on “Hey Rusty”
• Alastair Thain – photography