2015 saw the release of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Collected Recordings 1983–1989. The release saw a resurgence in acclaim for the artist prompting a new anthology The Lloyd Cole Songbook: 1983–1996, which spans the classic period of the Commotions, along with his subsequent and substantial four solo albums and a ‘lost’ fifth album.
The English singer/songwriter will perform songs from throughout the period showcased in this anthology on his international tour The Retrospective, which comes to Australia in January 2017.
Lloyd Cole is no stranger to Australian shores. From his time as frontman for The Commotions and their stadium tour of 1986, through to his Standards Australian Tour of 2014 and the many solo tours he has performed between, Lloyd has proved a very welcome visitor, regularly selling out shows right around the country.
Looking back, Cole reflects on the heady days of vinyl.
‘I think there’s something satisfying about having something in your hand,’ he mused. ‘I remember when I had Never Mind the Bollocks or Aladdin Sane and took it home, it was a different sort of experience holding the album…’
For this tour Cole revisits songs he wrote and played when he was 23.
It’s something that comes a lot easier these days.
‘It was more difficult for me playing songs that were 15 years old in my 30s than it is now. Then I felt the difference in myself as a younger person. I could still remember what it was like to be 23; now I can’t remember what it was like to be 23 or 30!’
Cole has always taken his songwriting seriously. Inspired by Gore Vidal’s quip in On the Road where he says, ‘That’s not writing, that’s typing’, he was focused on making music that lasts.
‘I don’t want to make records that have lots of throwaway stuff,’ says Cole. ‘We worked hard to make sure we didn’t include our mistakes on our records, and so it’s been quite nice. I thought it would be weird to not play any songs from the last 20 years but it hasn’t been weird at all; you get to a certain age when you realise it is good to look back once in a while.’
At the same time, Lloyd Cole is no nostalgia junkie, and he’s reflective on a career that has had its ups and downs.
‘My life hasn’t gone as smoothly as I ever hoped. I was richer for the first 10 years of my career than I thought I would be and the next 10 years I was poorer than I thought I should be…’ The music industry is a fickle mistress.
Cole reluctantly admits these days he’s what the industry categorises at ‘a nice artist’.
‘I have sort of been pushed into a corner. I don’t feel I should have to be a niche artist but I have been made one. I have been lucky that mostly people almost haven’t written negative things about me. The lack of critical success wasn’t wearing, but I found a way to have a career away from the mainstream.
‘I just wanted to make music and have that music have a chance to be successful. I like that you make the music without any kind of expectation. The minute you think about the audience you are dead…’
Lloyd Cole will be playing two sets. The first is solo and the second is with his 24-year-old son William.
‘He looks like me when I used to look like that,’ laughs Cole, who relishes playing with his kid.
‘It’s lovely – he is a great musician. He is a much better guitar player than I ever will be!’
Lloyd Cole plays QPAC in Brisbane on Tuesday 10 January.
