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Cocteau Twins
165,913 listeners (4,527,918 plays)
Listening now: vacuity2
shoegaze, dream pop, post-punk, ethereal, alternative
Grangemouth, Scotland (1980 – 1997)
An innovative and influential Scottish band, Cocteau Twins was, throughout its existence, very difficult to catalog by genre. They built a sound based on woozy atmospherics and singer Elizabeth Fraser’s unmatchable vocals, most of which featured lyrics of made-up words and words plucked at random from the dictionary. Fraser’s vocals varied strongly in pitch in minimal times, drawing comparison with acclaimed singer Maria Callas.
Forming in 1980 in Grangemouth, Scotland, their first release was Garlands in 1982 on 4AD Records, which was received well. Founding member Will Heggie left the group in 1983, prior to the release of their second full-length, Head Over Heels, that enjoyed more commercial and critical success than their first.
In 1983, the two remaining members, Fraser and Robin Guthrie, were part of the first album recorded by This Mortal Coil, a supergroup put together by Ivo Watts-Russell, head of 4AD Records. The pair had a hit with a cover of Tim Buckley’s Song to the Siren, and met Simon Raymonde, who joined the band on bass.
In April ‘84 they released Pearly Dewdrops’ Drop, the 12-inch that included The Spangle Maker. It was their first to reach the national top 40. When it peaked at 29 they were asked to play Top Of The Pops, but turned it down.
The 1984 album Treasure followed, peaking at 29 on the UK album chart.
Forming in 1980 in Grangemouth, Scotland, their first release was Garlands in 1982 on 4AD Records, which was received well. Founding member Will Heggie left the group in 1983, prior to the release of their second full-length, Head Over Heels, that enjoyed more commercial and critical success than their first.
In 1983, the two remaining members, Fraser and Robin Guthrie, were part of the first album recorded by This Mortal Coil, a supergroup put together by Ivo Watts-Russell, head of 4AD Records. The pair had a hit with a cover of Tim Buckley’s Song to the Siren, and met Simon Raymonde, who joined the band on bass.
In April ‘84 they released Pearly Dewdrops’ Drop, the 12-inch that included The Spangle Maker. It was their first to reach the national top 40. When it peaked at 29 they were asked to play Top Of The Pops, but turned it down.
The 1984 album Treasure followed, peaking at 29 on the UK album chart.
Similar Artists
This Mortal Coil, Harold Budd, Simon Raymonde, Robin Guthrie & Elizabeth Fraser, Lush, Slowdive, Cranes, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Robin Guthrie… see all
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Shoutbox
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loulou311 wrote:
agreed, cant believe they are being compared to (especially) the cranberries. i love enya, but she is nothing like the cocteau's.
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Selenaru_Negrea wrote:
Enya and the Cranberries will never get anywhere near. They were creative beyond measure.
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loulou311 wrote:
and enya and the cranberries were around long after C.Twins as breatheH20 so rightly mentioned.
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loulou311 wrote:
wtf?@Jon-Lucas... ripped them off? elizabeth fraser did the vocals for massive attack's teardrop!
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Jon-Lucas wrote:
I think they ripped off the feminine vocals in Massive Attack's Teardrop as well.
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breatheH20 wrote:
Awesome pic, and i'm pretty sure both Enya and The Cranberries came around long after Cocteau Twins.
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antropofagico wrote:
ninguém citou que a Elizabeth Fraser produziu o Chapterhouse, outra grande banda da 4AD
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Jon-Lucas wrote:
Yea, and Cranberries too. Fucking cunts. D:
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GiveMeBackMySon wrote:
They ripped off Enya
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drugs_and_me wrote:
What a voice...
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loulou311 wrote:
it pains me to know there will never be another album.
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iorik wrote:
fascinating music
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Selenaru_Negrea wrote:
That's where I find it. And yeah, I love the entire Twinlights.
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Otherness wrote:
Selenaru_Negrea You should try "Twinlights", the EP "Golden-Vein" comes from.
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Toyz4Insomniacs wrote:
Everything!
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Selenaru_Negrea wrote:
I'm curious as to whether there is any song similar to Golden-Vein... I really like that song... I am digging the songs on Treasure too.
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ezowtu wrote:
Well, what can I say? The band that inspired me...
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sinsrunlikewine wrote:
lovely
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bryan12112 wrote:
Persephone and Pandora are my favorites off of Treasure. But the whole album is really something else. I love it.
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cerisier wrote:
They're all smiling, great pic!
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Recent Activity
- vidarth tagged Cocteau Twins with ‘post-punk’. yesterday afternoon
- retimaria tagged Cocteau Twins with ‘heavenly’. yesterday morning
- gupi_i_chudy tagged Cocteau Twins with ‘shoegaze’. Wednesday afternoon
- MCredshift connected Cocteau Twins to the group The last.fm group that has exactly 69 members. Wednesday afternoon
- CrisMilk tagged Cocteau Twins with ‘gothic’, ‘new wave’ and ‘post-punk’. Sunday evening
- hakiemi tagged Cocteau Twins with ‘dream pop’. Sunday morning
- initnull linked Cocteau Twins to a deleted item. Saturday afternoon
- cthonus tagged Cocteau Twins with ‘ethereal’ and ‘dream pop’. Saturday morning
- meninc tagged Cocteau Twins with ‘check out’. 7 days ago
- Gaand connected Cocteau Twins to the group Cocteau Twins PL. 8 days ago
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More Information
- Links
- Band Members
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- Elizabeth Fraser (1980 - 1997)
- Robin Guthrie (1980 - 1997)
- Simon Raymonde (1984 - 1997)
- Will Heggie (1980 - 1983)
