Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for complex instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals. The original members were Elizabeth Fraser (vocals), Robin Guthrie (guitar, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass guitar), who was replaced by Simon Raymonde (also bass guitar) early in the band's career … (read more at Wikipedia)

Links to Peel

 * My Top Ten

In 1986 Peel included 'From The Flagstones' by the Cocteaus in his selections for My Top Ten and discussed the band with Andy Peebles:


 * JP: Well, this is my favourite record of last year. And they were one of those bands again, like when I first heard them I thought, “Great, I’m glad I lived long enough to hear this.” My favourite record of last year, From The Flagstones. (Plays 'From The Flagstones'.)
 * AP: The Cocteau Twins and From The Flagstones. It’s a very, very pleasant voice actually. I like listening to that.
 * JP: Well, I like the extreme voices. I was just thinking that. Over the years it has always been people who have got the really idiosyncratic voices that I like – Beefheart, Marc Bolan, Rod Stewart, Elizabeth Frazer of the Cocteaus, Mark Smith of The Fall, people like them.


 * Peeling Back The Years

The following year, JP discussed the band at greater length with his producer John Walters in the fifth programme of the Peeling Back The Years series:


 * JW: … You prefer them to say, “This has come out of nowhere almost.” Surely the band in the post-punk period that as much as anybody did that – and became a great favourite with you – was the Cocteaus, who were clearly not a punk noise at all. They were a beautiful music noise.
 * JP: Yes, well, not so much initially. I mean, when they first appeared, I’ve got an acetate somewhere at home and an early demo tape, and everybody just said, “Of course, well, this is another kind of Siouxsie & The Banshees really.” I must admit, that always struck me as a bit of a nonsense, I must admit. I mean, just the fact that there were two women singers with fairly strong and identifiable voices didn’t I think make the Cocteaus Siouxsie & The Banshees clones by any means.
 * JW: I’m not really aware of the early stuff that you must have heard at the time. Was it not this kind of swirly-whirly kind of spacey stuff that we’ve got used to?
 * JP: It was pretty swirly-whirly. I mean, some of the early things sounded like they might have been produced by some kind of post-punk Phil Spector, you know. They were very kind of Wall of Sound-ish.
 * JW: Yeah, cathedral swoopings.
 * JP: Cathedral Swoopers – what an excellent name for a band! There’ll be one on the streets next week. (Plays 'Musette And Drums'.)
 * JW: Can you say then, apart from the cathedral swoopings, what was it then? Because that did strike very much of a chord with you, didn’t it?
 * JP: Well, again it was just because – I mean, I preferred them then to now. I preferred them when they Elizabeth was still singing identifiable words. And I suppose once again the big attraction was that it was such an extraordinary voice. I mean, people would have said, people might have said that it was a very mannered voice. If it was mannered, then I’m perfectly happy for it to have been so. I just liked the noise of her voice, in the same way that I liked the voice of Marc Bolan and Roger Chapman with Family and Captain Beefheart and all of those other people. It’s just a strong and identifiable voice.

Festive Fifty Entries
The Cocteau Twins are the seventh most successful act in the history of the annual chart voted on by Peel's listeners, according to Mark Whitby in The Festive Fifty (Nevin Publishing, pg 150), using David Gedge's formula of one point for a 50th placing and 50 points for a chart-topper, additionally weighted to discount the effect of multiple entries of the same song in all-time lists. This puts the band behind only Joy Division (6th), PJ Harvey (5th), New Order (4th), The Smiths (3rd), the Wedding Present (2nd) and the Fall (1st).


 * 1982 Festive Fifty: Wax And Wane #37


 * 1983 Festive Fifty: Musette And Drums #5
 * 1983 Festive Fifty: Sugar Hiccup #14
 * 1983 Festive Fifty: From The Flagstones #16
 * 1983 Festive Fifty: Peppermint Pig #28
 * 1983 Festive Fifty: Hithertoo #38


 * 1984 Festive Fifty: Pearly Dewdrops’ Drops #2
 * 1984 Festive Fifty: The Spangle Maker #4
 * 1984 Festive Fifty: Ivo #16
 * 1984 Festive Fifty: Donimo #22
 * 1984 Festive Fifty: Pandora #38
 * 1984 Festive Fifty: Beatrix #39
 * 1984 Festive Fifty: Pepper Tree #49


 * 1985 Festive Fifty: Aikea-Guinea #5


 * 1986 Festive Fifty: Love's Easy Tears #21
 * 1986 Festive Fifty: Those Eyes, That Mouth #38


 * 1988 Festive Fifty: Carolyn's Fingers #26

Sessions
Four sessions. All are available on BBC Sessions (2xCD Bella Union, 1999), along with other BBC material. ‘Whisht’ and ‘Peep Bo’ were officially released as ‘Beatrix’ and ‘Ivo’, respectively.

1. Recorded: 1982-06-21. First broadcast: 15 July 1982. Repeated: 26 July 1982, 17 August 1982, 16 December 1982
 * Wax And Wane / Garlands / Alas Dies Laughing / Feathers-Oar-Blades

2. Recorded: 1983-01-22. First broadcast: 31 January 1983. Repeated: 15 February 1983, 03 March 1983,
 * Hearsay Please / Dear Heart / Blind Dumb Deaf / Hazel

3. Recorded: unknown (own studio). First broadcast: 04 October 1983. Repeated: ?
 * The Tinderbox (Of A Heart) / Strange Fruit / Hitherto / From The Flagstones

4. Recorded: 1984-08-29. First broadcast: 05 September 1984. Repeated: 27 September 1984, 01 January 1985, 25 November 1985
 * Pepper-Tree / Whisht / Peep Bo / Otterley

Other Shows Played
(The list below is compiled only from the database of this site and is far from complete, due to a shortage of tracklistings from the band's most active period. Please add further details if known.)


 * 1982
 * 22 July 1982: Wax And Wane (LP - Garlands) 4AD
 * 22 September 1982: Feathers Oar-Blades ('Lullabies' 12") 4AD
 * Peel Oct 1982: Hollow Men (LP-Garlands)' (4AD)
 * 20 December 1982: Wax And Wane (LP-Garlands) 4AD FF#37


 * 1983
 * 08 November 1983: In The Gold Dust Rush (album - Head Over Heels) 4AD
 * 14 November 1983: From the Flagstones (EP - Sunburst And Snowblind) 4AD
 * 22 December 1983: Hithertoo (EP-Sunburst And Snowblind) 4AD FF#38
 * 27 December 1983: Peppermint Pig (7 inch) 4AD FF#28
 * 28 December 1983: From The Flagstones (12"-Sunburst And Snowblind) 4AD FF#16 (JP: “If it was up to me, this would have been in the top three.”)
 * 28 December 1983: Sugar Hiccup (12"-Sunburst And Snowblind) 4AD FF#14 (JP: “Now you see, if I was going to rig the Festive Fifty, as people occasionally suggest that I do, that would have been higher as well.”)
 * 29 December 1983: Musette And Drums (LP-Head Over Heels) 4AD FF#5


 * 1984
 * 22 May 1984: Millimillenary
 * 29 October 1984: Pandora (LP – Treasure) 4AD (JP comments that the track names on the upcoming Cocteaus album seemed to have been changed from ones previously used during sessions.)
 * 29 October 1984: Lorelei (LP –Treasure) 4AD
 * 29 October 1984: Cicely (LP –Treasure) 4AD
 * 29 October 1984: Donimo (LP –Treasure) 4AD
 * 12 November 1984: Pandora (LP - Treasure) 4AD
 * 18 December 1984: Pepper Tree (12 inch-B side of Spangle Maker) 4AD FF#49
 * 19 December 1984: Beatrix (LP-Treasure) 4AD FF#39
 * 19 December 1984: Pandora (LP-Treasure) 4AD FF#38
 * 25 December 1984: Donimo (LP-Treasure) 4AD FF#22
 * (JP: “A bit of a problem with this next one because a lot of people voted for it when it was called 'Peep Bo' when it was part of the session, and slightly more people voted for it when it was called 'Ivo' and it was part of the LP 'Treasure'. So we added the two votes together, which seemed like the only reasonable thing to do, and it comes out as number 16.”)


 * 26 December 1984: Ivo (LP-Treasure) 4AD FF#16

1985
 * 01 January 1985: Spangle Maker (12 inch) 4AD FF#4
 * 01 January 1985: Pearly Dewdrops' Drops (12 inch-B side of The Spangle Maker) 4AD FF#2 (JP: I was always more of a 'Spangle Maker' man meself.)
 * 22 January 1985: From The Flagstones (12" EP - Sunburst And Snowblind) 4AD
 * 06 March 1985: Aikea-Guinea (EP - Aikea-Guinea) 4AD
 * 06 March 1985: Kookaburra (EP - Aikea-Guinea) 4AD
 * 06 March 1985: Quisquose (EP - Aikea-Guinea) 4AD
 * 06 March 1985: Rococo (EP - Aikea-Guinea) 4AD
 * 20 May 1985: Ivo
 * 25 December 1985: Aikea-Guinea FF#5


 * 1986
 * October 1986 (BBC World Service): Orange Appled (Melody Maker 7" EP)
 * October 1986 (BBC World Service): Those Eyes, That Mouth (7" Love's Easy Tears) 4AD
 * 23 December 1986: Those Eyes, That Mouth (EP-Love's Easy Tears) 4AD FF#38
 * 24 December 1986: Love's Easy Tears (7 inch) 4AD FF#21


 * 1987
 * 30 June 1987: Crushed (Compilation LP-Lonely Is An Eyesore) 4AD


 * 1988
 * 19 September 1988: Athol-Brose (LP - Blue Bell Knoll) 4AD
 * 26 December 1988: Carolyn's Fingers (CD-Blue Bell Knoll) 4AD #26


 * 1990
 * 08 August 1990: Wax And Wane (LP-Garlands) 4AD
 * 09 August 1990: The Hollow Men (LP-Garlands) 4AD


 * 1992
 * 31 July 1992: Amelia (LP-Treasure) Zonar (competition to win Latvian pressing of Cocteaus LP)
 * 20 September 1992 (BFBS): Feathers Oar-Blades (EP - Lullabies) 4AD
 * 11 December 1992: Frosty The Snowman (compilation album - Volume Five) Volume
 * 24 December 1992: Frosty The Snowman (EP-Snow) 4AD
 * 25 December 1992: Frosty The Snowman (Compilation CD-Volume Five) Volume (JP: "Well that's a poke in the eye for those of you who thought the Cocteau Twins had no sense of humour....probably fed up with hearing that by now, I would have thought, and it's the only Christmas record in this week's programme.")


 * 1993
 * 03 January 1993 (BFBS): Frosty The Snowman (v/a album - Volume Five) Volume


 * 1996
 * 26 January 1996: Circling Girl (box set compilation - Volume 15 - Technology Alert!) Volume
 * 19 March 1996: Tishbite (CD: Tishbite) Fontana
 * 20 March 1996: Tishbite (single) Fontana


 * 1999
 * 24 August 1999: Wax And Wane (2xCD-BBC Sessions) Bella Union
 * 02 September 1999: Feathers Oar / Blades (2xCD – BBC Sessions) Bella Union
 * 05 September 1999 (BFBS): Dear Heart (2xCD-BBC Sessions) Bella Union
 * 30 September 1999: Hearsay Please (2xCD – BBC Sessions) Bella Union
 * 10 October 1999 (BFBS): Hazel (2xCD-BBC Sessions) Bella Union
 * 16 December 1999: From The Flagstones (2xCD: BBC Sessions) Bella Union/BBC Music
 * 20 December 1999 (BFBS): From The Flagstones (2xCD-BBC Sessions) Bella Union


 * 2000
 * 19 December 2000: Robin Guthrie appears in Festive 50 quiz
 * 27 December 2000: Frosty The Snowman (Compilation CD-Volume Five) Volume


 * 2000
 * 21 September 2004: Aikea Guinea (7") 4AD


 * Other
 * Best Of Peel & Jensen 80s: Wax And Wane (LP-Garlands) 4AD
 * Peel 004 (BFBS): In The Gold Dust Rush (LP-Head Over Heels) 4AD
 * Peel 007 (BFBS): Aikea-Guinea (12") 4AD
 * Peel 008 (BFBS): Quisquose (12"-Aikea-Guinea) 4AD
 * Peel 013 (BFBS): Ivo (LP-Treasure) 4AD
 * Peel 019 (BFBS): Musette And Drums (LP-Head Over Heels) 4AD (JP: ''"You know, I've heard that record squillions of times, and it's the first time I've ever noticed that she actually sings the words "musette and drums" several times in the course of it.')
 * Peel 021 (BFBS): Pink Orange Red (12"-Tiny Dynamine) 4AD
 * Peel 023 (BFBS): Melonella (12"-Echoes In A Shallow Bay)' (4AD) (JP: “The only word I recognised in the course of that was the word "bidet", and what that had got to do with it I'm not quite sure. What any of it's got to do with anything I'm not sure.”)


 * Peel Late Sep - Oct 1983: When Mama Was Moth (album - Head Over Heels) 4AD
 * Mostly Peel Mid Sep 1983: Sugar Hiccup
 * Peel Late 1984: Persephone (album - Treasure) 4AD
 * Mainly Peel December 1992: Frosty The Snowman (Compilation CD-Volume Five) Volume