Cocteau Twins discography


The discography of Cocteau Twins, a Scottish gothic rock and dream pop band, includes nine studio albums, seven compilation albums, eleven extended plays and seven singles. Their debut album Garlands was released via the 4AD record label, reached number four on the UK Independent Albums Charts and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. Two extended play releases preceded the release of their second albumLullabies and Peppermint Pig, both of which charted within the UK Independent Albums Charts.
Their second album, Head over Heels marked their debut appearance on the official UK Albums Chart, debuting at number fifty one. Moderate commercial success pursued with the release of the EPs Sunburst and Snowblind and The Spangle Maker, the latter of which spawned the commercially successful single "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" which reached number twenty-nine on the UK Singles Charts and number one on the UK Independent Singles Charts. Their third album, Treasure was released at the end of 1984 and became the bands first top thirty album in the United Kingdom, debuting at number twenty-nine on the UK Albums Charts. It was subsequently certified Silver by the BPI.
In April 1986, they released the first of two albums which would be released that year; Victorialand, which debuted at number ten in the United Kingdom, their first top ten appearance on the albums charts there. In November, they collaborated with American composer Harold Budd on the album The Moon and the Melodies, which was released under the bands own names – Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde, and not Cocteau Twins. Blue Bell Knoll, their fifth album, followed in 1988: it gave the band their first appearance on the US Billboard 200 albums chart with Blue Bell Knoll where it reached number 109.
At the end of August 1990, they released "Iceblink Luck" as the lead single from their forthcoming sixth album, Heaven or Las Vegas. The single achieved commercial success, reaching the top forty in the United Kingdom and in Ireland. The single also peaked at number 91 in the European Hot 100 Singles. The release of Heaven or Las Vegas would become their most commercially successful album in the United Kingdom to date, reaching the top ten and being certified Silver by the BPI. In the United States, it reached ninety-nine on the Billboard 200 and stayed nineteen weeks in that chart. The song "Cherry-Coloured Funk" from the album, despite not being released as a single, was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
By the release of their seventh album, Four-Calendar Café, Cocteau Twins had left their record label 4AD and signed with Fontana. The album became their highest charting in the United States, peaking at number seventy-eight on the Billboard 200 while staying in the chart for three weeks. The supporting singles from the album – "Evangeline" and "Bluebeard" both reached the UK Top 40, with the latter giving the band their debut appearance on their native singles charts in Scotland, reaching number seventy-seven. Their eighth and final album, Milk & Kisses, was released in 1996, supported by the singles "Tishbite" and "Violaine". Cocteau Twins disbanded in 1997, citing "irreconcilable differences". Since, a number of compilation albums have been released, notably Stars and Topsoil, which was certified Silver in the United Kingdom.

Singles

Notes

Music videos

TitleYearDirector
"Wax and Wane"1983
"Sugar Hiccup"1984
"Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops"1984Nigel Grierson
"Song to the Siren"
1984Ivo Watts-Russell
"Pandora " 1984
"Aikea-Guinea"1985John Scarlett-Davis
"Pink Orange Red"1985Gavin Taylor
"Love's Easy Tears"1986
"How to Bring a Blush to the Snow"1986Carl Theodor Dreyer and Peter Fowler
"Crushed"1987Nico Beyer
"Carolyn's Fingers"1988Walter Stern
"Blue Bell Knoll" 1988
"Cico Buff"1988
"Iceblink Luck"1990Howard Greenhalgh
"Heaven or Las Vegas"1990Howard Greenhalgh
"Evangeline"1993Nico Beyer
"Bluebeard"1993Paul Donnellon
"Rilkean Heart" 1995
"Rilkean Heart" 1995
"Half-Gifts"1995
"Tishbite"1996Dave Shum
"Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops"
2005Nigel Grierson