SELF PORTRAIT LLOYD COLE
The rock’n’synth bibliophile in his own words and by his own hand.
I’d describe myself as… I wouldn’t.
Music changed me… in the 1970s. It changed my hair, my trousers, it opened my mind to literature, philosophy, sex… Bowie introduced me to Steve Reich, Eno introduced me to Cluster. Pop Music made me want to make pop music. In the 1980s, music made me somewhat famous in a few countries, gave me more money than I ever expected to earn. It took me around the world a few times. It fulfilled my two ambitions – to be on Top Of The Pops, and the cover of the New Musical Express. In the 1990s it took me to New York, it took most of the money back, it continued to drag me around in a tour bus. In the 2000s it taught me, with help from necessity, to become a performer. Then it put me in a room until I’d figured out what type of music I wanted to make, if any. In the 2010s it gave me a banjo, and a modular synthesizer. Both are bad for my back. Emulate your heroes. It’s sound advice. As we close in on the end of this decade, most of my heroes are dead. I continue to try to be a hero to somebody, somewhere. Away from music… I do many things. Accounting, logistics, retailing. I mow the lawn, I weed. Here are a few things I enjoy doing – visiting Hong Kong with my wife, cooking and watching Curb Your Enthusiasm with my kids, playing golf in Scotland with my son, Frank, The Guardian Crossword, Will Shortz or Nikoli Publishing Sudoku, riding my bicycle (3-speed). And I’m enjoying learning analogue video synthesis. Away from the concerts, on tour I enjoy walking cities and seeking out great bars and restaurants. I love the smell of Latakia and Virginia tobaccos. I own eight pipes, but I don’t smoke. It’s terrible for my voice. When I retire, I’ll go full Squadron Leader. I still read a little. Finishing up an excellent Miranda July book, right now. My biggest vices are… in ascending order, beer, whiskey, beer and whiskey. Yes, that’s the correct spelling. I drink American whiskey, mostly.
The last time I was embarrassed was… pretty much every post-concert selfie posted on social media.
My formal qualifications are… after passing a few A levels, I’m a two-time university dropout. The second time I dropped out, to be fair, was because I had a job.
The last time I cried was… I cry watching Die Hard or Star Wars. Me crying isn’t something worthy of notice.
Vinyl, CD or streaming? …I don’t care. I care about the fidelity of my recordings because it matters to others. Not me, not really. We finally figured out how to make CDs sound good and then nobody wanted them any more. I would say that I don’t like the idea of spending $X on music over Y years, then being told I can’t pass said music on to my Z heirs… My most treasured possessions is… hmmm. I don’t keep anything in a safe. My kids’ artwork from elementary school, a few nice pieces of art I was lucky enough to acquire, some photos of my wife I treasure, my notebooks. The best book I’ve read is… That’s not a fair question. There are too many. My favourite books, at least the ones I can think of now, are: Dickens – Hard Times; Didion – A Book Of Common Prayer; Chandler – The Big Sleep; Wislawa Szymborska – People On A Bridge; Allen Strange – Electronic Music; and Peter Dobereiner – Golf À La Carte.
Is the glass half full or half empty… it’s mostly half empty in the mornings, and gradually approaches half full, sometimes even spilling over, of an evening.
My greatest regret is… I suppose I had a real chance in the early/mid ’90s. There was serious money behind me, but I had no real plan. I can’t really blame myself entirely, as I’d succeeded to that point making it up as I went along. But at that juncture I really needed one, and was found wanting. And I haven’t, thus far, been able to break 70.
When we die… I don’t know; I’m sure it’s OK.
I would like to be remembered… I would like to be remembered.
“I cry watching Die Hard… me crying isn’t something worthy of notice.” LLOYD COLE