Dear fans, friends, and followers,
Welcome to our first annual Halloween edition. The Cocteaus were never much for Goth or the spookier side of ‘80s and ‘90s music, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t dabble. Let’s see what wicked delights we have in store for this Halloween update…
Cocteau Twins honoured by SAY Awards
But first… Sorry — I forgot to ask this in the intro.
(Thank you.)1
So, anyway, the Scottish Album of the Year Awards (SAY) — sort of a Scottish “Mercury Prize” — have awarded the second annual ‘Modern Scottish Classic’ to a certain band founded in Grangemouth, singling out for the award — wait, I had it with me here … one moment — oh, yes! Say it with me: 1990’s Heaven or Las Vegas. [Sound of fans in stadium roaring]
As reported by The Herald Scotland:
‘The 32-year-old album was picked by the 20 artists longlisted for this year's SAY Award and it will be celebrated at the awards ceremony to be held later this month.’
Elizabeth Fraser said:
“What a delightful surprise. Thank you for expressing such heartfelt affection for Heaven or Las Vegas and for presenting us with an award that we are thrilled and honoured to receive. Thank you so much.”
While Simon Raymonde responded:
“When I was invited to join the band I just knew from the first session that we wrote music together that this was going to be a special time in my life and Elizabeth and Robin could not have made me feel more ‘at home’. I was never made to feel like the odd (English) man out.
"What I couldn’t have known was the impact our music was going to have, and Heaven Or Las Vegas the subject of this wonderful accolade from SAY.
"Even 32 years after its release it seems to keep finding new fans, without the aid of any reunion tours, marketing campaigns or fancy reissues.
"It is without doubt a great privilege to have been part of this band with two of the most talented Scottish musicians of the last 50 years, for such a big part of my life, and I am still moved by the reaction that Heaven or Las Vegas in particular continues to have. The award is humbling and I am grateful to everyone who chose this over so many other wonderful possibilities.”
Robin Guthrie posted:
The accolade follows close on the trio’s recognition earlier this year by the IVORs, who honoured them with their “Visionary Award.”
Still cool, but perhaps a bit less distinctively, the album ranked #18 on Pitchfork’s 2022 ranking of “The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s,” with the track “Cherry-coloured funk” landing at #188 on their list of “The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s.”
Bella Union to re-release Simon Raymonde’s solo work
The indie record label founded by Cocteau Twins and now run by Simon has announced a forthcoming reissue of Simon’s solo recordings to be available 9 December on vinyl, compact disc, and digital download.
From the label’s website:
Simon Raymonde recorded his solo album ‘Blame Someone Else’ while still in Cocteau Twins. Fellow Twins Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie appeared on ‘Blame Someone Else’, as did late-period member Mitsuo Tate.
But Cocteau Twins were no more by the time it was out. Originally issued in October 1997 it became the first release on Bella Union, a new label run by Robin and Simon. And now by Simon alone. Circumstances change and ‘Blame Someone Else’ unexpectedly arrived in a world where Cocteau Twins were in the past.
Twenty-five years later, ‘Blame Someone Else’ is now being released under the name ‘Solo Works 96-98’, appearing on vinyl for the first time with the addition of the three bonus tracks from 1998’s Japan-only edition. “It was begun in 1996 at a time of turmoil with Cocteau Twins,” says Simon of the album now. “At the time, I was unsure if I should make the album but my band-mates were extremely supportive, their encouragement helped me get the record finished. It took me 25 years to feel comfortable with these songs being available again. We all have hurdles to get over before we can feel ready to let go of certain things. Today, I feel that the first-ever release on Bella Union should once again be an active part of the label’s history, if only to bookmark these first 25 years.”
Pre-orders for Solo Works 96-98 are being accepted at Bella Union and numerous online outlets.
He writes, too!
Simon is also putting out a book. The yet-to-be-titled memoir is expected ‘sometime next year.’ (More on that later.) He recently posted this anecdote to social media:
“One of only two shows I played as a solo artist, this was in Mexico City around ‘97 or ‘98. Unlikely as it sounds I was also kidnapped by a taxi driver on the night of this show but managed to escape an almost-certain grim ending and ran about 4 miles from danger in intense heat while dressed in my suit and creepers till I reached help. A call was made and the promoter came out to get me and drove me straight to the venue where I walked on stage where my band (a fab bunch from LA band The Autumns) to play the show. The full story will be in my book out sometime next year.”
This is why we read music memoirs.
Speaking of books (and Spooky stuff)…
Simon has been showing support for friend and former Lush front-woman Miki Berenyi, whose memoir, Fingers Crossed, debuted this month from Nine-Eight Books.
Simon supported Miki at an in-store event at Resident in Brighton, England, where she also played a few songs.
The book is a delight to read, taking us back to those early 1990s 4AD days and recollections of Lush recording Mad Love and Spooky with Robin at September Sound. (Plenty of drama, yes, as well as some of the usual music business misogyny, but also some great behind-the-scenes recollections about songwriting, building a sound, making records, and the general thrill of being young and in a band and succeeding at it.)
Some old stuff for sale
Cocteau Twins’ former manager, Raymond Coffer, is selling off some of his old memorabilia. This image showed up in a Cocteau Twins Facebook group:
Coffer was able to confirm:
“Hi, yes, I was Cocteau Twins' manager for over 11 years from 1986!!
I need to downsize so I am selling, giving away or donating all the items I have for all my bands, including Cocteaus as well as the other artists I managed (Smashing Pumpkins, Sundays, Love and Rockets, Ian McCulloch, Swell, Curve, Xymox etc).
I can tell you that 3 of the 4 tracks on the cd all finished up on the Milk and Kisses album under different names as follows:
1. Hammond - Tishbite
2. Ooh La - Calfskin Smack
3. Half-Gifts is on the album with the same name
4. Ampeg - Violaine
I have a few things left for each of the bands, including some cds and cassettes, which can mostly be found on my Discogs page.”
I love how workaday some of the song titles were before Elizabeth finalised them.
Simon says…
Coming soon… Cocktail Twins?
Award-winning author Scott Heim (Mysterious Skin2, We Disappear), a bona fide Cocteau Twins devotee, also happens to be a very talented amateur mixologist. One of his hobbies is coming up with original libations inspired by a Cocteau song or song title. For years he’s been making them and posting them to Facebook or Twitter along with the recipe. (I have been lucky enough to quaff one or two.) Soon we’ll be featuring some of his best in a new regular section of this newsletter.
Well, that’s all for this one folks. Thanks for reading! And remember to be kind to one another. It’s brutal out there.
Know who you are at every age,
Michael
P.S. - OK, one more thing. I asked Midjourney A.I. to draw “Cocteau Twins,” and this is what I got. Kudos to the pretend codebrain for at least coming close, though Simon is conspicuously absent. (I guess this is in the neighborhood of promos for Blue Bell Knoll?)
Substack only allows five options. I thought of six or seven that might qualify as ‘spooky,’ but these seemed spooky-est.
You may recall that Gregg Araki’s 2004 film adaptation’s score was written by Robin and the late Harold Budd, and also featured the song “Crushed” in one scene.