Cocteau Twins were a Scottish gothic rock and dream pop group whose discography contains nine studio albums, seven compilations, and numerous EPs and singles. The band have had several UK top 40 albums, with four of their studio albums also reaching the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States.
| Cocteau Twins discography | |
|---|---|
 Cocteau Twins in 1986, from L-R: Simon Raymonde, Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie | |
| Studio albums | 9 |
| EPs | 11 |
| Live albums | 1 |
| Compilation albums | 8 |
| Singles | 19 |
| Music videos | 22 |
The band have had five albums certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. Commercially, their most successful studio album, Heaven or Las Vegas was released in 1990; it reached number seven in the United Kingdom.
The band have had six of their singles chart within the top 100 in the United Kingdom. Three of their singles were heavily played on the U.S. alternative radio stations and they charted within the top 10 of the US Alternative Songs Chart. Their 1984 single "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" reached number one on the UK Indie Chart.
In 1986, they released a collaboration album The Moon and the Melodies with Harold Budd. Over the course of their musical career, the Cocteau Twins have released several compilation albums.
Albums
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart position | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] |
SCO [1] |
UK Indie |
AUS [2][3] |
BEL [4] |
CAN [5] |
NZ [6] |
SWE [7] |
US [8] | |||
| Garlands | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Head over Heels |
|
51 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
| Treasure |
|
29 | — | 2 | — | — | — | 34 | 32 | — |
|
| Victorialand |
|
10 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Blue Bell Knoll |
|
15 | — | 1 | 119 | — | — | — | — | 109 | |
| Heaven or Las Vegas |
|
7 | — | — | 130 | — | — | — | — | 99 |
|
| Four-Calendar Café | 13 | — | — | 111 | — | — | 22 | — | 78 | ||
| Milk & Kisses |
|
17 | 24 | — | 64 | 48 | 53 | — | — | 99 | |
Collaborative albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] |
UK Indie | ||
| The Moon and the Melodies (with Harold Budd) |
|
46 | 1 |
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details | Certifications | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny Dynamine/Echoes in a Shallow Bay |
|
compilation album, combined release of two EPs. | |
| The Pink Opaque |
|
compilation album, joint release by 4AD (UK) and Relativity Records (US) | |
| The Box Set |
|
ten-disc box set consisting of all EPs up to that point and one disc of bonus material | |
| BBC Sessions |
|
compilation album of 8 BBC sessions recorded between 1982 and 1996 | |
| Stars and Topsoil |
|
|
compilation album (1982–1990) |
| Lullabies to Violaine: Singles and Extended Plays 1982–1996 |
|
limited edition (10,000 units worldwide), four-disc box set of single and EP tracks | |
| Lullabies to Violaine, Volume 1: Singles and Extended Plays 1982–1990 |
|
first two of the four discs in box set shown above | |
| Lullabies to Violaine, Volume 2: Singles and Extended Plays 1993–1996 |
|
last two of the four discs in box set shown above | |
| Treasure Hiding: The Fontana Years |
|
four-disc box set that includes Four-Calendar Café, Milk & Kisses, EPs, B-sides, and more[10] |
Extended plays
edit| Title | EP details | Peak chart position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] |
SCO [1] |
UK Indie |
NZ [11] | ||
| Lullabies |
|
— | — | 11 | — |
| Peppermint Pig |
|
— | — | 2 | — |
| Sunburst and Snowblind |
|
86 | — | 2 | — |
| The Spangle Maker |
|
29 | — | 2 | — |
| Aikea-Guinea |
|
41 | — | 1 | 38 |
| Tiny Dynamine |
|
52 | — | 1 | — |
| Echoes in a Shallow Bay |
|
65 | — | 1 | 48 |
| Love's Easy Tears |
|
53 | — | 1 | — |
| Snow |
|
58 | — | — | — |
| Twinlights |
|
59 | 57 | — | — |
| Otherness |
|
59 | 55 | — | — |
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [1] |
SCO [12] |
UK Indie |
AUS [3] |
POR [13] |
IRE [14] |
US Alt [15] | |||
| "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops"[A] | 1984 | 29 | — | 1 | — | — | — | The Spangle Maker | |
| "Carolyn's Fingers" US promotional single only | 1988 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | Blue Bell Knoll |
| "Iceblink Luck" | 1990 | 38 | — | — | — | 22 | 4 | Heaven or Las Vegas | |
| "Heaven or Las Vegas" | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | |||
| "Evangeline" | 1993 | 34 | — | — | 135 | 4 | — | — | Four-Calendar Café |
| "Bluebeard" | 1994 | 33 | 77[16] | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Tishbite" | 1996 | 34 | 29[17] | — | 168 | — | — | — | Milk & Kisses |
| "Violaine" | 56 | 66[18] | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Notes
- ^ "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" has the same charting position as The Spangle Maker EP.
Music videos
edit| Title[19] | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Wax and Wane"[19] | 1983 | |
| "Sugar Hiccup" | 1984 | |
| "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" | Nigel Grierson | |
| "Song to the Siren"
(released as This Mortal Coil)[19] |
Ivo Watts-Russell | |
| "Pandora (for Cindy)" (unreleased)[21] | ||
| "Aikea-Guinea" | 1985 | John Scarlett-Davis |
| "Pink Orange Red" | Gavin Taylor | |
| "Love's Easy Tears" | 1986 | |
| "How to Bring a Blush to the Snow"[22] | Carl Theodor Dreyer and Peter Fowler | |
| "Crushed" | 1987 | Nico Beyer |
| "Carolyn's Fingers" | 1988 | Walter Stern |
| "Blue Bell Knoll" (live) | ||
| "Cico Buff" | ||
| "Iceblink Luck" | 1990 | Howard Greenhalgh |
| "Heaven or Las Vegas" | ||
| "Evangeline" | 1993 | Nico Beyer |
| "Bluebeard" | Paul Donnellon | |
| "Rilkean Heart" (version 1) | 1995 | |
| "Rilkean Heart" (Rilkean Dreams interlude) | ||
| "Half-Gifts" | ||
| "Tishbite" | 1996 | Dave Shum |
| "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops"
(higher resolution cut edit)[23] |
2005 | Nigel Grierson |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Cocteau Twins - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ^ a b "Cocteau Twins chart history, received from ARIA in May 2024". ARIA. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
- ^ "Belgium – Album positions". ultratop.be. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ^ "Canada – Album positions". RPM. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ^ "NZ – Album positions". charts.nz. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ^ "Sweden – Album positions". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ^ "Cocteau Twins Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "British certifications – Cocteau Twins". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 3, 2022. Type Cocteau Twins in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ Bonner, Michael (23 August 2018). "Cocteau Twins announce new 4-CD set, Treasure Hiding – The Fontana Years". Uncut.co.uk. Uncut. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ "NZ – Singles positions". charts.nz. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
- ^ "Music & Media" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. 6 November 1993.
- ^ "Ireland – Singles positions". irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ^ "Cocteau Twins Chart History: Alternative Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 13/3/1994". Official Charts.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 24/3/1996". Official Charts.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 14/7/1996". Official Charts.
- ^ a b c "Cocteau Twins: Audio & Video". cocteautwins.com.
- ^ "Cocteau Twins - Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops (Video)". YouTube. 28 October 2015.
- ^ "The Making of Treasure". Archived from the original on 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ "How To Bring A Blush To The Snow (Video)". YouTube. 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Cocteau Twins - Pearly Dewdrops' Drops (Official Video)". YouTube. 24 January 2013.