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 | |
---|---|
Studio albums | 9 |
Live albums | 1 |
Compilation albums | 8 |
Music videos | 22 |
EPs | 11 |
Singles | 19 |
Commercially, their most successful studio album, Heaven or Las Vegas was released in 1990 and reached number seven in the United Kingdom and number ninety-nine in the United States. Heaven or Las Vegas was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It eventually sold 235,000 copies by 1996, according to Billboard.[1] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,[2] and was voted number 218 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[3] In 2020, Rolling Stone listed it at No. 245 in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[4] The band have had four of their studio albums reach number one on the UK Indie Chart.
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.
Title | Album details | Peak chart position | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [5] |
SCO [5] |
UK Indie |
AUS [6] |
BEL [7] |
CAN [8] |
NZ [9] |
SWE [10] |
US [11] | |||
Garlands | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Head over Heels |
|
51 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
Treasure |
|
29 | — | 2 | — | — | — | 34 | 32 | — |
|
Victorialand |
|
10 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Blue Bell Knoll |
|
15 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 109 | |
Heaven or Las Vegas |
|
7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 99 |
|
Four-Calendar Café | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | 78 | ||
Milk & Kisses |
|
17 | 24 | — | 64 | 48 | 53 | — | — | 99 |
Title | Album details | Peak chart position | |
---|---|---|---|
UK [5] |
UK Indie | ||
The Moon and the Melodies (with Harold Budd) |
|
46 | 1 |
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[13] |
Title | EP details | Peak chart position | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [5] |
SCO [5] |
UK Indie |
NZ [14] | ||
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 | — | — |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [5] |
SCO [15] |
UK Indie |
POR [16] |
IRE [17] |
US Alt [18] | |||
"Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops"[A] | 1984 | 29 | — | 1 | — | — | — | The Spangle Maker |
"Carolyn's Fingers" | 1988 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | Blue Bell Knoll |
"Iceblink Luck" | 1990 | 38 | — | — | — | 22 | 4 | Heaven or Las Vegas |
"Heaven or Las Vegas" | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | ||
"Evangeline" | 1993 | 34 | — | — | 4 | — | — | Four-Calendar Café |
"Bluebeard" | 1994 | 33 | 77[19] | — | — | — | — | |
"Tishbite" | 1996 | 34 | 29[20] | — | — | — | — | Milk & Kisses |
"Violaine" | 56 | 66[21] | — | — | — | — |
Notes
Title[22] | Year | Director(s) |
---|---|---|
"Wax and Wane"[22] | 1983 | |
"Sugar Hiccup" | 1984 | |
"Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" | Nigel Grierson | |
"Song to the Siren"
(released as This Mortal Coil)[22] |
Ivo Watts-Russell | |
"Pandora (for Cindy)" (unreleased)[24] | ||
"Aikea-Guinea" | 1985 | John Scarlett-Davis |
"Pink Orange Red" | Gavin Taylor | |
"Love's Easy Tears" | 1986 | |
"How to Bring a Blush to the Snow"[25] | 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)[26] |
2005 | Nigel Grierson |