Cock Robin (band)
Cock Robin is an American pop rock band, mostly popular in the 1980s, particularly in continental Europe, where it achieved major success, notably with the single "The Promise You Made". The band was founded by singer-songwriter Peter Kingsbery in 1982, disbanded in 1990, and reformed in 2006.
Cock Robin | |
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_823.png) Cock Robin live (2009) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Genres | Pop rock, new wave[1] |
| Years active | 1982–1990 2006–present |
| Labels | CBS, Muzivox Production |
| Website | cock-robin |
| Members | Peter Kingsbery Coralie Vuillemin Didier Strub |
| Past members | Anna LaCazio Clive Wright Lou Molino III |
History
1985-1990 : European success
Named after a 17th-century story titled "The Marriage of Cock Robin and Jenny Wren", the band formed in San Francisco, California and was signed to CBS Records. Cock Robin's eponymous debut album was produced by Steve Hillage. It was ignored in their native country, as with the majority of their output, but it was an overnight success in Europe, especially in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands, where the singles "When Your Heart Is Weak", "The Promise You Made" and "Thought You Were On My Side" became big hits (with for example the latter two singles peaking at number 1 and number 4 respectively in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium),[2] and the album itself a chart-topper. "When Your Heart Is Weak" was the band's only chart single in the U.S., where it reached No. 35 in the late summer of 1985. It also became a radio favorite in South Africa in early 1986.
In mid-1987, the band, reduced from the original quartet to the duo of Peter Kingsbery and Anna LaCazio, released a second album, After Here Through Midland, produced by Don Gehman, who had previously worked with John Mellencamp, among others. As with their debut, Cock Robin's second album attracted much attention in continental Europe where it reached the Top 5 and also scored hits with the singles "Just Around the Corner" (a European Top 20 hit, from Scandinavia to Italy), "The Biggest Fool of All" and "El Norte".
Two years later, in 1989, the band released their third, and, to many critics, most accomplished album, First Love/Last Rites, with Roxy Music veteran Rhett Davies in the role of producer. As with their previous releases, the LP fared well in mainland Europe, but, due to poor management and promotion, failed to make an impact in the USA. The duo went their separate ways shortly after the release of the album and a European Tour, with Kingsbery releasing a string of solo projects (3 albums in English, 1 in French) in France, most notably a hit single "Only the Very Best", recorded for the Michel Berger & Luc Plamondon concept musical album "Tycoon", with English lyrics by Tim Rice in 1992. Anna LaCazio recorded her own solo album (Eat Life) circa 1992-93; but it was only officially released in its entirety for download in 2009.
Recent years
On 20 June 2012, Peter Kingsbery announced in his blog on the official Cock Robin website Cockrobinmusic.com that "there will be a new tour next Summer 2013 with a new album".[3]
Another Cock Robin remix by Umpff, "Extraordinary Thing", appeared on Mixtape[4] from Mabel the Label in October 2012.
The November 2015 issue of the French magazine Topo,[5] reported that Anna LaCazio had left Cock Robin in May 2015. Kingsbery had relocated to France and LaCazio preferred to remain in the United States and be close to her family.
Peter Kingsbery announced that Coralie Vuillemin had been chosen as the new female voice in the group. The band's latest album, "Chinese Driver" was released on March 11, 2016.
A 5-track EP was released as download only in April 2017. The first track ("Roman Holiday (The Making Of)") is an original song, whereas the second one ("Just Before It Begins") is an original instrumental track. The last three tracks however ("The Long Last Second", "Thought You Were On My Side" and "White Folks") are reprises of Peter Kingsbery's solo albums or of Cock Robin songs, with new arrangements and vocals by Peter Kingsbery and Coralie Vuillemin.[6]
With the current line up, Cock Robin has performed in France, Portugal, Iceland, Belgium, Netherland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg, Danemark. May 2020 : the band is currently mixing their new album.
Band members
- Peter Kingsbery: lead vocals, keyboards, bass, guitar
- Coralie Vuillemin : lead vocals, keyboards
- Didier Strub : Drums, backing vocals
Ex-members
- Anna LaCazio: lead vocals, keyboards (1982-1990 - 2006-2015)
- Clive Wright: guitars (1982-1988)
- Lou Molino III: drums, percussion, backing vocals (1982-1987)
Other members
- Stéphane Bonacci : guitars
- Pat Mastelotto: drums, percussions
- Tris Imboden: drums
- Hervé Koster: drums
- Corky James: guitars
- John Pierce: bass
- Lise Anderson: keyboards, backing vocals
Discography
Studio albums
- Cock Robin (1985)
- After Here Through Midland (1987)
- First Love Last Rites (1989)
- I Don't Want to Save the World (2006)
- Songs from a Bell Tower (2010)
- Chinese Driver (2016)
- Lollobrigida (EP)(2017)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] |
US Main [8] |
FRA | ITA | NED | BEL (FLA) |
GER [9] |
AUT | SWI | SWE | IRE | UK [10] | |||
| 1985 | "When Your Heart Is Weak" | 35 | 28 | 9 | 26 | — | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | Cock Robin |
| 1986 | "The Promise You Made" | — | — | 4 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | 7 | — | 11 | 28 | |
| "Thought You Were on My Side" | — | — | 39 | — | 4 | 4 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "When Your Heart Is Weak" (NED/BEL/UK) | — | — | — | — | 19 | 30 | — | — | — | — | 25 | — | ||
| "Once We Might Have Known" (US only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "Just Around the Corner" | — | — | 18 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 28 | 6 | 12 | — | — | After Here Through Midland |
| "The Biggest Fool of All" | — | — | 47 | — | 80 | 23 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "El Norte" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990 | "Worlds Apart" | — | — | 22 | — | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | First Love / Last Rites |
| "Manzanar" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Straighter Line" | — | — | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||
Live recordings
- Live au Grand Rex (1990) (video recording)
- Live (2009) (recorded live in France 2006)
Compilations
- Collection Gold (1990)
- The Best of Cock Robin (1991)
- Best Ballads (Columbia 1995)
- Simply the Best (2001)
- Open Book — The Best Of... (2011)
References
- "Cock Robin - Biography & History". AllMusic.
- "Cock Robin". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- "Cock Robin Music - The Band". Cock Robin Music. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- "MIXTAPE 01". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- "Article Coralie Vuillemin, nouvelle voix de Cock Robin - TOPO". Topo-fc.info. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- "Lollobrigida - EP by Cock Robin on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- "Cock Robin - US Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
- "Cock Robin - US Mainstream". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
- "Cock Robin - German Chart". Charts.de. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
- "Official Charts Company: Cock Robin". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
External links
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