rattlesnakes

He was born in Buxton, Derbyshire. He grew up in nearby Chapel en le Frith and went to New Mills Grammar School. After failing in law at University College London, he later attended (but did not graduate from) the University of Glasgow, where he studied philosophy and English and met the other members of The Commotions.
Their 1984 debut, Rattlesnakes, contained literary and pop culture references to such figures as Norman Mailer, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, Truman Capote and Joan Didion. The group produced two more albums, Easy Pieces and Mainstream, before disbanding in 1989, when Cole relocated to New York to record with various artists, including Fred Maher, Robert Quine and Matthew Sweet.