During the 1980s the new wave scene brought numerous stylish European and British acts to American listeners, yet the reverse flow also took hold, allowing Cock Robin to build a far larger and more devoted following abroad than at home. Although “When Your Heart Is Weak” managed only modest U.S. sales in 1985, the track performed noticeably better overseas, and over the ensuing five years the band sustained steady success in France along with Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands while remaining little more than a cult attraction in the United States.
Peter Kingsbery, born in Arizona and already working as a songwriter in Los Angeles, relocated to San Francisco and assembled Cock Robin in 1982. Serving as the group’s keyboardist, bassist, and lead vocalist, he completed the original roster with singer Anna LaCazio, guitarist Clive Wright, and drummer Louis Molino III. Columbia Records signed the quartet, and their self-titled debut appeared in 1985 under the guidance of prog-rock guitarist Steve Hillage. The album yielded “When Your Heart Is Weak,” which climbed to number 35 on the American pop chart and reached the Top Ten in both France and Germany. Its follow-up, “The Promise You Made,” failed to register stateside yet entered the Top Ten in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands while topping the Belgian chart.
The band’s sleek fusion of pop hooks, new-wave textures, and arena-scale guitars turned them into European headliners. Their second album, After Here Through Midland, released in 1987, peaked at number 166 on the U.S. album chart but earned platinum certification in France and landed in the Top Ten in Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. By the time that record appeared, the original lineup had already fractured; Kingsbery and LaCazio enlisted session players for the sessions, which were overseen by heartland-rock specialist Don Gehman.
Rhett Davies, whose résumé included work with Roxy Music, King Crimson, and Genesis, produced the third album, First Love: Last Rites. Once again Kingsbery and LaCazio fronted the project, supported by studio musicians. Issued in 1989, the set enjoyed modest success in France but drew scant attention elsewhere, and Columbia did not issue it in the United States until 1990. Within months of its domestic release the band dissolved, with both Kingsbery and LaCazio pursuing solo careers.
In 2006 Kingsbery and LaCazio reunited with original guitarist Clive Wright to revive Cock Robin and recorded the album I Don’t Want to Save the World. The group promoted the release with French concert dates, and a fifth album, Songs from a Bell Tower, followed in 2010, again backed by shows in France and Spain. A French music magazine reported in 2015 that LaCazio had departed after Kingsbery moved permanently to France—where he also enjoyed solo success—while she chose to remain and record in the United States. The band’s French website later announced that Coralie Vuillemin would serve as the new female vocalist and that Chinese Driver would arrive in March 2016.
