Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 1983, Heggie was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often eschew any recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative subgenre of dream pop and helped define what would become shoegaze.

In 1982, the band signed with the record label 4AD and released their debut album, Garlands. The addition of Raymonde in 1983 solidified their best-known lineup, which soon produced the No. 29 UK hit "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops", their highest-charting UK single. The trio crystallised their "swelling, euphoric" dream pop style on the 1984 album Treasure, which became the band's first UK Top 40 album. In April 1986, they released their fourth album, Victorialand, becoming their first top ten album in the United Kingdom, and in November 1986 released The Moon and the Melodies, a collaborative album with American composer Harold Budd. In 1988, they released the critically acclaimed single "Carolyn's Fingers" which achieved commercial success on the Billboard Alternative Airplay charts in the United States, reaching number two.

Their fifth album Blue Bell Knoll (1988) continued a period of strong commercial success in both the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as achieving moderate commercial success in Australia. Their sixth album, Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) became their most commercially successful album in the United Kingdom, reaching number seven on the national albums charts and being certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). A critically acclaimed album, it was listed as the 90th best album of the 1990s by Pitchfork, who complimented Fraser's more direct vocals and the album's complex songwriting. It was also included in the 2008 edition of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and in The Guardian's online edition of a similar list.

By 1993, the band had left 4AD for Fontana Records, and released their seventh album Four-Calendar Café (1993). Despite their considerable commercial success in the United States by this point, they made their debut American television appearance performing the single "Bluebeard". Four-Calendar Café became their highest charting album on the Billboard 200 in the United States, reaching number seventy-eight. They released their eighth and final album Milk & Kisses in April 1996, supported by two singles – "Tishbite" and "Violaine". After nearly 20 years together, the group disbanded in 1997 in part due to issues stemming from the disintegration of Fraser's and Guthrie's romantic relationship.

Guthrie and Heggie, both from Grangemouth, Scotland, formed the band in 1979. They met the 17-year-old Fraser in 1981 at a local disco, The Hotel International, where Guthrie was DJing, and she became the group's vocalist.

Prior to releasing their debut album, the band recorded a four track session for John Peel in June 1982, including "Wax and Wane" and "Garlands". Their debut LP Garlands, released through 4AD in July 1982, was a sales success, peaking at number 14 in the indie albums chart in the UK. Sounds wrote that the style of the band was "mixing strong Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division influences". NME established the same comparisons, likening it to "Banshee John McKay's guitar", while Spin compared it in 1986 to Bauhaus. The album was followed by the EP Lullabies in October. In April 1983 the band released a second EP, Peppermint Pig.

A European tour supporting Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark followed, but after a gig in Hamburg the band left the tour and parted ways with bassist Will Heggie, leaving Guthrie and Fraser unsure how they would continue. The pair returned to Scotland, settling to re-think their whole approach and write new songs for an album.

Cocteau Twins' sound on their first three recordings relied on the combination of Heggie's rhythmic basslines, Guthrie's minimalist guitar melodies, and Fraser's voice. The band's next full-length LP record, Head over Heels, relied solely on the latter two, following Heggie's departure (he would later join Lowlife). This led to the characteristic Cocteau Twins sound: Fraser's voice, by turns ethereal and operatic, combined with increasingly effects-heavy guitar playing by Guthrie (who has often said that he is far more interested in the way the guitar is recorded than in the actual notes being played; he later said that his reliance on effects and layering was initially due to his own technical limitations). Guthrie has cited Phil Spector's wall of sound as "an obvious influence" on his sound.