We propose a simple and original approach for solving linear-quadratic mean-field stochastic control problems. We study both finite-horizon and infinite-horizon problems, and allow notably some coefficients to be stochastic. Our method is based on a suitable extension of the martingale formulation for verification theorems in control theory. The optimal control involves the solution to a system of Riccati ordinary differential equations and to a linear mean-field backward stochastic differential equation, existence and uniqueness conditions are provided for such a system. Finally, we illustrate our results through two applications with explicit solutions: the first one deals with a portfolio liquidation problem with trade crowding, and the second one considers an economic model of substitutable production goods.