Bone Orchard were a post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

/gothic rock

Gothic rock

Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...

 band from Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

, England, active between around 1983 and 1986.

History

The band was formed in 1983 by Chrissie McGee (vocals), Mark Horse (guitar), Troy Tyro (guitar), Paul Hendrickson (bass), and Mick Finch (drums). They played their first gig in April that year in London, and recorded a session for John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

's BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 programme in June 1983 (one of few goth bands to be favoured by Peel) before releasing a record, subsequently signing to the Jungle label for debut EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 Stuffed to the Gills in November that year. The band drew comparisons with The Birthday Party

The Birthday Party (band)

The Birthday Party were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983.Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career...

, with McGee compared to Siouxsie Sioux

Siouxsie Sioux

Siouxsie Sioux is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and of its splinter group The Creatures . The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden",...

. Finch left, to be replaced on drums by Rim Tim Cheese in early 1984, and the band released a further EP before he was replaced by Ben Tisdall, with a single released prior to their debut album, Jack, in September. Tisdall left in 1985, and the band continued with an EP and a mini-LP that year before splitting up.

Albums

• Jack (1984), Jungle - UK Indie #18
• Penthouse Poultry (mini) (1985), Vax

Singles, EPs

• Stuffed to the Gills EP (1983), Jungle
• Swallowing Havoc EP (1984), Jungle
• "Jack" (1984), Jungle
• Princess Epilepsy EP (1985), Jungle