Orange Juice
Encyclopedia
Orange Juice was a Scottish
post-punk
band
founded in the middle class
Glasgow
suburb
of Bearsden
as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins
formed the Nu-Sonics (named after a cheap brand of guitar
) with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band became Orange Juice in 1979. They are best known for the hit
"Rip It Up", which reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart
in February 1983, the band's only UK
Top 40 hit.
and recorded their first album, You Can't Hide Your Love Forever
. However, internal tensions led to Kirk and Daly leaving in early 1982 (they would go on to form a short-lived band called Memphis), and for the next two album releases the core line-up was: Collins and McClymont with Malcolm Ross
on guitar, vocals and keyboards, and Zeke Manyika
on drums. By early 1984, Ross and McClymont had left the band leaving a core line-up of Collins and Manyika who recorded Orange Juice's final album, The Orange Juice, with Clare Kenny
and Johnny Britten. It was produced by Dennis Bovell
.
The band's only Top 40 hit, "Rip It Up" was achieved with the aid of the synthesizer
- it was the first hit to use the Roland TB-303
. While the group has long dispersed, members remain active in their separate and diverse fields (including travel writing). At least two greatest hits albums are available. Domino Records have recently gained the rights to the group's catalogue and was reissued in 2010.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
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...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
founded in the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Bearsden
Bearsden
Bearsden ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the City Centre, and is effectively a suburb, with housing development coinciding with the introduction of a railway line in 1863, and from where the town gets its name...
as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Stephen Collins is an Ivor Novello Award winning Scottish musician, playing mostly electric guitar-driven pop. Collins formed the musical group Nu-Sonics in 1976, which later became Orange Juice...
formed the Nu-Sonics (named after a cheap brand of guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band became Orange Juice in 1979. They are best known for the hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
"Rip It Up", which reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in February 1983, the band's only UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Top 40 hit.
Members
The original Orange Juice line-up was:- Edwyn CollinsEdwyn CollinsEdwyn Stephen Collins is an Ivor Novello Award winning Scottish musician, playing mostly electric guitar-driven pop. Collins formed the musical group Nu-Sonics in 1976, which later became Orange Juice...
(born 23 August 1959, EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
) – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
/ vocals / songwritingSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer... - James Kirk – guitar / vocals / songwriting
- David McClymont – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Steven Daly – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
/ percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Career
The original line-up signed to Polydor RecordsPolydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
and recorded their first album, You Can't Hide Your Love Forever
You Can't Hide Your Love Forever
You Can't Hide Your Love Forever is the debut album by post-punk band Orange Juice.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Edwyn Collins; except where indicated# "Falling and Laughing" – 3:51# "Untitled Melody" – 2:04# "Wan Light" – 2:23...
. However, internal tensions led to Kirk and Daly leaving in early 1982 (they would go on to form a short-lived band called Memphis), and for the next two album releases the core line-up was: Collins and McClymont with Malcolm Ross
Malcolm Ross (musician)
Malcolm Rosss musical career started when he played guitar in the Scottish band Josef K. They released a string of singles and an album, The Only Fun in Town, on Postcard Records in the early 1980s....
on guitar, vocals and keyboards, and Zeke Manyika
Zeke Manyika
Zeke Manyika is a drummer, vocalist and songwriter.Manyika was born in Zimbabwe, but has lived in Britain for most of his life. From 1982 to 1984 he was a member of the pop group Orange Juice, and contributed to their biggest hit single, "Rip It Up"...
on drums. By early 1984, Ross and McClymont had left the band leaving a core line-up of Collins and Manyika who recorded Orange Juice's final album, The Orange Juice, with Clare Kenny
Clare Kenny
Clare Kenny is a British musician who has been bassist for a number of groups from the 1980s to the present day, including:* Amazulu* Shakespears Sister* Orange Juice* Coming up Roses* Indigo Girls* Sinéad O'Connor* Damien Dempsey* Andrea Corr...
and Johnny Britten. It was produced by Dennis Bovell
Dennis Bovell
Dennis Bovell is a reggae guitarist, bass player and record producer. He was a member of the British reggae band Matumbi, and released dub-reggae records under his own name as well as the pseudonym 'Blackbeard'....
.
The band's only Top 40 hit, "Rip It Up" was achieved with the aid of the synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- it was the first hit to use the Roland TB-303
Roland TB-303
The Roland TB-303 Bass Line is a bass synthesizer with built-in sequencer manufactured by the Roland corporation from late 1981 to 1984 that had a defining role in the development of contemporary electronic music.-History:...
. While the group has long dispersed, members remain active in their separate and diverse fields (including travel writing). At least two greatest hits albums are available. Domino Records have recently gained the rights to the group's catalogue and was reissued in 2010.
Studio albums
- You Can't Hide Your Love ForeverYou Can't Hide Your Love ForeverYou Can't Hide Your Love Forever is the debut album by post-punk band Orange Juice.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Edwyn Collins; except where indicated# "Falling and Laughing" – 3:51# "Untitled Melody" – 2:04# "Wan Light" – 2:23...
(UK No.21) - March 1982 - Rip It Up (UK No.39) - November 1982
- Texas FeverTexas FeverTexas Fever is a 1984 mini-album released by the Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice. This mini-album has been re-issued on CD, but is currently out-of-print.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Edwyn Collins; except where indicated# "Bridge" - 3:38...
(UK No.34) - March 1984 - The Orange JuiceThe Orange JuiceThe Orange Juice is a 1984 album by Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice. It was their last studio LP.The album was released with free 12" single versions of several tracks on the cassette version - hence it sold mostly in this format...
- November 1984
Singles
- 1980 - "Falling and LaughingFalling and Laughing"Falling and Laughing" was the debut single by Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice. It was the first single released by the independent rock label Postcard Records, owned by Alan Horne. "Falling and Laughing" marked a new shift of the post-punk sound in general, by using themes that were not...
" - 1980 - "Blue Boy"
- 1980 - "Simply Thrilled Honey"
- 1981 - "Poor Old Soul"
- 1981 - "Wan Light" (scheduled on Postcard Records but never released)
- 1981 - "L.O.V.E. Love" (UK No.65)
- 1982 - "Felicity" (UK No.63)
- 1982 - "Two Hearts Together" (UK No.60)
- 1982 - "I Can't Help Myself" (UK No.42)
- 1983 - "Rip It Up" (UK No.8)
- 1983 - "Flesh of My Flesh" (UK No.41)
- 1984 - "Bridge" (UK No.67)
- 1984 - "What Presence" (UK No.47)
- 1984 - "Lean Period" (UK No.74)
Compilations
- 1984 - In a Nutshell
- 1992 - The Esteemed - The Very Best of Orange Juice (featuring Edwyn Collins)
- 1992 - Ostrich ChurchyardOstrich ChurchyardOstrich Churchyard is an album by Orange Juice, released on CD in 1992. Tracks 1 to 12 were recorded live at the Hellfire Club, Glasgow on 17th May 1981...
- the CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
release of the previously unreleased debut Orange Juice album for Postcard Records ('The Sound of Young Scotland'), along with a John PeelJohn PeelJohn 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...
Session, and, on the JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese issue, a bonus BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC 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...
session track, "Wan Light". - 1993 - The Heather's on FireThe Heather's on Fire-Track listing:#"Falling and Laughing" – 4:00#"Moscow" – 2:01#"Moscow Olympics" – 2:07#"Blue Boy" – 2:53#"Love Sick" – 2:27#"Simply Thrilled Honey" – 2:43#"Breakfast Time" – 1:56#"Poor Old Soul" – 2:29#"Poor Old Soul Pt 2" – 2:36...
- the other CD release by Orange Juice on Postcard Records, this collection brings the first four singles together with some more radioRadio stationRadio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
sessions and, on the Scottish version, a NuSonics (pre-Orange Juice) coverCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the New York DollsNew York DollsThe New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
song "Who Are The Mystery Girls?". - 2005 - The Glasgow SchoolThe Glasgow SchoolThe Glasgow School is a compilation album by the Scottish band Orange Juice, released in 2005. It contains the band's four singles for Postcard Records, the greater part of the 1992 compilation album Ostrich Churchyard , an alternate version of "Simply Thrilled Honey",...
- a compilation of Postcard-era tracks - named "Reissue of the Year" for 2005 by BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
's UncutUNCUT (magazine)Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
magazineMagazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. - 2010 - Coals To Newcastle - an almost exhaustive box-set anthology of all Orange Juice's previously released and unreleased output, released through Domino Records.