Orange Juice (band)

Orange Juice
OriginBearsden, Scotland
Genres
Years active1979–1985, 2008
LabelsPostcard, Polydor, Domino
Past membersEdwyn Collins
James Kirk
David McClymont
Steven Daly
Chris Gordon
Malcolm Ross
Zeke Manyika
Clare Kenny
Johnny Britten
Paul Heard
Steve Skinner

Orange Juice were a Scottish jangle pop band founded in the Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. They became Orange Juice in 1979, and took inspiration by contemporary punk bands including Subway Sect, Television, and Buzzcocks but also 1960s acts, most notably the Byrds and the Velvet Underground. Musically, the band brought together styles and genres that often appeared incongruous, for example, country, disco and punk.

The band released their first singles during 1980 and 1981 on the independent Postcard Records label founded by Alan Horne, along with fellow Scottish bands Josef K and Aztec Camera. Orange Juice's 'neo acoustic', jangly guitar sound – as evident in singles including "Blue Boy" and "Simply Thrilled Honey" – came to define 'The Postcard Sound' that directly influenced acts as diverse as the Bluebells, Haircut One Hundred and the Smiths.[7]

Despite their association with the independent scene, the band signed to the major label Polydor Records in 1981 and recorded their first album, You Can't Hide Your Love Forever for them. However, internal tensions led to splits in the band in late 1981, with their second album, released in late 1982, showing more pop sensibilities and combining their guitar-based sound with disco influences. 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.[8] "Rip It Up" reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1983.[9] Subsequent singles failed to chart as highly, but the band continued to be critically acclaimed, finally splitting up in January 1985 after a gig for the UK miners' strike.[10] Their three albums have been subsequently reissued and remastered on several occasions, with a major career-spanning box set Coals to Newcastle released in 2010.

Edwyn Collins pursued a successful solo career following the band's split, whilst other members James Kirk, David McClymont, Malcolm Ross and Zeke Manyika have had lower-profile solo releases. The original line-up of the band reunited once in 2008 to be honoured for their influence on Scottish music,[11] but the band has never reformed.

  1. ^ "Pop/Rock » Punk/New Wave » Post-Punk". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Orange Juice, Aztec Camera Reissued by Domino – Pitchfork". Pitchfork. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  3. ^ Petridis, Alexis (21 July 2005). "Orange Juice, The Glasgow School". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  4. ^ Harvel, Jess. "Now That's What I Call New Pop!". Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Pitchfork Media. 12 September 2005.
  5. ^ Jason Ankeny. "Orange Juice Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  6. ^ Andy Kellman. "The Glasgow School Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  7. ^ Jack, Malcolm (20 July 2016). "Orange Juice and Edwyn Collins – 10 of the best". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Buzzcocks: Boredom / Orange Juice: Rip It Up – Seconds – Stylus Magazine". Stylusmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  9. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 408. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  10. ^ Denselow, Robin (21 January 2011). "From the archive, 21 January 1985: Pop bands put on miners' benefit show". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  11. ^ Sloan, Billy (25 October 2008). "Music legends Orange Juice together again 26 years after split". Daily Record. Retrieved 25 February 2023.