The Orchids

The Orchids

The Orchids are an indie pop group from Glasgow, Scotland, formed in 1986 and associated with Sarah Records. The core line-up includes James Hackett on vocals, Matthew Drummond on rhythm guitar, John Scally on lead guitar, James Moody on bass and Chris Quinn on drums.

Early years and Sarah Records

The band forms in Penilee, a suburb of Glasgow, and draws early inspiration from local acts such as Lloyd Cole and the Commotions and Primal Scream. Their songs sit within late-1980s British guitar pop, with a sound linked to jangle pop and twee. Their early image fits the wider indie scene of the period, and the press reaction to the group is often sharply divided.

The Orchids first connect with Sarah Records as the label is starting in 1987. Their debut single, I’ve Got a Habit, appears in 1988 and is the second release on the label. Later that year they issue Underneath the Window, Underneath the Sink, and in 1989 What Will We Do Next appears as their third 7-inch. Sarah also releases the label’s first album, the 10-inch Lyceum, an eight-track EP with no songs previously issued on singles.

Developing sound and 1990s releases

In 1990 the group releases Something for the Longing, followed by the one-off Caff Corporation single An Ill Wind That Blows. Around this period, Drummond and Moody also play guitar and bass for fellow Glaswegian Sarah labelmates the Wake, continuing until the Wake split in 1994.

For its first three years, the band focuses mainly on singles. From the Penetration EP in February 1991 onwards, it releases only EPs and LPs. The 1991 album Unholy Soul shows no drop in quality from the singles era, and the group avoids the trend-chasing common to some contemporaries. Later records develop a more reflective tone, with guitar jangle gradually joined by 1960s-style Farfisa organ textures and female harmonies on Hackett’s vocals. The 1992 EP Thaumaturgy introduces this approach, and the 1994 EP Striving for the Lazy Perfection becomes the peak of the band’s original run.

Breakup and reunion

The Orchids play a final performance at the Sarah Records farewell party in 1995 and then split up. Roughly a decade later they reunite, write new material and release Good to Be a Stranger in 2007, their fourth full-length album. The reunion continues with The Lost Star in 2010, mixed by Ian Carmichael, who produces much of the band’s earlier work. In 2014 they issue Beatitude #9 on Spain’s Acuarela label.

Later activity and compilation

The band continues to perform occasionally at shows and festivals and prepares a career-spanning compilation, Who Needs Tomorrow, which pairs songs from singles and albums with demos and unreleased tracks. It also includes a new version of Underneath the Window, Underneath the Sink and is issued by Cherry Red Records in 2017.