The Orchids

The Orchids are a Scottish band that achieved success with Sarah Records. Formed near Glasgow in 1986, the Orchids released a series of underground singles on the influential Sarah Records (see 1986 in music). The group's line-up comprised James Hackett (vocals), Pauline Hynds Bari (vocals), John Scally (guitar), Chris Quinn (drums), Matthew Drummond (guitar) and James Moody (bass). Their producer, Ian Carmichael, often played keyboards on their records. The group split up in 1995, playing their final gig at the Sarah Records farewell party.

The Orchids were musically one of the most interesting Sarah bands and certainly developed far more on that label than any band except, perhaps, The Field Mice. Starting with a fairly conventional melancholy guitar pop sound on Lyceum and contemporaneous singles, they moved on to become more keyboard and sample/effects-based for their second and third albums, Unholy Soul and Striving For the Lazy Perfection, developing a more electronic sound, possibly as a result of their producer, Ian Carmichael, who was a member of dance band One Dove.

Their entire back catalogue was re-released on CD on LTM in 2005. The band had already reformed in 2004 with new bassist Ronnie Borland, and released their fourth album, Good to Be a Stranger, in February 2007. The album was issued on Madrid based label Siesta, with the band playing live gigs for the first time in twelve years. In 2010 the group released a fifth album, The Lost Star, through Pebble Records, mixed by a returning Ian Carmichael. In October 2014, they released their sixth album, Beatitude#9, on another Spanish record label Acurela.

Discography

Singles

• "I've Got A Habit" (Sarah 2, February 1988)
• "Underneath The Window, Underneath The Sink" (Sarah 11, November 1988)
• "What Will We Do Next" (Sarah 23, September 1989)
• "An Ill Wind That Blows" (Caff Records 11, September 1990)
• "Something For The Longing" (Sarah 29, February 1990)
• "Penetration EP" (Sarah 42, February 1991)
• "Thaumaturgy" (Sarah 66, September 1992)
• "She's My Girl" (Pebble 001, May 2010)
• "The Way That She Moves" (Pebble 009,

Albums

• Lyceum (Sarah 401, August 1989)
• Unholy Soul (Sarah 605, May 1991)
• Striving For the Lazy Perfection (Sarah 617, January 1994)
• Good to Be a Stranger (Siesta 226, February 2007)
• The Lost Star (Pebble 002, October 2010)
• Beatitude#9 (Acuarela, October 2014)

The first three of these albums were reissued with bonus tracks on LTM in 2005.

Compilation albums

• Epicurean (Sarah, August 1992)

External links

• The Orchids official website
• The Orchids MySpace page
• Orchids biography at LTM
• There also was a 1960s girl group that called itself The Orchids. Here is more information.