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Artist
The Orchids
12+ albums
indie popSarah RecordstweeScottishindie
about
The Orchids is the name of more than one artist: 1. One of the most prolific bands on Bristol, England's legendary indie pop label Sarah Records, the Orchids were also one of the label's most press-shy outfits. Formed in 1986 in Penilee, Scotland, a suburb of Glasgow, the Orchids took their initial inspiration from some of the city's better-known acts of the time, particularly Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (singer James Hackett sounded more than a little like Cole and was often unfairly derided in the U.K. press for that resemblance) and Primal Scream during that band's original '60s pop phase. Hackett, rhythm guitarist Matthew Drummond, lead guitarist John Scally, bassist James Moody, and drummer Chris Quinn fit neatly into the bowl haircut and anorak look of the British indie scene, and their songs, the sort of archetypal late-'80s U.K. guitar pop for which terms like "winsome," "jangly," and "twee" were invented, made them both new pop heroes for a certain audience and an easily dismissible target for others. Press reaction tended to be either laudatory or scathing, with very little in between. The Orchids first hooked up with Sarah's Matt Haynes and Clare Wadd just as the label was getting underway in 1987, and so the Orchids' debut single, 1988's "I've Got a Habit," was only the second Sarah release. A second single, "Underneath the Window, Underneath the Sink," followed later in the year. The Orchids' early singles were successful enough that, simultaneous to the rele
