Category: #edwyncollins45s

#3: Simply Thrilled Honey : Orange Juice (Postcard 80-6, 1980)

Postcard Records had come a long way in a very short space of time.  The first two Orange Juice singles had been critically acclaimed, likewise the two Josef K singles issued by the label and that of The Go-Betweens.  By the time it came to issue the third OJ single, the numbers being pressed were significantly higher than before, with the first 5,000 coming in a sealable polythene bag with the double-sided insert as pictured above.  A lot of the monies to support the expansion of the label’s activities came from a distribution arrangement with Rough Trade. And yes, the photo in the bottom right of the back of  the sleeve is that of Jill Bryson, then a very close friend of the band but soon to find fame as one half of Strawberry Switchblade.

mp3: Orange Juice – Simply Thrilled Honey

Once again, it was recorded at Castlesound Studios, but this time Malcolm Ross was on co-production duties alongside the band.  I’m not going to suggest that Simply Thrilled Honey is a duff record, but there’s something about it that comes up short in comparison to Blue Boy and Lovesick. In later years, James Kirk (not the Star Trek character), would accept the single fell a bit below expectations, possibly down to the fact that it was one of the band’s oldest and most-played tunes and the studio recording didn’t find the same levels of energy and enthusiasm of the live takes.

It was released in December 1980 and would make the Top 5 of the newly created Indie Singles chart.

mp3: Orange Juice – Breakfast Time

The b-side was a short and angular punky sounding effort, coming in at less than two minutes in length.  It would later, in 1982, be substantially re-recorded with some additional and different lyrics and in a cod-reggae style for inclusion on the album Rip It Up, running to more than five minutes in length:-

mp3 : Orange Juice – Breakfast Time (album version)

Nobody knew it at the time, but there would be just one more single for Postcard Records.

JC

PS : AND A VERY LATE ONE AT THAT……

It’s nothing at all to do with music….but it is something that absolutely and simply thrills me.  This particular post will appear as I set out on some travels again, and a trip that was arranged at extremely short notice.   I’m off, again, to Toronto, for what will be a very short visit – arrive at Sunday lunchtime and fly back on Tuesday evening – for the sole purpose of attending a significant baseball match on Monday for which a ticket was only picked up last Friday night.  It’s lucky I’m retired from work and can do things at the drop of the proverbial baseball cap, and also that I have a few pre-prepared posts to keep things ticking over for the next few days.  Only downside is that I’m dreading what it’s all going to do to my body-clock…………..

#2: Blue Boy/Lovesick : Orange Juice (Postcard 80-2, 1980)

Having been embittered a bit by the experience in the Strathaven studio with the debut, the band, in April 1980, headed east to Pencaitland, a village some 16 miles south-east of Edinburgh and home to Castlesound studios.  This time, Alex Fergusson, who had been part of various bands from the mid-70s onwards, including punk act Alternative TV, was in the producer’s chair. The session delivered two songs for a double A sided effort, including what many consider to be Orange Juice‘s most enduring song:-

mp3 : Orange Juice – Blue Boy

Released in September 1980, on the same day as Josef K‘s Radio Drill Time, which was just as well as the two singles shared doubled up picture sleeves. These were black and white, with the plan being to have them hand-coloured individually, using pencils.  The members of Josef K were meticulous in their approach, carefully adding relevant colours to a pair of shoes and a pot plant.

Orange Juice did things a bit differently. The band, and a few of their friends held a ‘colouring-in party’ at 185 West Princes Street in Glasgow, home of Alan Horne and the de facto HQ of Postcard Records at which, having discovered that doing things carefully and properly would take an incredibly long time, they all just scribbled lines, shapes and the occasional words randomly, meaning that no two sleeves were the same.  This Discogs page has a quite a few of the examples…just click the ‘More Images’ link.

mp3: Orange Juice – Lovesick

The flip side is also a bit of a belter.

In 1993, Postcard Records would be temporarily reactivated, and Blue Boy/Love sick was released as a CD single, along with a limited edition on 7″ vinyl (catalogue number DUBH 934), complete with a fully coloured sleeve:-

The CD would come with two additional and previously unreleased versions of Poor Old Soul, a single which will actually feature later on in this series:-

mp3: Orange Juice – Poor Old Soul (French Language Version)
mp3: Orange Juice – Poor Old Soul (instrumental version)

The latter is really quite strange……..

There would be one more single in 1980.

JC

 

#1: Falling and Laughing : Orange Juice (Postcard 80-1, 1980)

Earlier this week, Edwyn Collins embarked on The Testimonial Tour, a last lap of live shows around the UK before what can only be assumed is a well-deserved retirement.  The timing, last Sunday, of the end of The Robster‘s epic series on Super Furry Animals I felt offered the perfect opportunity to now turn this particular day of the week into a real nostalgia-fest by looking back at all the singles Edwyn has released over the years encompassing Orange Juice, the solo career and the occasional collaboration along the way.

I make no apologies in advance if much of the series proves to be retreads of material used on the blog before, which can’t some as a surprise to you given how often he has featured over the years.  But it will offer the opportunity to eventually have everything in one place under a new entry within the index system.

His debut appearance on vinyl launched a label as well as a career now spanning 45 years and counting.

mp3 : Orange Juice – Falling and Laughing

Recorded in December 1979 in a tiny studio in the town of Strathaven, some 25 miles south of Glasgow.  The studio owner, John McLarty, despite having little experience in the sort of pop music the band intended to lay down, insisted on handling the production duties. As a sop, he did allow Malcolm Ross, a friend of the band who had already been involved in making a single with his band Josef K, to sit in on the session and make some suggestions.

Edwyn sings and plays guitar, James Kirk plays guitar, the bass is courtesy of David McClymont and Steven Daly is banging the drums.  Legend has it that 963 copies were pressed up, with a free flexi-disc and an actual Postcard being included inside what was a strangely shaped folding sleeve rather than the standard type into which a record would fit.

Two tracks were included as b-sides:-

mp3: Orange Juice – Moscow Olympics
mp3: Orange Juice – Moscow

They are the same tune, with the latter being particularly rough and demo sounding while adding a few additional chants of the word ‘Moscow’, courtesy of Alan Wilde (a name adopted by the band’s manager Alan Horne) and Steven Daly.

In June 2023, I finally obtained a copy of the single, a 60th birthday present from Rachel, without whom this blog wouldn’t have got off the ground.  It was also fitting that the online sale of the single was drawn to our attention by our dear friend Comrade Colin, without whom this blog wouldn’t have got off the ground. It came with the flexidisc and a postcard, and it was in mint condition.

mp3: Orange Juice – Felicity (live)

As recorded at an early gig in April 1979 by the aforementioned Malcolm Ross.

JC