The Orchids
The Orchids are a Scottish band from Penilee, Glasgow, formed in 1985. They released underground singles on Sarah Records.
The original members were 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.
In 1993 Moody left the band and Ronnie Borland joined on bass. They quieted down after their 1994 album on Sarah Records and played at the Sarah Records farewell party in 1995, then took a break until they reformed in 2004.
They started with melancholy guitar pop on Lyceum and early singles, then moved toward more keyboard and electronic sounds on Unholy Soul and Striving For the Lazy Perfection, influenced by producer Carmichael, who was a member of dance band One Dove.
In 2005, their entire back catalogue was reissued on CD by LTM. In 2007 they released Good to Be a Stranger on the Madrid-based label Siesta, and played live for the first time in eleven years.
The 2010 album The Lost Star appeared on Pebble Records and was mixed by Carmichael. In 2014 they released Beatitude#9 on Acurela, a Spanish label.
To celebrate their 30th anniversary, they issued Who Needs Tomorrow... A 30 Year Retrospective on Cherry Red Records in 2017, featuring 20 best-of tracks plus an 18-track rarities disc.
Their most recent album, Dreaming Kind, was released on Skep Wax Records on 2 September 2022.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:04 (CET).