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| Edwyn Collins doing a screen
test for Persil wash powder |
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This is an article that FirstFoot
has been keen to write for ages and judging from the feedback
that we get from from you'ze lot, it is an omission from the
site that you have been keen for us to rectify.
It gives FirstFoot great
pleasure to welcome to Good Scottish Pop, the greatest pop
song writer that Scotland has ever produced, Mr Edwyn Collins,
late of that sparkling wee band, Orange Juice.
In the pantheon of brilliant
Scottish pop songs "Rip it up" stands proudly up
there at the very top. At three minutes and forty two seconds
of vocal hooks, melodies, jangly pop guitars and a sax break
that makes the hair on the back of heid stand up, it is one
of the defining pop songs of the early 1980's and still makes
this FirstFoot old fart dance twenty years later.
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| Orange Juice - including dodgy
haircuts |
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At a time when 'Joy Division'
and the stale odour of decaying post punk was pervasive, Orange
Juice were a breath of fresh air. The independent spirit of
punk was guiding the hand of the Scottish independent label,
Postcard which released the vinyl (aye, we're talking pre-CD
here).
Postcard also released
output from less memorable Scottish bands that we may return
to in the Bad Scottish Pop section some time in the future.
Truly forgettable bands like The Fire Engines and Josef K
(nice name but a shame the music was shite), made the output
of the label brave, but inconsistent.
Some commentators attempt
to lump Orange Juice in with the "New Romantics"
which followed punk. Bollocks. Collins was independently minded
then and remains so today. Too intelligent to be part of something
as naff and transparent as Spandau Ballet, Ultravox et al.
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| Rip It Up - One of FirstFoot's
fave singles of all time |
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Orange Juice disbanded
in 1984 and Collins "enjoyed" a period of relative
obscurity before re-emerging with the summer song of
1995 "A Girl Like You" from the "Gorgeous George"
album.
Gorgeous George was a return
to form with a vengeance with hardly a duff track. If you
haven't heard it, get yer wallet oot and get it. It is a timeless
album.
Collins's output since
Gorgeous George has been variable but he still enjoys moderate
commercial success, both in Europe and the USA.
He is a national treasure
and FirstFoot nominates him as Culture Minister in a Parliament
led by Tommy Sheridan.
ORANGE JUICE
TRIVIA
Orange Juice were crap
live and Edwyn Collins hasn't, after 20 odd years in music
business, quite learned the art of live shows.
Note to Edwyn:
Yer web site
is affy shite. C'mon Edwyn, you can do better than this .....................
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