Dickon Edwards, the main musician in Orlando, was aided by Tim Chipping, and the duo betrayed their influences by mixing the Pet Shop Boys disco-pop, Pulp's ironic indie, and the rage and articulation of the Manic Street Preachers. The pair had met initially through a shared obsession with late '80's indie groups that saw them bumping into each other at gigs in London. Dickon published a fanzine at the time titled 'Studbase Alpha' and lied that he had a band called Orlando, but after reading a book by mod writer Kevin Pearce, 'Something Beginning with O', he took this as a sign of destiny calling and began making the fantasy real.
Originally consisting of Dickon and friend Simon Kehoe, Chipping joined following a stint with a post-Riot Grrrl lo-fi band. A Bristol based Orlando jettisoned guitarist Stephen Jefferis to avoid becoming another 'indie guitar band', with Kehoe and Chipping following shortly after. Edwards moved to London and struck upon the idea of a Stock-Aitken-Waterman boy band, but with intelligent lyrics, and Chipping re-joined. The duo recorded a few old tracks under the name Shelley for Sarah Records, who released them as a single. 'Reproduction is Pollution' was released in early 1995, and would later haunt the band with claims of fascism being levelled at the lyrics. The song was actually a sideswipe at sections of the community who appeared to use pregnancy to escape (or at least improve) their surroundings, whilst making a serious point about unnecessary overcrowding in inner-city areas.
The Orlando name was revived and after gigs in Camden, Melody Maker journalist Simon Price adopted them as a cause celebre, and they soon appeared alongside other acts such as Plastic Fantastic, DexDexter and Hollywood. Early in 1996, 'Nature's Hated' was included on a free Melody Maker tape, but the media soon learned they couldn't create a scene and force the public to consume it. Unfortunately for the bands, the Melody Maker sponsored 'romo' tour met with virtually non-existent audiences and the bands fell by the wayside, but Orlando had quality stamped all over them, and had gained a cult following despite the 'romo' backlash that followed.
In the summer of 1996, Orlando released their first EP, 'Just for a Second' to decidedly mixed reviews, ranging from Price's enthusiastic praise to a critical panning in other magazines. The 'Magic EP' followed later in the year, and 'Nature's Hated' emerged in early 1997, with the album 'Passive Soul' following soon after.
The tale of Orlando's demise begins here, with the label virtually ignoring the album and the band, causing it to flop magnificently - and this despite Melody Maker voting it the 20th best album of the year. By the end of 1997, Dickon had decided to throw in the towel and formed a new band, Fosca. Tim kept the Orlando name alive and continued for 2 years, with little or no interest from the music press, whilst the music morphed from pop into acoustic introspection before the final gig in April 2000.
Despite releasing only three singles and one album, Orlando still have a core of dedicated fans who realised the beauty and importance of their music, but sadly the 'romo' tag that helped them reach the masses remains (unfairly) the biggest criticism levelled against them. Perhaps this says more about the prejudice of the music press and their influence on their readers than any failings of the band themselves.
IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOU'LL LIKE ORLANDO: The Divine Comedy, Manic Street Preachers, The Smiths, Pet Shop Boys, Pulp, Menswear, Plastic Fantastic, Dex Dexter, My Life Story, Dexy's Midnight Runners.
http://www.oocities.org/SoHo/Village/5466/OHome.html