A message from Edwyn Collins on his brilliant but oft-overlooked band Orange Juice
Hi, I’m Edwyn Collins. You may know me from the hit song, “A Girl Like You.” No? It’s four minutes of sinister pop brilliance! Aw, come on, it’s on the Empire Records soundtrack! Bloody hell…
Anyway, I’m here to talk to you about my old band, Orange Juice. You probably haven’t heard of us, either, but that’s alright (as opposed to your ignorance of “A Girl Like You,” which is all wrong, but I digress). Orange Juice—and, more specifically, a new collection of the band’s material called The Glasgow School—is important. You see, there are bands running around today with names like Franz Ferdinand that are lighting kids’ pants on fire with snappy guitars and grooving bass lines. Now don’t get me wrong, they’re good. But it all started with Orange Juice, my friend.
This album is a collection of singles, b-sides and rarities recorded in the late ’70s/early ’80s, and it’s the first-ever U.S. release for Orange Juice. Listening to our catchier pop numbers like “Moscow” and “Blue Boy,” it’s pretty easy to see why Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian brags about being the only guy on his block with an Orange Juice t-shirt. Now you, too, can be the envy of all your friends with the 22 songs of The Glasgow School.