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Orlando (styled ''O''rland''o'') were an English
Romo Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcad ...
band of the 1990s.Orlando feature by Taylor Parkes, Romo special feature, ''Melody Maker'' 25 November 1995 page 10 They were one of seven core Romo acts featured by ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' in their guide to the Romo sceneRomo special feature, ''Melody Maker'' 25 November 1995 and were subsequently cited as being "figureheads" of the scene. As well as substantial coverage in ''Melody Maker'', the band also received press coverage from the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', '' Select'' ''
Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...
'' and ''Penthouse UK''. The band consisted of Dickon Edwards, Tim Chipping, Neil Turner, Mike Austen and David Gray. Musically, Orlando combined the synthesised
dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
of 1990s boybands and American swingbeat acts with verbose lyrics in the general style of
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
and
Richey Edwards Richard James Edwards (22 December 1967 – disappeared 1 February 1995, declared dead 24 November 2008), also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band ...
.


Career

Orlando first played live on the London indie circuit as a generic
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band in 1993–1994. They later withdrew from the scene to reinvent themselves as an "alienated" white
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
duo consisting of Chipping and Edwards plus sidemen Turner and Austen. In early 1995, they issued the EP ''Reproduction Is Pollution'' under the name Shelley on Sarah Records. The band approached founding Romo clubnight Club Skinny in Camden to relaunch themselves as a live act. David Gray, synth programmer for fellow Romo band Hollywood (and formerly their drummer in their previous incarnation as punk trio Xerox Girls) later become Orlando's live drummer while Club Skinny co-promoter Paul "Hi Fi" Nugent became the band's manager. In March 1996, the band's song "Nature's Hated" was included in ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
s covermount cassette ''Fiddling While Romo Burns'' and a single track CD was put on sale at dates of the similarly named Romo package tour in which Orlando participated. In the summer of that year Orlando released their first single, "Just for a Second." In Autumn of that year they released the ''Magic EP'' which achieved No. 96 on the UK Singles Chart. A new version of "Nature's Hated", the group's third single, was released in 1997, and they also contributed a cover of
Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk music and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his own success, his songs " If I Were a Carpenter", " Reason to Believe", " Misty Roses" and " ...
's "How Can We Hang on to a Dream" to the soundtrack of the film '' Fever Pitch''. In September 1997, the band released their album, ''Passive Soul'', through the label Blanco y Negro. It made both the ''Melody Maker'' and ''
Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''GAY TIMES Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...
'' albums of the year list The album is now hard to find and commands upwards of £30 on the collectors market. Shortly after the release of the album, Edwards left the band to form Fosca, who released three albums between 2000 and 2008. Chipping took over as lyricist and the new Orlando recorded a second album ''Sick Folk'' with a new folk music sound. Orlando disbanded in spring 2000 with the album still unreleased. In 2002, Chipping uploaded six songs from ''Sick Folk'' to his own website. Chipping later embarked on an acting career; his credits included playing a gay ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' fan, in
cosplay Cosplay, a blend word of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and Fashion accessory, fashion accessories to represent a specific Character (arts), character. Cosplayers often i ...
as Mr Spock, in the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
comedy series '' Little Britain''. In 2012, in his capacity as Music Editor of the website Holy Moly, Chipping was appointed as a Pundit by the BBC for their '' Sound of 2012''.


Discography

The discography of Orlando consists of one studio album, five singles/EPs, three music videos and one original appearance on another release. An out-takes compilation and part of an unreleased second studio album have been made available posthumously as downloads.


Album

*''Passive Soul'', Blanco Y Negro (1997) # "Introduction" # "Furthest Point Away" # "Just For A Second" # "Nature's Hated" # "On Dry Land" # "Contained" # "Afraid Again" # "Happily Unhappy" # "Don't Sleep Alone" # "Save Yourself" # "Three Letters" # "Here (So Find Me)" # "Hero" (bonus track - acoustic version)


Singles/EPs

* ''Reproduction Is Pollution EP'' (credited as Shelley), Sarah Records (1995) # "Reproduction Is Pollution" # "Prejudice" # "Hero" (original full band version) * "Nature's Hated" (tour promotional single) (1996) # "Nature's Hated" (first version) * "Just for a Second", Blanco Y Negro (1996) # "Just For A Second" # "Something To Write Home About" # "The Trouble With You" (interview with backing music) * ''The Magic EP'', Blanco Y Negro (1996) - UK No. 96 # "Don't Kill My Rage" # "Fatal" # "Contained" # "Up Against It" * "Nature's Hated", Blanco Y Negro (1997) # "Nature's Hated" # "Someday Soon" # "You've Got The Answer Wrong" # "Nature's Hated" (first version)


Downloads

*''Sick Folk'' (selected tracks from unreleased second album of same name) # "Out of Harm's Way" # "Where I'm from's Not Where I'm Going" # "Where Will It All End?" # "I'm Alright" # "So Often the Way" # " Free" * ''Some Debris from the Orlando Vaults'' (''Passive Soul''-era rarities) # "Don't Sleep Alone" ( GLR session) # " Reach Out for Me" ( BFBS session) # "
Acetone Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone) is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly Volatile organic compound, volatile, and flammable liquid with a charact ...
" # "A Life's Aside" # "Sidelined Youth" # "The Theme from Orlando" (live concert introduction tape) # Radio One '' Newsbeat'' interview


Compilation appearances

*''Fiddling While Romo Burns'' (compilation cassette included with ''Melody Maker'' 9 March 1996) # "Nature's Hated" (first version) : Also includes tracks by Plastic Fantastic, DexDexTer, Hollywood and Viva *''The Fever Pitch EP'' soundtrack, Blanco Y Negro (1997) - UK No. 65 # "How Can We Hang On to a Dream?" : Also includes tracks by
the Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...
,
the La's The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single " There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike ...
and Nick Hornby


Videography


Music videos


Video press kit

''Orlando - A Popumentary'' 1995


Concert tours


Headlining

*''Fiddling While Romo Burns: Club Skinny/Arcadia on the March'' joint tour with Plastic Fantastic, Hollywood and DexDexTer, plus Viva on London LA2 date, rotating running order, March 1996, 10 dates (An Orlando headline tour was booked for early 1997 but cancelled due to logistical issues. Support band
Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
nonetheless completed the schedule of bookings, upgraded to headline act.)


Opening act

* Kenickie UK tours September–October 1996, January–February 1997


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlando English rock music groups Rock music groups from London Sarah Records artists Romo