Yet, despite some rave notices (and some critical loathing) and a support slot with The Cure, they weren't rewarded with the commercial success they deserved. As one half of SO, Jem Tayle, prepares to release his solo debut album, he recalls the group's journey with Sarah Gregory. Monochrome alone: Phil Nicholls
We all have an artist in our musical vault, one that we cherish but know never got the credit they deserved; washed away, victims of their own progressive thinking. Shelleyan Orphan are one such band. From 1987-92 (and later 2008) Jem Tayle (pictured today, above) and Caroline Crawley created some of the most touching, sumptuous and transcendent chamber pop, and yet throughout their career were consistently judged out of step with their contemporaries and largely dismissed.
It's now 17 years since the band's last album and nine years since Crawley's untimely death. But with Tayle on the verge of a new solo release, Record Collector meets the surviving Orphan.
"We met in Bournemouth round about 1980, Tayle tells RC as he begins Shelleyan's story. "I already had ideas about wanting to get into music, but at that time it was very naïve.
[I'd] done a couple of demos." Crawley had little interest, owning just a handful of records by the likes of Blondie, The Specials, and Joy Division. It wasn't long, however, before Tayle was inadvertently leading Crawley down a particularly un-rocky musical path.
"I had a tape recorder and used to wander along the beach listening to The Chi-Lites," says Tayle of the 70s symphonic soul troupe. "I used to sing along to it and Caroline, once she got to know the songs, started singing along as well and it just sounded nice." No consideration was given to starting a band at this point, but the seeds were sown.
Denne historien er fra February 2025-utgaven av Record Collector.
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Denne historien er fra February 2025-utgaven av Record Collector.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
At the peak of their powers in the early 70s, by 1975 there were signs that Led Zeppelin were burning out, and their legendary appetite for excess, not to mention stadium-straddling, mythically charged, epically inclined hard rock, might be waning.
HI-FIDELITY?
Running a record shop is a dream for many music aficionados. Steve Burniston investigates how to run a successful one
THE ENGINE ROOM
The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music
UNDER THE RADAR
Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention
45 SHEFFIELD 45s
Continuing our celebrations of RC's 45th birthday and following on from our look at the best 45s to come out of Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow, we focus on the urbanisation formerly known as Steel City: Sheffield. Close to the (Nether) Edge: Jeremy Allen
"BLACK BRITISH PEOPLE HAD SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT"
Breaking new ground for black music in Britain from his teenage years in Matumbi in the early 70s, Dennis Bovell went on to become one of reggae's most highly regarded producers, helping popularise lovers rock. He also played a pivotal role in post-punk's experimental incorporation of dub influences on records like The Slits' Cut and The Pop Group's Y. As new compilation, Sufferer Sounds, reaches back to his early days to compile some of his best early dub plates, Lois Wilson gets the full backstory from one of British music's most enduring forces.
FRENZY REUNITED
Swindon's finest musical export, XTC were also one of the most quietly influential British bands, setting a template for Britpop while pioneering a brand of left-field guitar pop – from herky-jerky invention to consummate craftsmanship – that has spawned many imitators.
Paperback Blighters - The books every record collector should read.
The books every record collector should read. Vinyl, you may have heard, has made a big comeback. In 2022, sales of vinyl albums surpassed compact discs (CDs) for the first time in more than three decades in terms of global revenue, racking up more than $1.2bn.
"Beware the Savage Lure/of 1984..." - David Bowie is one of the most venerated musicians ever. But even he had his bad periods.
David Bowie is one of the most venerated musicians ever. But even he had his bad periods. For many, 1984 remains the nadir of his Phil Collins” phase; an artistic/sartonial/tonsorial disaster area. But was it really that awful? Forty years on, Matt Phillips explores Bowie's so-called annus horribilis.
