Career
They signed to Rough Trade Records, and in November 1980 they released their debut single, a double A side, "The Flood / Disney Boys". After this release Steve Toyne left the band and Rick Goldstraw took over the bass playing duties. Later in February 1981 they released their second single "Work".
'Work' was much liked by the late John Peel who played it regularly after its release. The band's music came to the attention of Echo & the Bunnymen, who subsequently invited Blue Orchids to be the support act for Echo & the Bunnymen's 1981 UK tour. Alastair "Baz" Murphy was recruited to play keyboards on the tour due to an illness suffered by Una Baines.
Also after the release of 'Work' the Blue Orchids recorded the first of their Peel Sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 programme.
Phillip Toby Toman, an ex-member of The Durutti Column joined on drums when Ian Rogers left the group after the Echo & the Bunnymen tour (he later went on to play for Primal Scream under the name Toby Tomanov). This new line-up recorded a debut album called The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain), which went on to sell 10,000 copies.
The group toured with Nico, former member of The Velvet Underground, serving as both backing group and support act. Rick Goldstraw decided to continue touring with Nico, so a new bassist called Mark Hellyer was recruited as a replacement. During the time the band were working with Nico, Steve Garvey (formerly with Buzzcocks, The Teardrops and Bok Bok, then with Motivation) also played bass with them, shortly before migrating to United States.
The group's next record was the Agents of Change EP in 1982. After parting company with Rough Trade at the end of the year the group split up, with Baines joining The Fates.
Bramah and Baines briefly returned in 1985 with the single "Sleepy Town" and then split up again. After this Martin Bramah and Una Baines ceased working together. Bramah then formed a new group with ex-Fall drummer Karl Burns called Thirst. They only released one record, the Riding the Times EP in 1987.
In 1989, Bramah briefly returned to The Fall and appeared on the Extricate album. The reunion with Mark E. Smith was never going to last, and Bramah was sacked from the group whilst on a tour of Australia in 1990.
In 1991, Bramah returned with a new incarnation of Blue Orchids which featured ex-Smiths guitarist Craig Gannon on guitar, Martin Hennin on bass, and Dick Harrison on drums. Their first release was a single called "Diamond Age", followed later in 1991 by a compilation album called A View From The City. In 1992 they released the Secret City EP and A second album was recorded in 1993, but would remain unreleased for ten years. Bramah decided to split the group again in 1995.
In 2002, a compilation album called A Darker Bloom was released on the Cherry Red label. This release had sleeve notes written by Bramah's former colleague in The Fall, Marc Riley.
2003 saw the group release/reissue three albums on the LTM label. The shelved album from 1993 was finally released under the title of The Sleeper. Released almost simultaneously was a compilation album called From Severe to Serene, which featured the group's two John Peel sessions, live tracks and the contents of the Riding the Times EP. At the end of the year the group's debut album The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain) was finally given a long overdue CD release.
In 2004, LTM also released a brand new Blue Orchids album called Mystic Bud. This contained a surprising cover version of "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies alongside nine Bramah originals. Founder member Rick Goldstraw returned for the mini album Slum-Cavern-Jest! in 2005. This release featured a cover of the Fred Neil song "Green Rocky Road".
In January 2008 Martin Bramah released his debut solo album, The Battle Of Twisted Heel. 2008 also saw Phillip Toby Toman who played drums from 1981–82, playing drums for The Inhalers and more recently, Panic Attack in and around venues in Weymouth, Dorset.
December 2008 saw the formation of Bramah's new group Factory Star, featuring Tim Lyons and Brian Benson (from The Sandells), who were replaced in April '09 by fellow ex-Fall members Steve Hanley on bass, Paul Hanley on drums and John Paul Moran (aka Hop Man Jr) of Gnod and Rapid Pig on keyboards. The latest line-up of Factory Star, as of June 2010 is: Martin Bramah, Hop Man Jr, Chris Dutton (bass) and Tom Tom Lewis (drums). In January 2012, ex-The Passage man Joe Mckechnie replaced Lewis on drums.
September 2012 saw the return of Blue Orchids, with gigs in Liverpool, Manchester and London.The line up consisted of the Factory Star members, Martin Bramah, John Paul Moran, Chris Dutton and Joe McKechnie, with the addition of Ann Matthews (Fflaps/Ectogram) on guitar/vocals
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