Shelleyan Orphan

{{Short description|British alternative music group}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} {{Use British English|date=June 2016}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2011}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Shelleyan Orphan | image = | image_size = | image_upright = | landscape =  | alt = | caption = | alias = | origin = | genre = [[Alternative rock]], [[dream pop]], [[chamber pop]], [[baroque pop]] | years_active =  | label = [[Rough Trade Records|Rough Trade]], [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[One Little Independent Records|One Little Indian]] | associated_acts = [[The Cure]]<br>[[Babacar (band)|Babacar]]<br>Elephantine<br>[[This Mortal Coil]] | website =  | current_members = | past_members = [[Caroline Crawley]]<br>Jemaur Tayle | module = | module2 = | module3 = }}

'''Shelleyan Orphan''' were a British [[alternative rock|alternative music]] group that came to prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1314-the-world-should-remember-caroline-crawleys-voice/|title=The World Should Remember Caroline Crawley's Voice|website=Pitchfork|date=5 October 2016 |language=en|access-date=2019-04-13}}</ref> They played a style of pop influenced by [[chamber music]], and which featured dual male-female vocals.

==Career== In 1980, [[Caroline Crawley]] and Jemaur Tayle met in [[Bournemouth]], England, where they discovered a mutual appreciation of poet [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]].<ref name="Strong">Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, {{ISBN|1-84195-335-0}}, p. 500-501</ref> Two years later, after taking the name Shelleyan Orphan from the Shelley poem ''[[Alastor, or The Spirit of Solitude|Spirit of Solitude]]'', the pair moved to [[London]] to seek out orchestral elements to add to their voices.<ref name="Strong" />

In June 1984, the band got their first break and landed a session with [[David Jensen|Kid Jensen]] for [[BBC Radio 1]].<ref name="Larkinindie">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-579-4|pages=250}}</ref> The band signed with [[Rough Trade Records]] in 1986,<ref name="Larkinindie"/> and released the [[Single (music)|singles]], "Cavalry of Cloud" and "Anatomy of Love".<ref name="Strong" />

In 1987, the band released their first of four [[album]]s: ''Helleborine''.<ref name="Strong" /> Named after the Helleborine orchid said to have the power to cure madness, the album was recorded at [[Abbey Road Studios]] with producer [[Haydn Bendall]]. ''Helleborine'' included an assortment of guest musicians including [[Stuart Elliott (drummer)|Stuart Elliott]] (the drummer for [[Kate Bush]]), and Kate's brother [[Paddy Bush]].

In 1989, they released ''Century Flower''.<ref name="Strong" /> So called after a flower that blooms only once in its lifetime, this album was intended to mark "an event which affects enormous change, maybe once in a century: on a world scale, the atomic bomb: on a personal level, the death of someone close to you".{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} Produced by [[David M. Allen]], the band's sound caught the ear of [[The Cure]]'s [[Robert Smith (singer)|Robert Smith]], who invited the band to accompany them on their Prayer Tour.<ref name="Larkinindie"/> While on that tour, Caroline Crawley began a relationship with Cure drummer [[Boris Williams]].

In 1991, the band received another break when Crawley was approached by [[4AD Records]] founder [[Ivo Watts-Russell]] who asked her to appear on four tracks of [[This Mortal Coil]]'s ''[[Blood (This Mortal Coil album)|Blood]]''. Crawley was permitted to do her own interpretations of the tracks, and appeared in the video for the [[Syd Barrett]] cover, "Late Night". With Jem Tayle, Shelleyan Orphan recorded and released tracks for several [[compilation album]]s during this period.

In 1992, Shelleyan Orphan returned with their album ''Humroot''.<ref name="Strong" /> Named after Tayle's childhood dog, ''Humroot'' was recorded by [[Bill Buchanan (songwriter)|Bill Buchanan]], and the band were joined by Boris Williams, [[Porl Thompson]] (The Cure) and Roberto Soave ([[Presence (band)|Presence]]).

Shortly after ''Humroot'''s release, Shelleyan Orphan disbanded. Tayle formed his own band, Elephantine, and Crawley, along with Williams and Soave, formed [[Babacar (band)|Babacar]]. Soon after, Tayle joined Babacar as a full-time member, though not contributing to the songwriting.

In 2000, the band reunited to record a cover of [[Tim Buckley]]'s "Buzzin' Fly" for ''Sing a Song for You: A Tribute to Tim Buckley''.

A new album, entitled ''We Have Everything We Need'', was released in October 2008 on One Little Indian Records.

In October 2016 Caroline Crawley died after a long illness.<ref name="pitchfork">{{cite web |author=Robert Ham |url=http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1314-the-world-should-remember-caroline-crawleys-voice |title=The World Should Remember Caroline Crawley's Voice |date=5 October 2016 |website=Pitchfork.com |access-date=18 July 2017}}</ref>

In 2025 Jem Tayle released the album ''Vamberator'', a collaboration with the ex-Cure drummer Boris Williams.

==Discography== ===Albums=== * ''Helleborine'' Rough Trade, May 1987 (LP/CD) - [[UK Independent Chart|UK Indie]] No. 5<ref name="Lazell">Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, {{ISBN|0-9517206-9-4}}, p. 203</ref> * ''Helleborine'' (US Version) Columbia, 1988 (LP/CD) * ''Century Flower'' Rough Trade, May 1989 (CD) - UK Indie No. 19<ref name="Lazell" /> * ''Century Flower'' (US Version) Columbia, 1989 (CD) * ''Humroot'' Columbia/Rough Trade, March 1992 (CD) * ''We Have Everything We Need'' One Little Indian, 2008 (CD)

===Singles=== * "Cavalry of Cloud" Rough Trade, September 1986 (7"/12") * "Anatomy of Love" Rough Trade, April 1987 (7"/12") - UK Indie No. 12<ref name="Lazell" /> * "Shatter" Rough Trade, July 1989 (7"/12") - US [[Alternative Airplay|''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks]] No. 23<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1989/BB-1989-10-14.pdf |title=Modern Rock Tracks |date=14 October 1989|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=101 |issue=41 |page=14 |access-date=23 October 2025}}</ref>

===Promotional EP=== * ''Cavalry of Cloud'' Rough Trade, 1986 (CD) * ''Century Flower'' (Japanese Promo) Columbia, 1990 (CD) * ''Waking Up'' Columbia/Rough Trade, 1992 (CD)

===Compilation album appearances=== * "Suffer Dog" ''The Liberator, Artists for Animals'' Deltic Records, 1989 (CD) * "Ice" on ''Acoustic Christmas'' Columbia/Sony, 1990 (CD) * "Shatter" on ''Rough Trade Summer Collection 1991'' (Brazilian Rough Trade compilation with acts such as [[James (band)|James]], [[Pere Ubu]], [[AR Kane]] and others) * "Who Loves the Sun" on ''[[Heaven & Hell - A Tribute To The Velvet Underground (Volume Two)]]'' [[Imaginary Records]], 1991 (CD) * "Joey" on ''Brittle Days - A Tribute To Nick Drake'' [[Imaginary Records]], 1992 (CD) * "Burst" on ''Pick This'' Epic Records, 1992 (CD) * "Ice" on ''A Different Kind of Christmas'' Risky Business, 1994 (CD) * "Buzzin' Fly" on ''Sing a Song for You: A Tribute to Tim Buckley'' Manifesto Records, 2000 (CD)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/music/celticconnections/2009/artists/shelleyan_orphan/index.shtml#emp Live video from Travelling Folk on BBC Scotland - January 2009] * [http://www.highdive.de/musik/shell/index.htm Detailed discography] ''(new link)'' * [http://www.wwuh.org/program/articles/novdec01/moon.htm Review of "Ice" by WWUH Radio] * [http://www.absoluteagogo.com/babacar.html Babacar (side project after Humroot)]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelleyan Orphan}} [[Category:English alternative rock groups]] [[Category:English new wave musical groups]] [[Category:Musical groups established in 1980]]