# Shelleyan Orphan > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shelleyan_Orphan > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shelleyan_Orphan.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelleyan_Orphan > Source revision: 1353409544 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) British alternative music group This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Shelleyan Orphan" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Shelleyan Orphan Genres Alternative rock, dream pop, chamber pop, baroque pop Labels Rough Trade, Columbia, One Little Indian Past members Caroline Crawley Jemaur Tayle **Shelleyan Orphan** were a British [alternative music](/source/Alternative_rock) group that came to prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s.[1] They played a style of pop influenced by [chamber music](/source/Chamber_music), and which featured dual male-female vocals. ## Career In 1980, [Caroline Crawley](/source/Caroline_Crawley) and Jemaur Tayle met in [Bournemouth](/source/Bournemouth), England, where they discovered a mutual appreciation of poet [Percy Bysshe Shelley](/source/Percy_Bysshe_Shelley).[2] Two years later, after taking the name Shelleyan Orphan from the Shelley poem *[Spirit of Solitude](/source/Alastor%2C_or_The_Spirit_of_Solitude)*, the pair moved to [London](/source/London) to seek out orchestral elements to add to their voices.[2] In June 1984, the band got their first break and landed a session with [Kid Jensen](/source/David_Jensen) for [BBC Radio 1](/source/BBC_Radio_1).[3] The band signed with [Rough Trade Records](/source/Rough_Trade_Records) in 1986,[3] and released the [singles](/source/Single_(music)), "Cavalry of Cloud" and "Anatomy of Love".[2] In 1987, the band released their first of four [albums](/source/Album): *Helleborine*.[2] Named after the Helleborine orchid said to have the power to cure madness, the album was recorded at [Abbey Road Studios](/source/Abbey_Road_Studios) with producer [Haydn Bendall](/source/Haydn_Bendall). *Helleborine* included an assortment of guest musicians including [Stuart Elliott](/source/Stuart_Elliott_(drummer)) (the drummer for [Kate Bush](/source/Kate_Bush)), and Kate's brother [Paddy Bush](/source/Paddy_Bush). In 1989, they released *Century Flower*.[2] 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Produced by [David M. Allen](/source/David_M._Allen), the band's sound caught the ear of [The Cure](/source/The_Cure)'s [Robert Smith](/source/Robert_Smith_(singer)), who invited the band to accompany them on their Prayer Tour.[3] While on that tour, Caroline Crawley began a relationship with Cure drummer [Boris Williams](/source/Boris_Williams). In 1991, the band received another break when Crawley was approached by [4AD Records](/source/4AD_Records) founder [Ivo Watts-Russell](/source/Ivo_Watts-Russell) who asked her to appear on four tracks of [This Mortal Coil](/source/This_Mortal_Coil)'s *[Blood](/source/Blood_(This_Mortal_Coil_album))*. Crawley was permitted to do her own interpretations of the tracks, and appeared in the video for the [Syd Barrett](/source/Syd_Barrett) cover, "Late Night". With Jem Tayle, Shelleyan Orphan recorded and released tracks for several [compilation albums](/source/Compilation_album) during this period. In 1992, Shelleyan Orphan returned with their album *Humroot*.[2] Named after Tayle's childhood dog, *Humroot* was recorded by [Bill Buchanan](/source/Bill_Buchanan_(songwriter)), and the band were joined by Boris Williams, [Porl Thompson](/source/Porl_Thompson) (The Cure) and Roberto Soave ([Presence](/source/Presence_(band))). Shortly after *Humroot'*s release, Shelleyan Orphan disbanded. Tayle formed his own band, Elephantine, and Crawley, along with Williams and Soave, formed [Babacar](/source/Babacar_(band)). 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](/source/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.[4] 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 Indie](/source/UK_Independent_Chart) No. 5[5] - *Helleborine* (US Version) Columbia, 1988 (LP/CD) - *Century Flower* Rough Trade, May 1989 (CD) - UK Indie No. 19[5] - *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[5] - "Shatter" Rough Trade, July 1989 (7"/12") - US [*Billboard* Modern Rock Tracks](/source/Alternative_Airplay) No. 23[6] ### 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](/source/James_(band)), [Pere Ubu](/source/Pere_Ubu), [AR Kane](/source/AR_Kane) and others) - "Who Loves the Sun" on *[Heaven & Hell - A Tribute To The Velvet Underground (Volume Two)](/source/Heaven_%26_Hell_-_A_Tribute_To_The_Velvet_Underground_(Volume_Two))* [Imaginary Records](/source/Imaginary_Records), 1991 (CD) - "Joey" on *Brittle Days - A Tribute To Nick Drake* [Imaginary Records](/source/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 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The World Should Remember Caroline Crawley's Voice"](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1314-the-world-should-remember-caroline-crawleys-voice/). *Pitchfork*. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2019. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Strong_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Strong_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Strong_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Strong_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Strong_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Strong_2-5) Strong, Martin C. (2003) *The Great Indie Discography*, Canongate, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-84195-335-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-84195-335-0), p. 500-501 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Larkinindie_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Larkinindie_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Larkinindie_3-2) [Colin Larkin](/source/Colin_Larkin_(writer)), ed. (1992). *[The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Popular_Music)* (First ed.). [Guinness Publishing](/source/Guinness_Publishing). p. 250. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-85112-579-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-85112-579-4). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-pitchfork_4-0)** Robert Ham (5 October 2016). ["The World Should Remember Caroline Crawley's Voice"](http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1314-the-world-should-remember-caroline-crawleys-voice). *Pitchfork.com*. Retrieved 18 July 2017. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Lazell_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Lazell_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Lazell_5-2) Lazell, Barry (1998) *Indie Hits 1980–1989*, Cherry Red Books, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9517206-9-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9517206-9-4), p. 203 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Modern Rock Tracks"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1989/BB-1989-10-14.pdf) (PDF). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Vol. 101, no. 41. 14 October 1989. p. 14. Retrieved 23 October 2025. ## External links - [Live video from Travelling Folk on BBC Scotland - January 2009](https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/music/celticconnections/2009/artists/shelleyan_orphan/index.shtml#emp) - [Detailed discography](http://www.highdive.de/musik/shell/index.htm) *(new link)* - [Review of "Ice" by WWUH Radio](http://www.wwuh.org/program/articles/novdec01/moon.htm) - [Babacar (side project after Humroot)](http://www.absoluteagogo.com/babacar.html) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND National United States France BnF data Artists MusicBrainz --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shelleyan Orphan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelleyan_Orphan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelleyan_Orphan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.