The Orchids are a Scottish band that achieved success with Sarah Records. Formed near Glasgow in 1986, the Orchids released a series of underground singles on the influential Sarah Records (see 1986 in music). The group's line-up comprised James Hackett (vocals), Pauline Hynds Bari (vocals), John Scally (guitar), Chris Quinn (drums), Matthew Drummond (guitar) and James Moody (bass). Their producer, Ian Carmichael, often played keyboards on their records. The group split up in 1995, playing their final gig at the Sarah Records farewell party.
Starting with a melancholy guitar pop sound on Lyceum and contemporaneous singles, they moved on to become more keyboard and sample/effects-based for their second and third albums, Unholy Soul and Striving For the Lazy Perfection, developing a more electronic sound, possibly as a result of their producer, Ian Carmichael, who was a member of dance band One Dove.
Their entire back catalogue was re-released on CD on LTM in 2005. The band had already reformed in 2004 with new bassist Ronnie Borland, and released their fourth album, Good to Be a Stranger, in February 2007. The album was issued on Madrid based label Siesta, with the band playing live gigs for the first time in twelve years. In 2010 the group released a fifth album, The Lost Star, through Pebble Records, mixed by a returning Ian Carmichael. In October 2014, they released their sixth album, Beatitude#9, on another Spanish record label Acurela.
The first three of these albums were reissued with bonus tracks on LTM in 2005.