Biography
The Orange was a Dunedin-based trio formed by Andrew Brough in 1984 after he left his previous band Blue Meanies, which he joined as a vocalist while studying at Otago University. Brough had grown up in the Northland town of Dargaville and learned guitar at an early age. By his teens he was honing his skills as a guitarist, playing along to the golden psychedelic songs of the 1960s.
The Orange took a while to get moving and seldom played outside of a narrow selection of Dunedin pubs, but gradually built a small, tidy repertoire of pop songs crammed full of vocal harmonies and the melody:
Andrew founded The Orange as a vehicle for his melody focused songs. Melody expertly communicated via his understated but carefully played guitar and soaring ethereal vocals. Visually, Andrew was bespectacled with a mop of red hair and a noticeable reluctance to be the front man. He just wanted to play the songs without any fuss.
Roger Shepherd: The Story of ‘Fruit Salad Lives’ (Man on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Blog)
In late 1985 the group recorded their sole release – the 5 song ‘Fruit Salad Lives‘ EP for Flying Nun Records at the appropriately named Strawberry Fields Studios in Dunedin. The EP was finally released in May 1986, by which time Peter Bragan had left the group. Without a new line-up ready to support the EP’s release, Brough was instead recruited by Shayne Carter to partner him as vocalist and song-writer for his new band – Straitjacket Fits.
Andrew Brough passed away in February, 2020.
Members
- Andrew Brough (Blue Meanies, Straitjacket Fits, Bike, guitar / vocals)
- Jonathan Moore (Bored Games, Newbergs, Line Matter, bass)
- Peter Bragan (drums)
Discography
- Fruit Salad Lives 12″ EP (1986, Flying Nun Records, FN047)
Links
- Discogs entry
- AudioCulture profile of The Orange
- Roger Shepherd: The Story of ‘Fruit Salad Lives’ (Man on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Blog)