b. 23 August 1959, Edinburgh, Scotland. Following the collapse of Orange Juice, a band acclaimed in the UK music press but who did not enjoy commercial success, Edwyn Collins launched a solo career that has followed a similar pattern. The single "Don't Shilly Shally' was produced by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins, who handled the lighting at early Orange Juice gigs. Both the Orange Juice producer, Dennis Bovell, and their drummer, Zeke Manyika, were present on Collins" 1989 long-playing debut, Hope And Despair, which also featured Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame. The following year's Hellbent On Compromise was a more intimate and atmospheric recording, with Collins stating his intention to present a "cinematic" effect.
Afterwards Collins produced records for A House, Vic Godard and Frank And Walters before returning to his solo career in 1994. The album Gorgeous George was produced on an old EMI/Neve mixing console. Filled with cantankerous phrases such as "the truly detestable summer festival" (from the acerbic "The Campaign For Real Rock'), Collins" writing proved to be sharper than on the morose Hellbent On Compromise, especially on tracks such as "A Girl Like You" and "Make Me Feel Again". The former, released as a single, became the most successful instalment in his 15-year recording career when it entered the Top 10s in Australia, France and the UK.
Three years later Collins released I'm Not Following You, an album whose title accurately reflected his fiercely independent position in the music industry. The album featured the sublime near-hit "The Magic Piper (Of Love)" and the biting "Adidas World". With his solo career stalling once again, Collins returned to more profitable production work After another lengthy hiatus he returned in 2002 with a new studio album, Doctor Syntax, which found him attempting slick soul.
Collins subsequently began working with a number of new guitar bands whose music betrayed the influence of Orange Juice and Aztec Camera. On 20 February 2005, he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and was forced to undergo an emergency operation. Despite suffering another haemorrhage and contracting the MRSA bug while in hospital, by August Collins had recovered sufficiently to be allowed home.
