Edwyn Collins: ‘Could an Orange Juice reunion ever be on the cards? No!'

The Guardian

06-03-2025

In these deeply troubled, fractured, febrile times, why did you call the new record Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation? smileywombatIt was Grace's choice [Grace Maxwell, his wife and musical collaborator]. Up in Helmsdale [in the Scottish Highlands], in my studio, I have an art deco radiogram speaker which has a sort of sunburst thing with that phrase written on it. For £60 on eBay – pristine! It was the BBC World Service motto. When we were casting about for a title for the new record, it seemed like a great expression. Grace said, if you're going to call it that you have to write a song with that title. So I did.
I very much enjoyed the new song Knowledge and the video, shot in Helmsdale. Do you like to travel much these days or are you pretty much happy at home? nogs09London is still my town. But I like Helmsdale, and Grace loves it. But when I was seven, eight years old, every holiday I spent in Helmsdale, walking with Stuart, my grandfather. And, one year, Mum and Dad said, I think we'll go to Spain. I said, you can go wherever you like – I'm going to Helmsdale. We've been abroad loads of times since I had the stroke [in 2005] – to Japan once, to Australia. But I love getting home to the studio. That fragrance of the air. The fresh air. It's beautiful.
The Possibilities Are Endless [the documentary about Collins's recovery from his stroke] is such a motivational and inspiring watch. How easy was it for you to put it out there for all to see? Aubrey26At the beginning, it was difficult to form my language. But you shouldn't hide any of it away. There's no point. I express myself and sometimes I get it wrong – the words, the meaning of things … So what? I am a private person, but with no shame.
Is your favourite song still Boredom [by Buzzcocks, namechecked on Orange Juice's Rip It Up]? James1968In the punk days, I liked the Sex Pistols, but particularly Subway Sect and Buzzcocks. I was obsessed with Pete Shelley. And then, years and years later, after my stroke, we were sitting in Inverness, and this guy came up to me and went: 'I don't know if you remember me. I'm John Maher. I was the drummer in Buzzcocks.' I said: 'I remember you, you were the handsome Buzzcock.' He came over from Harris [in the Outer Hebrides, where Maher now lives] and took all the photographs for the Badbea album. He's a great photographer. Still handsome.
Did you plan to break up Orange Juice on the evening of the miners' benefit show at Brixton Academy in January 1985? ChrisBartleyOrange Juice had come to an end. Polydor were dropping me and Zeke [Manyika, drummer] was busy with his solo career. It came to its own conclusion, really. So I said, I might as well say this will be Orange Juice's last gig. It was Grace's idea to play Rock and Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life) by Kevin Johnson. 'And Zeke followed me through London, through a hundred hotel rooms / Through a hundred record companies who didn't like my tunes.' There were people crying in the audience.
Would an Orange Juice reunion ever be on the cards? RattonRedNo!
I remember that you were quite caustic about other bands in interviews back in the 80s and 90s. Have you mellowed? Most of the bands you slagged off deserved it! 1234 RamonesBack then, every indie band was nasty about everybody. Nowadays, everybody's nice about everybody. Some of the people I've been horrible about are very, very lovely to me now. Then you meet people and they're really nice and you just feel like, what a wanker I am. I remember Pete Wylie from Wah! Heat. I said: 'Aren't you sort of like Abba?' And now we are good buddies.
I'm currently rereading Grace's memoir Falling and Laughing. It's even more inspiring second time around. Have you written songs about her? SalfordRed64Yes, I have. There's one called You're Better Than You Know on Hope and Despair. That's a lovely song. A song of encouragement. And then Graciously. That's about it.
When you first wrote and recorded A Girl Like You, did you have any inkling that it would be such a huge worldwide hit, or did its success take you by surprise? VerulamiumParkRangerVic Godard from Subway Sect, who sang backing vocals, said: 'Yes, that's the one, that's the No 1 single.' But, no, we didn't. It was obvious it was the single – but it didn't get playlisted. Much later, Mickie Most, the genius producer, said that occasionally there's a record you can bury under the Empire State Building that will still find a way out. High praise from Mickie. There was absolutely nothing you could do to that record to stop it. It was an unstoppable force. Even I couldn't mess that record up.
I love the fact that Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols is the drummer on the Gorgeous George LP. But a mate told me there were loads of other first-generation punks on that record. Can that be true? And do you still consider yourself a punk? frenteboqueronWell, Vic was on the record. And we have worked a lot with Dave Ruffy elsewhere, who was a Rut: 'Babylon's burning!' But I'm not a punk any more. I'm too old for that. I love punk records. I also love northern soul, soul, indie music. In my opinion, there are good records and bad records. And good records, I'll always love.
Will you be making music with Vic Godard again? GrahamCarrisgodPossibly. He's always running around like a maniac. So we'll pin him down and see if we can get him to come up and do some recording in Helmsdale. He's the best company.
Seventies Night, a song that you recorded with the late Mark E Smith, became a staple in my DJ sets. Mark was quite a character. Did you two get along in the studio? CoopertapesNot exactly! RIP, of course. The first time I worked with him he said: 'I'm not worthy, Edwyn.' Then he came back to our studio and terrified Seb, my sidekick. Poor Seb. Grace told him off and he said sorry – he could be very sweet. He also said: 'Right, I'm putting the nails in.' During that session, he sacked his entire group. But he ultimately had a nice person in him, a polite person.
I can't tell you how much I admire your strength, determination and fortitude to recover from a stroke. My question is: what inspires you to keep going? EducatedRitaIn hospital, even my pupils didn't react. It looked like curtains for me. But my doctor decided to operate. And I'm grateful. Even when I was unconscious, I felt I was fighting for my life. My dreams didn't die. There was wonderful satisfaction to come. Now, sometimes it's difficult for me to get about. Town is difficult, bumping into people. But I can walk to the tube with my son William; that's joyful.
Edwyn Collins answered questions with Grace Maxwell
Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation is released via AED Records on 14 March. Edwyn Collins's last-ever tour starts in September – details