Biography
In 1980, Caroline Crawley, handling vocals and clarinet, encountered Jemaur Tayle, who played acoustic guitar and sang, in their native Bournemouth, England. Their shared admiration for the poet Shelley prompted the pair to derive their band’s name from his poem “Spirit Of Solitude.” Unable to read or notate music and lacking proficiency on their instruments, the two relocated to London in 1982 after Crawley abandoned her A Level studies, determined to recruit a string section and oboist so they could merge these classical timbres with guitar and dual voices inside a pop framework. Drawing influence from T. Rex, Nick Drake, and Van Morrison, the self-taught musicians located the players they needed and circulated through London’s venues until June 1984, when they secured a Kid Jensen BBC radio session. An incongruous support slot for the Jesus And Mary Chain at the ICA followed; their classical ensemble startled the audience, yet the performance quickly led to a contract with Rough Trade Records. The ensuing singles “Cavalry Of Cloud” and “Anatomy Of Love,” both gentle and melodic, earned glowing notices, and an appearance on The Tube preceded the May 1987 release of their contentious debut album Helleborine. Its lush romanticism was promptly dismissed as pretentious by the music press, earning Shelleyan Orphan the label “Pre-Raphaelite Fruitcakes.”
The subsequent two years were devoted to composition, recording, and refinement of their approach. By incorporating conventional rock instruments alongside the existing strings, the duo fashioned the more direct and approachable Century Flower. The record marked a clear advance, deploying irregular time signatures and baroque arrangements with striking results; the richly harmonic “Shatter” and the striking “Timeblind” stood among its strongest tracks. While touring Europe and America in support of the Cure, they revealed an unexpected vitality that contrasted their earlier restraint. That vitality did not carry over to vinyl, however, and the band’s third and final album Humroot closed their career on a subdued note for a group capable of occasional brilliance.
The subsequent two years were devoted to composition, recording, and refinement of their approach. By incorporating conventional rock instruments alongside the existing strings, the duo fashioned the more direct and approachable Century Flower. The record marked a clear advance, deploying irregular time signatures and baroque arrangements with striking results; the richly harmonic “Shatter” and the striking “Timeblind” stood among its strongest tracks. While touring Europe and America in support of the Cure, they revealed an unexpected vitality that contrasted their earlier restraint. That vitality did not carry over to vinyl, however, and the band’s third and final album Humroot closed their career on a subdued note for a group capable of occasional brilliance.
Albums
