Edwyn Collins

Edwyn Collins, born in Edinburgh in 1959, had already had one career by the time the '90s rolled around. He co-founded the post-punk band Orange Juice and sang lead for them, co-founded the indie label Postcard Records too, and went solo after the band split in 1985.

Hope and Despair, in 1989, brought "50 Shades of Blue", but it was 1994's Gorgeous George that gave him a worldwide hit in "A Girl Like You". It's a swaggering, fuzz-toned monster of a single, a stomping northern soul beat dressed up in a leather jacket, with Collins crooning in that deep, dry voice like a lounge singer who's seen too much. Rock radio's countdowns have never let it go.

In February 2005 two cerebral haemorrhages left him with aphasia, and it took him months to recover. He was back making music by 2007, and the documentary The Possibilities Are Endless told the story of his recovery in 2014. He co-founded another label, Analogue Enhanced Digital, in 2011, picked up the Ivor Inspiration Award in 2009, and has worked as an illustrator, actor and television producer on the side.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.