In May 1990, a young David Holmes brought Orbital to Belfast Art College. After the show, Paul Hartnoll handed him a cassette of unfinished demos. Holmes and his friends played one track obsessively while driving around Belfast. It had no title.
That track became 'Belfast'
This episode traces Sugar Sweet, Space Base 4, the arrival of rave culture in Belfast, the Hartnoll brothers before Orbital, 'Chime', the lost cassette and the road to the Green Album.
Research Sources & Further Reading
Conversation with Gareth McConnell
Stuart Bailie, Trouble Songs: Music and Conflict in Northern Ireland, Bloomfield Press, 2018.
Stuart Bailie, 'The Ideal Holmes Exhibition'. Hot Press.
Richard Fitzpatrick, 'Culture That Made Me: David Holmes on Orbital, Sinéad O’Connor and La Dolce Vita', Irish Examiner, 17 June 2024.
Paul Hartnoll, 'Belfast and the Other One', Starting Again, 6 September 2015.
Dray Morgan, 'The Tale Behind Orbital and Their Track ‘Belfast’, District Magazine, 7 June 2024.
'Aural Alchemy: A Brief History of Clubbing in Belfast', Technology Stole My Vinyl, 13 June 2014.
Orbital, Green Album, official Orbital discography.
'How Orbital Created the Blissful Masterpiece ‘Belfast’', 909originals, 7 January 2021.
Stuart Aitken, 'Mistletoe and Chime: The Story of Orbital’s Acid House', The Guardian, 16 December 2013.
'Orbital’s Paul and Phil Hartnoll Look Back', The Guardian, 10 February 2024.
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