[3] The band signed to Rough Trade Records and in November 1980 released its debut single, a double A-side, "The Flood"/"Disney Boys".
The band's music came to the attention of Echo & the Bunnymen, who subsequently invited Blue Orchids to be the support act for its 1981 UK tour.
Goldstraw decided to leave Blue Orchids to continue touring with Nico, so a new bassist, Mark Hellyer, replaced him.
In 1991, Bramah returned with a new incarnation of Blue Orchids which featured ex-Smiths guitarist Craig Gannon on guitar, Martin Hennin on bass and Dick Harrison on drums.
[2][8] This release had sleeve notes written by Bramah's former colleague in The Fall, BBC DJ Marc Riley who said of them: ″Think Tom Verlaine guesting with The Doors ... one of the most engaging and intriguing bands of the 80s″ [9] 2003 saw the group reissue three albums on the LTM label.
[10] Released almost simultaneously was a compilation album called From Severe to Serene, which featured the group's two Peel Sessions, live tracks and the contents of Thirst's Riding the Times EP.
The line-up consisted of the Factory Star members Martin Bramah, John Paul Moran, Chris Dutton and Joe McKechnie, with the addition of Ann Matthews (Fflaps/Ectogram) on guitar/vocals.
In 2015 Vince Hunt of A Witness and Inca Babies replaced Chris Dutton on bass and the band returned to regular live appearances.
In 2016 Blue Orchids released a new album The Once and Future Thing,[13] a retrospective compilation of the Rough Trade years called Awefull,[4] with artwork from celebrated artists Aleksandar Mladenović and Aleksandra Keković Mladenović, plus Bramah's own long-lost solo album The Battle of Twisted Heel on the label Tiny Global Productions,[14] re-shaped the line-up and recorded new songs including a track for the Stewart Lee-compiled tribute to Birmingham cult band The Nightingales.
The NME's Barney Hoskyns said of them "There is an economy of love and yearning in every chord, vocal or instrumental that breaks from the aching heart of the Blue Orchids' sound" while the writer Paul Morley, reviewing their second single "Work" said "They rave but they are not mad.