Orbital Tickets

Contemporaries of the Chemical Brothers and Underworld, Orbital enjoyed a dazzling 15-year stint before bowing out gracefully in 2004. Raised in suburban Sevenoaks, near the M25 orbital motorway which inspired their name, Paul and Phil began honing their unique brand of homegrown electro long before the acid house boom gave British pop a much-needed kick up its baggy trousers. In their secret sound laboratory, these twin Timelords of techno produced gleaming machine-music classics that sounded like Blade Runner on a Blue Peter budget.


Between 1989 and 2004, Orbital released a string of addictive, eclectic singles including Chime, Style, Belfast, The Box and Satan. Many became evergreen club anthems. Some even became Top Three hits. During their seven-album career they also worked with an impressively diverse range of collaborators including electro-folk siren Alison Goldfrapp, soundtrack maestro Angelo Badalamenti and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammet.


Meanwhile, Orbital developed an enviable live reputation, playing knockout mega-shows to huge crowds from Glastonbury to Woodstock to the Royal Albert Hall. Their music featured on high-profile film scores including The Saint, Event Horizon and The Beach. They also remixed superstar artists including Madonna, Queen Latifah and their all-time robo-pop heroes Kraftwerk.


Since releasing their swansong Orbital opus The Blue Album and disbanding in 2004, both Hartnoll brothers have ventured into new musical territory. Paul took a more orchestral direction with his 2007 solo album The Ideal Condition, while Phil launched his short-lived collaboration project Long Range and carved a thriving career as a DJ. But they never closed the door on Orbital, and demand remains high for their fabled live shows.


Orbital's live comeback coincided with the 20th anniversary of their debut single Chime, a rave-era classic recorded for less than £100, which cracked the Top 20 and earned Paul and Phil the first of many Top of The Pops appearances - wearing Anti Poll Tax T-shirts, naturally. But the brothers insist the summer shows have nothing to do with nostalgia for the Summer of Love.


Headlining a musically adventurous outdoor festivals and big venues makes perfect sense for Orbital, whose magical Glastonbury appearances in the mid 1990s dazzled dance and rock fans alike. Their 1994 Glasto show even earned a Q magazine rating as one of the Top 50 gigs of all time.


Always leaving room for improvisation on stage, unlike many electronic acts, Paul and Phil are world-class experts at building up large crowds into a frenzy of excitement. Their offstage manner may be deadpan and low-key, but their live performances are orgies of sensory overload and revved-up euphoria. Their perfectly placed samples of Bon Jovi, Belinda Carlisle, The Darkness and Ian Dury always raise loud cheers too. 

Originally released on September 30, 1991, Orbital’s self-titled debut album later became known as “The Green Album” to distinguish it from their 1993 second album, also self-titled, which is known as “The Brown Album”. The Green Album includes the seminal Orbital track “Belfast” and a live version of “Chime”, the landmark dance track that launched their career in 1990.