The Man Behind the Brand

Cliff Cooper reflects on founding Orange, pioneering music retail, and building a bold brand that reshaped the sound of an era.

Orange enthusiasts around the world will recognise the Orange World Tree logo. First used in 1969 on our record label and crest, and later on the cover of our 1973 catalogue, I still think it captures the spirit of the company.

After college, I studied electronics and passed my Radio, Television & Electronics Board exams, then worked for Imhof’s Radio & Television store on New Oxford Street. I did sales and repairs, learning skills I never imagined I’d soon put to use just 200 yards down the road in my own shop.

In 1964, my younger brother Michael died from lymphosarcoma at just 18. Soon after, I left Imhof’s to work for my dad’s company, Cooper’s Papers. There, I designed and built the world’s first vertical Cellophane slitting machine, which was five times faster than existing models. I wish I’d known about patenting!

Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about music. I’d played violin as a child, then taught myself bass and vocals. In 1965, I formed a band with my brother Ken, and we were signed by the legendary Joe Meek. He gave us our name, The Millionaires, and in 1966 we had a number-12 hit with Wishing Well.

The Shop That Started It All

That same year, I built a small demo studio in Stratford, East London. When the neighbours complained about the noise, I created the CTI Pixy, a pocket-sized guitar amp with an earpiece instead of a speaker. I built and sold about 100 of them. That was my first taste of designing and selling musical gear, and I loved it.

In 1968, I rented a near-derelict shop at 3 New Compton Street in London’s West End. I wanted to build a professional recording studio, and a kind GLC officer agreed to let me pay the rent in arrears. Though the lease was only renewable year to year, the location was gold, right in the heart of “the music walk”, between Denmark Street and Shaftesbury Avenue.

It wasn’t easy. At first, the basement studio wasn’t generating enough income, so I opened the shop upstairs and sold my own band’s gear to pay wages. I even washed cars to make ends meet.

This was the psychedelic era—The Beatles, Stones, Floyd, Zeppelin—all pushing boundaries in sound and style. Most music shops didn’t cater to that world. I wanted the Orange Shop to be different: bright, bold, and independent of the old guard who worked together to keep prices high. Orange was my favourite colour, and as a fruit, the name translated globally.

Since the big distributors wouldn’t supply us with amps, I decided to build my own. The Orange Shop began to thrive, which funded the launch of Orange Amplification. With that momentum, we upgraded the studio and began to attract artists like Robin Gibb, Brian Wilson, and Stevie Wonder. We also launched Orange Hire, which helped raise our profile at festivals. Then came Orange Management, with John Miles (of Music Was My First Love fame) as our first signing.

That led to Orange Records, Orange Publishing, and the Orange Artist Booking Agency. I didn’t realise it at the time, but I was building a textbook example of horizontal integration—and learning every aspect of the music business in the process. By the time the shop closed in 1978, the Orange brand had already taken root around the world.