The Orange Shop Is a Runaway Success (1970)

Former EMI executive Dennis Sinnott shares memories of Orange’s psychedelic New Compton Street shop and its groundbreaking 100-watt amp.

Dennis Sinnott, Head of Orange Publishing, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, remembers: “I heard a lot about Orange in the early 1970s when I was Head of Copyright at EMI. The first impression for me was seeing this amazing 100-Watt Orange amplifier, which was selling in the Orange Shop for an unbelievably low price. I think it was about £35. And all the kids were going crazy… they were lining up down the whole length of New Compton Street.”

A Psychedelic Discovery

“I remember walking along Charing Cross Road and seeing this psychedelic shop, with a front painted in this really bright orange colour. I was just fascinated, and I thought to myself, ‘God, this is all so new and different…’ I also remember seeing this young guy there, who I later found out was Cliff Cooper.”