Based in Ocean Beach, Blue Orange formed in the late-90s and began playing British pop-inspired tunes ala Oasis with a touch of grunge (Blur, Nirvana, etc). With a rehearsal space in a garage in the alley of Cape May, they landed gigs at nearby clubs such as Dream Street, The Pour House, and Winstons.

Drummer-singer James Tuckwell, who had been in the mid-80s UK band the Inept, recalls “We were like Nirvana meets The Beatles. At that point, I had switched over from playing drums and was doing vocals. They liked the English accent with the Squeeze/Beatles kind of thing. These guys were kind of like heavy Les Paul guitars and sweet harmonies. It worked. We did a couple of self-produced CDs.”

Blue Orange split around 2003. The following year, Tuckwell turned up in The 63eatles, a Fab Four cover band specializing in early Beatles songs.

Tuckwell later became a member of C2, featuring former members of the Inept: Oliver Hartley (who lives in Switzerland) and his brother Tom Hartley (a UK resident). As of 2021, Tuckwell was recording with the trio remotely from San Diego.