Singer Edwyn Collins 'very ill'

A Girl Like You was a hit at the height of Britpop

Singer Edwyn Collins, known for fronting 1980s band Orange Juice and his 1990s solo success, is seriously ill after a brain haemorrhage.

He was taken ill on Sunday night, his wife Grace wrote on his website.

"He is being well looked after in hospital. When there is more to report, I'll let you all know," she wrote.

Edinburgh-born Collins, 45, led Orange Juice to a number eight UK hit with Rip It Up in 1983. Solo single A Girl Like You reached number four in 1995.

A spokesperson added that doctors were trying to stabilise his condition.

Edwyn Collins' pop path

On BBC 6Music's radio show Roundtable on 18 February, Collins said he had recently been ill.

"I suddenly got a horrible sense of vertigo, the room started spinning around and I started puking up," he said.

But he put it down to food poisoning at the time, adding: "I'm two days into recuperation and I should be fine."

Collins was a leading figure on the alternative Scottish scene in the late 1970s and 1980s, forming his first band, Nu-Sonics, aged 17.

They became Orange Juice, who were independent favourites and briefly broke into the mainstream with Rip It Up.

Global hit

He pursued a solo career with mixed results until A Girl Like You, at the height of Britpop, which was a top 10 hit in seven countries and reached the top 40 in the US.

In 1999, he created and starred in Channel 4 sitcom West Heath Yard, which featured cameo performances from Jarvis Cocker, Natalie Imbruglia and Alan McGee.

He surfaced again as a guest on Rolf Harris' album after being impressed by the Australian icon's rendition of A Girl Like You.

He had recently turned to producing new bands including Sons and Daughters, The Cribs and Little Barrie.

A compilation of his early songs, The Glasgow School, is due to be released in May.