Born: 15 October 1959
Paterson had worked as a roadie for
Killing Joke during the ’80s, and began to be influenced by the explosion of Chicago house music in England during the mid-to-late-’80s. He joined the A&R department of E.G. Records Ltd. Records - the home of
Brian Eno himself - and first recorded as the Orb with
Jimmy Cauty. The duo’s first release as the Orb, the failed acid-house anthem Tripping on Sunshine, appeared on the 1988 compilation album
Project One.
Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty had been recording an album during the turn of 1989-90, but the two split in April 1990 - a result of Paterson’s fear that the Orb had become known more as a
The KLF side-project than an original act. Cauty stripped Paterson’s contribution to the recordings and released the eponymous album - credited simply as Space - later that year.
The Orb released several albums through the ’90s, including
The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld,
Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworld Excursions (which were only available for one day but still managed to place in the Top 50) and
Orblivion.