Missing Link Records
Encyclopedia
Missing Link Records is a record store in Melbourne
, Australia
. The shop first opened in 1971, but was then called Archie and Jughead's, named after the comic
. The shop's co-founders, David Pepperell and Keith Glass, established the shop as a much-needed rock record shop. The original aim for the shop was to stock imported records from the United States that were not readily available in Australia at that time.
In 1978, Archie and Jughead's became Missing Link (after a brief stint of being called Dr. Peppers). The name was being used by Keith Glass for a record label. The name was taken from a wild 60s Australian rock band, The Missing Links, and was felt to greater embody the contemporary punk rock
/ new wave
scene of which the shop had become a part, while still reflecting the owners' past. Missing Link had become an integral part of Melbourne's independent music scene, promoting and selling local releases, and acting as a source of new music from overseas.
The original owners eventually moved on, but Missing Link has remained at the forefront of independent music in Australia.
The shop is one of the main punk and indie rock
retail outlets in Australia but it announced on 6 September 2011 that it intends to close down after nearly 30 years of trading. Current owner Nigel Rennard had previously stated that it wouldn’t close ‘any time soon’ but he has since issued a statement announcing that as of Friday 7 October 2011, Missing Link Records will be no more. It's understood that although the store at Bourke St will close, Missing Link will continue under the management of Collectors Corner, as it has traded for the last year, but in a new location.
The shop is currently located at Basement 405 Bourke St., Melbourne.
. The initial releases were two retrospective 7-inch singles featuring bands the shop's cofounders had been in the 60s: The Union in the case of Pepperell and Cam-pact in the case of Keith Glass. The label continued to release 60s retrospectives, local Australian contemporary punk and new wave, and licenced material from overseas. International licenced releases included those by Flying Lizards, The Residents
and Dead Kennedys
. Notable local artists released in Missing Link Records include the Go-Betweens
, the Birthday Party
, Whirlywirld
, and the Laughing Clowns
. Glass was also the manager of The Birthday Party in their early years.
In 2006, the shop started releasing records again under the Missing Link name. The releases include local Australian acts such as Agents of Aborrence, Los Diablos, Terror Firma, The Focus, True Radical Miracle, Mutiny
and licenced releases for the Australian market by Minus the Bear
, Regulations, and Bouncing Souls.
http://www.missinglinkrecords.com (Indianapolis vinyl record store)
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The shop first opened in 1971, but was then called Archie and Jughead's, named after the comic
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
. The shop's co-founders, David Pepperell and Keith Glass, established the shop as a much-needed rock record shop. The original aim for the shop was to stock imported records from the United States that were not readily available in Australia at that time.
In 1978, Archie and Jughead's became Missing Link (after a brief stint of being called Dr. Peppers). The name was being used by Keith Glass for a record label. The name was taken from a wild 60s Australian rock band, The Missing Links, and was felt to greater embody the contemporary punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
/ new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
scene of which the shop had become a part, while still reflecting the owners' past. Missing Link had become an integral part of Melbourne's independent music scene, promoting and selling local releases, and acting as a source of new music from overseas.
The original owners eventually moved on, but Missing Link has remained at the forefront of independent music in Australia.
The shop is one of the main punk and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
retail outlets in Australia but it announced on 6 September 2011 that it intends to close down after nearly 30 years of trading. Current owner Nigel Rennard had previously stated that it wouldn’t close ‘any time soon’ but he has since issued a statement announcing that as of Friday 7 October 2011, Missing Link Records will be no more. It's understood that although the store at Bourke St will close, Missing Link will continue under the management of Collectors Corner, as it has traded for the last year, but in a new location.
The shop is currently located at Basement 405 Bourke St., Melbourne.
The Missing Link record label
Missing Link Records started as a record label in 19771977 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1977.-January–February:*January 1 – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy....
. The initial releases were two retrospective 7-inch singles featuring bands the shop's cofounders had been in the 60s: The Union in the case of Pepperell and Cam-pact in the case of Keith Glass. The label continued to release 60s retrospectives, local Australian contemporary punk and new wave, and licenced material from overseas. International licenced releases included those by Flying Lizards, The Residents
The Residents
The Residents is an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. The first official release under the name of The Residents was in 1972, and the group has since released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs....
and Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
. Notable local artists released in Missing Link Records include the Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
, the Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (band)
The Birthday Party were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983.Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career...
, Whirlywirld
Whirlywirld
Whirlywirld was an Australian post punk band led by Ollie Olsen in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the first of his musical collaborations with drummer John Murphy...
, and the Laughing Clowns
The Laughing Clowns
Laughing Clowns, commonly misspelled as The Laughing Clowns are a jazz-influenced post punk band who formed in Sydney in 1979. In five short years, the band released three LPs; two mini albums; various singles and a batch of odds and sods compilations...
. Glass was also the manager of The Birthday Party in their early years.
In 2006, the shop started releasing records again under the Missing Link name. The releases include local Australian acts such as Agents of Aborrence, Los Diablos, Terror Firma, The Focus, True Radical Miracle, Mutiny
Mutiny (band)
Mutiny are an Australian folk punk band based in Melbourne. Their slogan is "Folk punk for punk folk".They first formed in 1991 and have performed in Australia, Europe and the US. The original members were Chris Patches , Greg Stainsby , Briony Grigg , and Alice Green...
and licenced releases for the Australian market by Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2001, the group features current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving...
, Regulations, and Bouncing Souls.
External links
- Missing Link
- Not to be confused with Missing Link Entertainment
http://www.missinglinkrecords.com (Indianapolis vinyl record store)