Y Records
Encyclopedia
Y Records was an independent record label
set up in 1980 by Dick O’Dell in the United Kingdom
, and distributed by Rough Trade
.
, Shriekback
and a number of groups that were associated with the Bristol
Indie Bands from the late 1970s: The Pop Group
, Glaxo Babies
, Maximum Joy
and Pigbag
.
The label's first release in 1980 (Y1, "Where There's A Will There's A Way" / "In the Beginning There Was Rhythm") was a split single by The Pop Group and The Slits, bands which shared a drummer as well as managers (Christine Robertson and Dick O'Dell). Pigbag’s single, "Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag" (Y10) entered the UK Indie Chart
in May 1981, and stayed there for 70 weeks in total, peaking at #1.
Y Records were eventually incorporated into Kaz Records, part of Castle Communications
. O'Dell later formed a progressive house music company, Guerilla Records
, which became prominent in British progressive house music in the early 1990s, with acts such as Leftfield
, Spooky
, React to Rhythm and D.O.P.
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
set up in 1980 by Dick O’Dell in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and distributed by Rough Trade
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
.
History
Artists included The SlitsThe Slits
The Slits were a British punk rock band. The quartet was formed in 1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The members were Ari Up , who died of cancer in October 2010, and Palmolive , with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members, Kate Korus and...
, Shriekback
Shriekback
Shriekback are an English rock band, formed in 1981 in Kentish Town by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and League of Gentlemen , and Dave Allen, formerly of the Gang of Four , with Carl Marsh, formerly of Out On Blue Six soon added to the line-up. They were joined by Martyn Barker on drums in 1983...
and a number of groups that were associated with the Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
Indie Bands from the late 1970s: The Pop Group
The Pop Group
The Pop Group are a British post-punk band from Bristol, England, formed in 1978, whose dissonant sound spanned punk, free jazz, funk and dub reggae. Their lyrics were often political in nature...
, Glaxo Babies
Glaxo Babies
Glaxo Babies were a Bristol-based UK post-punk group, formed in late 1977. There were three distinct phases in the bands life and after initially breaking up in 1980, they reformed in 1985, only to finally break-up again in 1990.-First phase:...
, Maximum Joy
Maximum Joy
Maximum Joy were a post-punk band from Bristol, England.When the Glaxo Babies split in 1979, Tony Wrafter formed Maximum Joy with Janine Rainforth , and they were later joined by Dan Catsis and Charlie Llewellin , and John Waddington...
and Pigbag
Pigbag
-Origin and formation:Pigbag were formed in Cheltenham in late 1980 by Chris Hamlin, a fashion student at Cheltenham Art College. Hamlin recruited multi-instrumentalist Roger Freeman, an old friend from his hometown of Birmingham, along with Chris Lee on trumpet and James Johnstone, a guitarist,...
.
The label's first release in 1980 (Y1, "Where There's A Will There's A Way" / "In the Beginning There Was Rhythm") was a split single by The Pop Group and The Slits, bands which shared a drummer as well as managers (Christine Robertson and Dick O'Dell). Pigbag’s single, "Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag" (Y10) entered the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
in May 1981, and stayed there for 70 weeks in total, peaking at #1.
Y Records were eventually incorporated into Kaz Records, part of Castle Communications
Castle Communications
Castle Communications was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane and Jon Beecher. The company was acquired by the American music distributor Alliance Entertainment in 1994 and in 2000 it was absorbed into Sanctuary Records Group...
. O'Dell later formed a progressive house music company, Guerilla Records
Guerilla Records
Guerilla Records was a British record label that was founded in 1990 by William Orbit and Dick O'Dell. It featured progressive house from artists such as Bass-O-Matic, React2Rhythm, Spooky, Moody Boyz, Felix Da Housecat, and Billie Ray Martin...
, which became prominent in British progressive house music in the early 1990s, with acts such as Leftfield
Leftfield
Leftfield are a British duo of electronica artists and record producers, namely Paul Daley and Neil Barnes, who formed in 1990 in London, England...
, Spooky
Spooky
Spooky is a British house/techno duo consisting of Duncan Forbes and Charlie May. They debuted with Gargantuan in 1993 after signing to Guerilla Records. In 1995 and 1996 they released three EPs on their own Generic Records label, followed quickly in mid-1996 by their second album, Found Sound...
, React to Rhythm and D.O.P.
See also
- List of record labels
- The SlitsThe SlitsThe Slits were a British punk rock band. The quartet was formed in 1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The members were Ari Up , who died of cancer in October 2010, and Palmolive , with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members, Kate Korus and...
- ShriekbackShriekbackShriekback are an English rock band, formed in 1981 in Kentish Town by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and League of Gentlemen , and Dave Allen, formerly of the Gang of Four , with Carl Marsh, formerly of Out On Blue Six soon added to the line-up. They were joined by Martyn Barker on drums in 1983...
- The Pop GroupThe Pop GroupThe Pop Group are a British post-punk band from Bristol, England, formed in 1978, whose dissonant sound spanned punk, free jazz, funk and dub reggae. Their lyrics were often political in nature...
- Glaxo BabiesGlaxo BabiesGlaxo Babies were a Bristol-based UK post-punk group, formed in late 1977. There were three distinct phases in the bands life and after initially breaking up in 1980, they reformed in 1985, only to finally break-up again in 1990.-First phase:...
- Maximum JoyMaximum JoyMaximum Joy were a post-punk band from Bristol, England.When the Glaxo Babies split in 1979, Tony Wrafter formed Maximum Joy with Janine Rainforth , and they were later joined by Dan Catsis and Charlie Llewellin , and John Waddington...
- PigbagPigbag-Origin and formation:Pigbag were formed in Cheltenham in late 1980 by Chris Hamlin, a fashion student at Cheltenham Art College. Hamlin recruited multi-instrumentalist Roger Freeman, an old friend from his hometown of Birmingham, along with Chris Lee on trumpet and James Johnstone, a guitarist,...
- List of Bands from Bristol
External links
- [ Dick O’Dell at Allmusic.com]
- The Y Records Discography at Discogs.com
- Dick O’Dell Discography at Discogs.com
- Dick O'Dell's official MySpace page