Fashion Records is a
UK-based
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, publishing
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
music.
Founded in summer 1980, Fashion Records is one of the more successful UK-based reggae labels, and one of only a few British reggae labels to release records that were produced in their own
recording studio.
The label was the brainchild of John MacGillivray and
Chris Lane, two reggae devotees, and was essentially a spin-off from MacGillivray's
Dub Vendor Dub Vendor is a long-standing, and pioneering, London vendor of ska and reggae music, that is now, mainly a London-based, mail order company specialising in Jamaican music. In 2006, ''Time Out'' termed it "the best source of Jamaican music in Europe ...
record store. The first Fashion release hit number 1 in the UK reggae charts in the summer of 1980 -
Dee Sharp's "Let's Dub It Up". In the next few years many British reggae artists, and artists who were passing through from
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, turned up on the label: Keith Douglas, Carlton Manning (of Carlton & His Shoes),
Alton Ellis, Carlton Lewis and
Johnnie Clarke amongst others.
Studio opening
In 1982 Fashion opened a four-track studio, essentially an expansion of Lane’s dub-cutting facility, A-Class, in the basement of the new Dub Vendor shop in
Clapham Junction
Clapham Junction is an urban locality around Clapham Junction railway station in London, England. Despite its name, it is not located in Clapham, but forms the commercial centre of Battersea.
Clapham Junction was a scene of disturbances during ...
. By this time the UK MC explosion had begun, and Fashion played a part with Papa Face,
Laurel & Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...
,
Pato Banton
Pato Banton (born Patrick Murray; 5 October 1961) is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname "Pato Banton" from his stepfather; his first name derives from the sound of a Jamaican owl calling "patoo, patoo ...
, Bionic Rhona,
Macka B
Christopher MacFarlane, better known as Macka B, (born 1966) is a British-born Jamaican reggae artist, performer and activist with a career spanning thirty years and one of Britain's most influential dancehall DJs.
As a practicing Rastaman, Mac ...
and Asher Senator. The dub-cutting service saw Paul Robinson (of
One Blood) and
Maxi Priest
Max Alfred "Maxi" Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. He was one ...
as regulars at the tiny subterranean studio and Robinson soon enjoyed hits with the label as
Barry Boom
Barry Boom (born Paul Robinson) is a reggae singer and record producer from London.
Paul Robinson was a member of the reggae group One Blood in the 1980s along with his brothers Errol, Jerry, Ewan & Trevor until the group broke up after Errol's d ...
, while Chris Lane played guitars and percussion with Maxi & Paul's 'Caution' band, contributing to (and engineering much of) Priest's debut album, ''You're Safe''.
Smiley Culture
David Victor Emmanuel (10 February 1963 – 15 March 2011), better known as Smiley Culture, was a British reggae singer and DJ known for his "fast chat" style. During a relatively brief period of fame and success, he produced two of the most cri ...
had one of the biggest reggae hits of 1984 on Fashion with "Cockney Translation", and his single "Police Officer" went to number twelve in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, and he appeared on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
''. Their connection with the UK MC boom made the step into ragga and dance-hall in the mid-1980s a comparatively natural one, and the studio was busy enough to employ Gussie P, and later Frenchie as engineers – both went on to be producers with their own labels, Sip-A-Cup and Maximum Sound respectively.
Meanwhile, Fashion was also cutting
lovers rock hits with Michael Gordon and Nerious Joseph, often coming out on another imprint, Fine Style. Two female acts were recruited,
Winsome and Shako Lee (Janet Lee Davis). Winsome's "Am I The Same Girl", "Born Free" and "Super Woman" (with
Tippa Irie
Tippa Irie (born Anthony Henry, 1965, London, England) is a British reggae singer and DJ from Brixton, South London. He first came to prominence in the early 1980s as an MC on the South London reggae soundsystem Saxon Studio International.
He fir ...
) proved themselves classics of their type. Fashion also continued to work with a variety of Jamaican acts, including
Junior Delgado
Oscar Hibbert (25 August 1958 – 11 April 2005),Greene, Jo-AnnJunior Delgado Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2016 better known as Junior Delgado, was a reggae singer, famed for his roots style.
Biography
Born in 1958 in Kingston, Jamai ...
,
Joseph Cotton
Joseph Cotton Jah Walton (born Silbert Walton, 1957, St. Ann, Jamaica) is a reggae singer active since the mid-1970s.
Biography
After spending a year working in the Jamaican police force, Walton turned to recording, initially working with J ...
('No Touch The Style'), Leroy Gibbons,
Frankie Paul
Paul Blake (19 October 1965 – 18 May 2017), better known as Frankie Paul, was a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist. Born blind, he has been dubbed by some 'The Jamaican Stevie Wonder'.
Biography
Born in Jamaica in 1965, Blake was born blind bu ...
,
Glen Brown
Glenmore Lloyd Brown (1943 or 1944Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)Tough Times for Glen Brown", ''Jamaica Observer'', 15 July 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2014Larkin, Colin, ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', 1998, Virgin Books, . – 4 O ...
and
Augustus Pablo.
New studio
In 1988, the label opened the new A-Class Studio, a sixteen-track set up in
Forest Hill, South East London, and also began to lay tracks at Penthouse Studios in Jamaica, voicing and mixing them back in London. 1989/90 saw a string of reggae chart hits, with Janet Lee Davis' "Two Timing Lover" and Cutty Ranks' "The Stopper" both hitting number 1. A second pop chart success,
Louchie Lou & Michie One
Louchie Lou & Michie One were a British female ragga/soul duo from London, best known for the single " Shout (It Out)", plus their collaboration with Suggs on the single "Cecilia", both of which reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.
Ca ...
's
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of the
Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include:
*The Isley Brothers, American musical group
**Ernie Isley (born 1952), American mus ...
', "
Shout", licensed to
London Records, and the rise of
General Levy
Paul Scott Levy (born 28 April 1971), also known as General Levy, is an English ragga deejay, regularly employed on studio tracks by drum and bass DJs. He is best known for the track "Incredible" which he recorded with M-Beat. A remixed versio ...
, also leased to London, helped to ensure that the label's reputation remained secure.
History
1990s
Throughout the 1990s, Fashion had frequent top placings in the UK reggae chart and a string of successful releases in Jamaica (and the US) with artists such as Peter Hunnigale, Sanchez, General Degree, Cutty Ranks and Janet Lee Davis. They also supplied the vocals to the
UK garage
UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...
hit "
RipGroove" (
Double 99
Double 99, also known as R.I.P. Productions and 10° Below, were a UK garage duo which consisted of members Timothy Andrew Liken (Tim Deluxe) and Omar Adimora. They are best known for their sole UK chart hit single "RipGroove", which reached N ...
featuring Top Cat). The studio was also busy with production projects for other companies, and amongst other artists who recorded with Fashion were Michie One & Louchie Lou ("The Crickets Sing for Ana Maria"), Sayoko ("Sistren" with Michie One & Louchie Lou), and
Phillip Leo
Philip Ernest Pottinger (born 29 April 1967), known professionally as Phillip Leo, is a British reggae singer, songwriter and producer. He is the last of five children from South London who were born to Jamaican parents.
Biography
Born in Gre ...
("Summer Girl" with
Glamma Kid
Iyael Lyases Tafari Constable (born 14 March 1978, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney, London, England), better known as Glamma Kid, is a Deejay (Jamaican), toaster and former Royal Air Force trainee of part-Jamaican descent. He had two top 10 hi ...
).
In early 1997, the A-Class Studio was again relocated and completely rebuilt, and the label was soon busy again working on new singles and albums with Janet Lee Davis, Starky Banton, Alton Ellis, The Dub Organiser, Neville Morrison, Ras Harry Chapman, Mykal Roze, and Sandeeno.
2000s
Since 2000, the label has been inactive and no new projects have been undertaken; however, there are plans for a re-release schedule which will make much of Fashion's back catalogue available again.
Digital relaunch
The first albums were released on the 19 March through Believe Digital. This included nine Fashion albums and a new
compilation album ''Fashion in Finestyle – Significant Hits Volume One''. The relaunch saw articles appearing in ''Dummy Mag'', ''Echoes'', ''The Wire'' and ''United Reggae''. MacGillivray and Lane appeared on David Rodigan's radio show on
Kiss FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to:
Asia-Oceania
* Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines
** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon
** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol
* Kiss92 FM, Singapore
* KISS 969, Sri Lanka
* Kiss Radio Taiwan ...
to talk about the relaunch and to play some of their favourite Fashion tracks.
Remixes
*"Inna Nice Up!"
In April 2012, an exclusive limited edition 12" from Nice Up! Records was released. The track listing included "Who's Gonna Make The Dance Ram" (Serial Killaz remix) and "Nice Up The Session" (Dub Pistols remix).
Labels
Various labels were owned by Fashion Records:
*Fine Style
*Top Notch
*Arthur Daley International
*Rubble Music
*Hi-Fashion
*Dub Organiser
Sources
''The Guinness Who's Who of Reggae'' Page 93
''The Rough Guide to Reggae'' Page 348
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
British record labels
Reggae record labels