Geoff Travis (born 2 February 1952) is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978.

Biography

Travis was born on 2 February 1952 in Stoke Newington, London, and was raised in Finchley.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p. 363 He is Jewish, his ancestors emigrated from Romania and Ukraine. Travis studied English at Churchill College, Cambridge. He worked as a drama teacher before opening the original Rough Trade record shop in Kensington Park Road,

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...

, London on 23 February 1976, setting up the record label two years later.The Billboard Q&A: Martin Mills & Geoff Travis
, '' Billboard'', 12 January 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2010Hart, Gerry (2003)
Rough Trade: 25 Years of Anarchy, Mayhem, Catastrophe...and Success
, ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'', 15 December 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2010 He claimed that he chose the location because it was close to Powis Square, where '' Performance'', one of his favourite films, was made.Glinert, Ed (2001)
He likes a bit of Rough; Rough Trade, former home to early punk – not to mention The Smiths – is celebrating its 25th anniversary
, ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', 16 February 2001 Travis was also instrumental in the foundation of the independent distribution network The Cartel. While Rough Trade was a key independent label, Travis also co-ran labels with major record companies, including Blanco y Negro in 1983 (with

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

) and Trade2 (with Island Records). Rough Trade was home to

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

, but by 1986, after three years on the label, the band were in dispute over finances. The song "Frankly Mr Shankly" from ''

The Queen is Dead ''The Queen Is Dead'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Smiths. Released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records, and on 23 June 1986 in the US by Sire Records, it spent 22 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, pea ...

'' was reportedly a jibe at Travis.Spitz, Marc (2005)
The Smiths ''The Queen is Dead''
, '' Spin'', July 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2010 The label was wound up in 1994 after briefly being revived in partnership with

One Little Indian One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...

, but revived by Travis in 2001 with breakthrough acts

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

and

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

.Cromelin, Richard (2004) "Indie's new adventure; Rough Trade, a force on the '70s and '80s scene, has found renewed life", ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', 30 May 2004 Writer

Douglas Wolk Douglas Wolk (born 1970) is a Portland, Oregon-based author and critic. He has written about comics and popular music for publications including ''The New York Times'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Nation'', ''The New Republi ...

credited Travis as virtually defining "the British post-punk sound",Wolk, Douglas (1995)
Lida Husik & Beaumont Hannant – star
, ''

'', January 1995. Retrieved 20 June 2010 and XFM viewed his impact on independent music as greater than anyone else's in the country.Geoff Travis: From The Smiths to The Strokes
", XFM, 2 July 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2010

Jamie Travis

Geoff Travis has a son called Jamie, who is one half of the post-rave pop duo Babeheaven with singer Nancy Andersen.

References

External links

Interview with Furious in Nov. 1996Several interviews with Travis explaining his ideals are included in this 1979 TV documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Geoff British Jews British music industry executives British people of Romanian-Jewish descent British people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Living people 1952 births Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge People from Stoke Newington People educated at Dame Alice Owen's School