Missing Link Records was an Australian-based

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

established in 1977. The Missing Link label was created by

Keith Glass Keith Robert Glass (born 17 September 1946) is an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist, musical theatre actor, record label owner, producer and journalist. In April 1967 he formed a soul music group, Cam-Pact, which released fou ...

(singer-guitarist ex-

Cam-Pact Cam-Pact was an Australian soul and psychedelic pop band which formed in April 1967. Originally they performed as The Camp Act but soon changed to Cam-Pact (or CamPact). Although little known outside Melbourne at the time, the various lineups of ...

) and David Pepperell (journalist and vocalist, ex-The Union) who were the owners of a Melbourne record store of the same name. The name was taken from a 1960s Australian rock band,

The Missing Links The Missing Links were an Australian garage rock, R&B, and protopunk group from Sydney who were active from 1964 to 1966. The group was known for wearing their hair long and smashing their equipment on-stage. Throughout the course of 1965, the ...

. The label's initial releases were two retrospective 7-inch singles, "The Ultimate Garage Band" by The Union and "Living in the 60's" by Cam-Pact, both of which band from the 1960s that the owners had respectively performed with. Following a few more releases Pepperell departed and the label took on a new contemporary release program to reflect the punk-new wave movement of the late 1970s. According to rock music historian,

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalist ...

, " twas a cornerstone organisation on Melbourne's independent scene of the late 1970s". The label became influential through the release of both Australian and overseas material, scoring a top 20 hit single with the local release of

The Flying Lizards The Flying Lizards were an experimental English new wave band, formed in 1976. They are best known for their eccentric cover version of Barrett Strong's "Money", featuring Deborah Evans-Stickland on lead vocals, which reached the UK and US re ...

kitchen electronic version of "

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

" (1979), when it was passed over by

Festival Records Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...

. In 1978 the label signed The Boys Next Door, a punk band featuring

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

Mick Harvey Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The ...

Phill Calvert Phillip Calvert (born 11 January 1958) is an Australian rock drummer and producer best known for his playing in the post-punk band The Birthday Party with Nick Cave. History At the private boys school Caulfield Grammar in the early 1970s Cal ...

and

Tracy Pew Tracy Franklin Pew (19 December 1957 – 7 November 1986) was an Australian musician, and bassist for The Birthday Party. He was later a member of The Saints, and worked with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. As a member of the Birthday Party, Pe ...

for whom Glass was also the manager. In 1980, the band renamed themselves as The Birthday Party. They became the flagship of the label, recording three albums and being licensed all around the world, with the single "

Release the Bats ''"Release the Bats"'' is a song by Australian post-punk band The Birthday Party. Written by Nick Cave and Mick Harvey, the song was released as a single on 31 July 1981 through 4AD record label, with the B-side "Blast Off". The recordings were ...

" reaching #1 on the UK Alternative charts. Other notable local artists released by Missing Link Records include Bleeding Hearts,

The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout it ...

Whirlywirld Whirlywirld were 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. They played in Melbourne and Sydney and were supporters of the Melbourne ...

The Laughing Clowns Laughing Clowns, sometimes written as The Laughing Clowns, were a post-punk band formed in Sydney in 1979. In five years, the band released three LPs, three EPs, and various singles and compilations. Laughing Clowns' sound is free jazz, Bluegra ...

and Dynamic Hepnotics. The label continued to release 1960s retrospectives, local Australian contemporary punk and new wave, and licensed material from overseas. International licensed releases included those by

Snakefinger Philip Charles Lithman (17 June 1949 – 1 July 1987), who performed under the stage name Snakefinger, was an English musician, singer and songwriter. A multi-instrumentalist, he was best known for his guitar and violin work and his collab ...

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

and

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

. In 2002 Glass reactivated the Missing Link label and one of its first releases was a nineteen-track Cam-Pact compilation, ''Psychedelic Pop 'n' Soul 1967-69'', featuring all the group's studio recordings, plus many previously unreleased tracks. 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 is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

and licensed releases for the Australian market by

Minus the Bear Minus the Bear was an American indie rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2001, and comprising members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. Their sound was described as " Pele-esque guitar-taps and electronics with sophisticate ...

, Regulations, and

Bouncing Souls The Bouncing Souls are an American punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 1989. By the time of their acknowledgment by the national punk rock scene, they had reignited a "pogo" element to New Jersey punk rock by playing fast light-he ...

. In October 2011 Missing Link Records ceased trading at its 405 Bourke Street Melbourne address, citing adverse trading conditions over the past few years brought about by the continued decline in hardcopy music sales, the ever present theft of music and multitude of digital options.

References

General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. Specific

External links

* {{Authority control Record labels based in Melbourne Record labels established in 1977 Punk record labels Alternative rock record labels

See also

References

External links