Reset Records was a British record company founded in 1983 by

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

(

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

, Yazoo,

The Assembly The Assembly were a British synth-pop project formed in 1983 in Basildon, England, by Vince Clarke (songwriting, keyboards, backing vocals) and Eric Radcliffe (songwriting, production). Feargal Sharkey was hired as a guest vocalist for the A- ...

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

) and

Eric Radcliffe Eric Charles Radcliffe (often credited as E.C. Radcliffe - born 3 December 1950) is an English recording engineer and producer who worked with new wave and synthpop bands in the early 1980s in Basildon, England. He later became owner of Blac ...

. The four singles by

Robert Marlow Robert Marlow (born Robert Allen, 21 October 1961 – 22 September 2022) was an English synth-pop singer, songwriter and musician. Biography Robert Marlow grew up in Basildon with future Depeche Mode members Vince Clarke, Martin Gore and Andy ...

were released on this label from his friend Vince Clarke. Peter Hewson, Absolute and Hardware also released some singles on the label.

History

Beginnings

Some time after Vince Clarke left Depeche Mode, in 1982 while working with Yazoo, his friend Robert Marlow approached him. Marlow tried to convince Clarke to give him some time in the studio, which he first refused due to high costs it required, however, after the insistence of Marlow he offered him only one day to work at

Blackwing Studios Blackwing Studios was an English recording studio, most notable for early Depeche Mode and Yazoo recordings in the early 1980s. Background The Blackwing Studios complex was housed inside a deconsecrated church in south-east London. All Hallows ...

, along with Eric Radcliffe, which eventually turned into weeks. This led to work on several tracks Marlow had written on his own and during his time in Film Noire, and in those sessions

The Face of Dorian Gray "The Face of Dorian Gray" is the debut single written and recorded by English singer Robert Marlow, released as both a 7-inch and 12-inch single in 1983 by Reset Records. Produced by Vince Clarke and Eric Radcliffe, it was recorded at Blackwing St ...

was demoed.

Early years and deal with RCA

After the recording of "The Face of Dorian Gray" Clarke decided to give it a proper release, getting attention from RCA. "The Face of Dorian Gray" was released on 11 July 1983, peaking at No. 83 on 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 ...

Peter Hewson and I Just Want To Dance

Absolute

Sometime in late 1984 Absolute, a young group from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

formed by Colin "Taf" Taaffe on vocals, Paul Johnson and John Thomas on synth contacted Eric Radcliffe.

References

External links

Vince Clarke's Reset Records 1983-1987
Record labels established in 1983 {{UK-record-label-stub