Riva Records was a British

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 ...

founded the UK in 1975 by Billy Gaff, manager of

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

. Rod Stewart signed to the label in the UK, but stayed with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

in the US and the rest of the world. Another well-known artist on the label was

John Cougar Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

, distributed by

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

in the US, and

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 ...

in most other countries. After Stewart and Mellencamp left the label, it stopped operating. Billy died in Dublin 25th April 2022. Stewart left in 1982 (last issue "How Long"), whereas Mellencamp stayed a little later. A variety of acts then had singles released on Riva in the UK (see below); the last known UK release was RIVA 51 (Glory with "Hearts Will Sing" / "As It Is") in 1987. Other acts to have releases on Riva included: * Lewis Sisters / Lewis * Blinding Tears *

Phil Thornalley Philip Thornalley (born 5 January 1960) is an English songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing (with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) the song " Torn" (made famous by Natalie Imbr ...

Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( , born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is also Vinny Appice's ...

* The Lookalikes, with Sean O'Connor

Discography

(No PS) indicates that the record was issued without a Picture Sleeve

References

External links

* {{Authority control British record labels Record labels established in 1975 Record labels disestablished in 1987 Pop record labels Rod Stewart

Discography

See also

References

External links