Red Rhino Records, also known as Red Rhino, was a British
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 ...
which was developed by the independent record shop and wholesaler of the same name, all formed and run by "Tony K" (Tony Kostrzewa) and his wife Gerri. It was part of
the Cartel, a co-operative record distribution organisation in the United Kingdom, set up by a number of small independent record labels to handle their distribution to record shops.
History
Set up at the end of the 1970s, it maintained its base in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
(with a shop, originally in
Gillygate
Gillygate is a street in York, in England, immediately north of the city centre.
History
The area occupied by the street lay outside the walls of Roman Eboracum, but evidence of occupation in this period has been found, and it is possible that ...
and later in
Goodramgate
Goodramgate is a street in the city centre of York, in England.
History
The area now covered by Goodramgate lay within the walls of Roman Eboracum. The street runs diagonally across the line of former Roman buildings, from the Porta Decumana ( ...
) and through the early 1980s, with the growth of independently produced music, expanded its business to a point where the wholesale side became the separate entity, Red Rhino Distribution Limited. It also developed, in parallel with the main record label, a small
music publishing
A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...
company called Screaming Red Music and the subsidiary labels Ediesta and Red Rhino Europe (RRE), the latter notable for releases by
Front 242
Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they are a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.
History Formation
Fr ...
and
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...
. The label was closed down with the financial collapse of Red Rhino Distribution in 1988, while its subsidiary label Red Rhino Europe continued under the name RRE Records (or simply RRE) as a subsidiary of
Play It Again Sam. The most notable artists featured in the main label's catalogue were
The Mekons
The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands.
The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...
,
Skeletal Family
Skeletal Family are an English rock band formed in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in December 1982.Kelly, Danny (1985) "Waiter, There's a Bone in my Curry!", ''NME'', 2 February 1985, p. 8 The band was formed from the remaining members of an earlie ...
,
:zoviet*France: and the first record releases by
Pulp
Pulp may refer to:
* Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit
Engineering
* Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture
* Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper
* Molded pulp, a packaging material
...
.
Notable releases
Discography
[based substantially on the published catalogue, summer 1985]
References
External links
Discogs.com a community-built database of music information
Red Army Choir
{{Authority control
Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom