SONS Records is an independent record label based in Stoke-on-Trent, a trading name for SONS Records Ltd. The original company SONS Ltd was formed in 2004 by Seb Clarke, who was shortly after joined by: Neil Graham, Al Padmore, James Wakefield and Tangwyn Davies. The label consists largely of bands native to the

North Staffordshire The federation of Stoke-on-Trent was the 1910 amalgamation of the six Staffordshire Potteries towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Fenton and Longton into the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent. An anomaly in the history ...

area and has become a noted figure both locally and nationally, having recently received attention from Chris Hawkins,

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academ ...

, and

Huw Stephens Huw Meredydd Stephens (born 25 May 1981) is a Welsh radio and television presenter, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 6 Music. Stephens founded the Sŵn music festival with John Rostron and the yearly s ...

( 6music,

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

) as well as Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie ( BBC Radio 2) SONS has earned comparisons to

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Duru ...

for its

DIY ethic "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

and its unique 'SONS sound'. In May 2020 following a decade long hiatus, SONS announced the launch of a series of tracks from their new roster of artists (some of which have yet to be released). The first of these tracks to receive national airplay while remaining entirely exclusive to the streaming platform Sonstream, was 'College Days Over' by Jayne Taylor. Chris Hawkins commented on his show that "this sounds like a great old tune, but it's brand new... Muscle-Shoals-on-Trent, great song and arrangement. Classic Americana with a twist of English melancholia."

Associated bands

* This Is Seb Clarke * The Novellos * The Title * Tommy Turbo & The Turbervilles * La Dies * The Rough Charm * The Fortunas * Friends of Ken * Jane Taylor * Marty Vaughn * Neil Isaacs All of the bands use the labels in-house basement studio situated in

Hanley, Staffordshire Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. Hanley is the ''de facto'' city centre, having long been the ...

. Consequently The label has been noted for coining their own 'SONS Sound' due to their production practice. SONS exclusively record using analogue equipment, deliberately hearkening back to the production ethos of the 1960s; using tape machines, vintage valve amplifiers, and tube microphones for the distinctive warm, saturated character. The 'SONS Sound' has been likened to that of the Motown and

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

records of the 1960s and 1970s.

SONS Showcase

The label regularly hosts large showcase events in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent. These events feature all of the bands on the SONS roster as well as DJs such as

, Chris Hawkins, and

Jon Kennedy Jon Kennedy is a drummer and electronic musician who was born in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, England. He was discovered in 2000 when he passed a demo CD to Ninja Tune artist Mr Scruff. Scruff played tracks from the CD soon after on his "U ...

. These showcase nights have become a regular marker in the Stoke Music calendar and a centrepiece for the burgeoning scene. The showcases have earned an infamous insignia both in the local and national radar thanks to the late night antics of the audience, band members, special guests and the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' coverage of the events. The first SONS Showcase took place at the King's Hall and featured DJ slots from

Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (born 17 January 1964) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He is known for his melodic approach to bass playing. Career Rourke's father was Irish while his mother was English. He received an a ...

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, Russ Winstanley the Northern Soul Legend. Since then there have been a further three showcase nights which have taken place at the Victoria Hall in Hanley. These have been hosted by, amongst others:

Carl Barât Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (; born 6 June 1978) is a British musician and actor, best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and ...

Alexa Chung Alexa Chung (born 5 November 1983) is a British television presenter, model, internet personality, writer, and fashion designer. She wrote the book ''It'' (2013). Her fashion label Alexa Chung, stylized , launched in May 2017 and closed in 2022 ...

Colin Murray Colin Murray (born Luke Wright on 10 March 1977) is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter. In 2010, he became host of BBC Television's '' Match of the Day 2'' on BBC Two, while still anchoring shows on BBC Radio 5 Live, including '' 5 ...

and Phill Jupitus. The showcase was the label's most successful to date.

Chart success

SONS' first chart success came with the simultaneous release of three singles in January of 2007 by This Is Seb Clarke, Friends of Ken and The Title. These singles charted respectively at 7, 9 and 15 in the

UK Independent Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

and received national airplay across 6Music and

. In March 2008, the label once again released four singles simultaneously, all of which entered into the top 5 of the

in their first week of release: This Is Seb Clarke, the label's longest serving signees marked the label's highest chart position to date, knocking

The Futureheads The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David "Jaff" Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and brothers Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums ...

off the number 1 spot. However, due to the label's financial constraints, only 1000 copies of each single were pressed, leading to all singles dropping out of the top 40 a week later due to lack of physical stock.

Full release details

*SONSTISC000001 This Is Seb Clarke - Rover *SONSTISC0002 This Is Seb Clarke - Spring Morning Sunshine] *SONSTITL0003 The Title - Slippin' and Slidin' *SONSTISC0004 This Is Seb Clarke - I Just Can't Carry On *SONSFROK0005 Friends of Ken - Backwards *SONSTITL0006 The Title - Madman *SONSNOVS0001 The Novellos - The Lady is Not for Turning *SONSRAPH0001 Raphaels - Charming Man *SONSTISC0005 This Is Seb Clarke - Rock n' Roll Alamo Part 7 *SONSNOVS0002 The Novellos - Not So Sure *SONSTISC0011 This Is Seb Clarke - Saturday Night, Sunday Morning *SONSTTTT0012 Tommy Turbo & The Turbervilles - (Her Name Is) Sophie

References

{{Authority control British record labels Companies based in Stoke-on-Trent Indie rock record labels Record labels established in 2004 2004 establishments in England

Associated bands

SONS Showcase

Chart success

Full release details

See also

References