The Village Thing was an

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 ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

which published

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

, blues and acoustic music between 1970 and 1973, under the tag of "The Alternative Folk Label".

History

The company, based at The Barton, Inglestone Common,

Badminton, Gloucestershire Badminton is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It consists of Great Badminton and Little Badminton. History In 1612 Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, bought from Nicholas Boteler his manors of Great and Little Ba ...

, rose from the thriving

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

contemporary folk scene based around the

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

area and centred on the

Bristol Troubadour Club The Bristol Troubadour Club was a short lived but influentialclub in the thriving contemporary folk music scene in Bristol in the late 1960s and early 1970s, It was located in Clifton village, the student quarter above the city centre. The club ...

. Specialising in local acts, it took the music to a wider audience and was highly influential in the development of British folk and blues based music in the 1970s and after. Records were pressed in relatively small numbers and a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

following has resulted in them becoming highly collectable. Typical pressings were about 2,000 copies, but their best seller, "The Folker" by

Fred Wedlock Peter Frederick Wedlock (23 May 1942 – 4 March 2010) was an English folk singer best known for his UK hit single "The Oldest Swinger in Town", which was covered by German comedian Karl Dall as "Der älteste Popper der Stadt". He performed ...

sold some 20,000. Village Thing was founded by Gef Lucena, Ian A. Anderson and John Turner. Lucena was already running a local indie label, Saydisc, which had already gained a reputation for publishing low-run pressings by local folk/comedy artists including

; Saydisc was the "parent" company and continues to trade today. Anderson had become well known for his part in the "White Blues Boom" of the late 1960s and had recorded for Fontana both solo and with Mike Cooper. turn, The

Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra The Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra (or PHLO) were an eccentric band of British musicians, who joined together in early 1968 to play a fusion of comedy, jazz, and folk music, in a unique style which has been compared with The Temperance Seven and ...

. Village Thing records were distributed by

Transatlantic Records Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. The company was established in 1961, primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom ...

. The company logo was design ed by

Rodney Matthews Rodney Matthews (born 6 July 1945) is a British illustrator and conceptual designer of fantasy and science-fiction. Career Trained at the West of England College of Art, Matthews worked in advertising for Plastic Dog Graphics before turning ...

, as were some of the album covers; Matthews later became very well known for his

fantasy art Fantastic art is a broad and loosely defined art genre. It is not restricted to a specific school of artists, geographical location or historical period. It can be characterised by subject matter – which portrays non-realistic, mystical, myt ...

and produced album covers for major artists including

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...

, Magnum and

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

Availability

Some of The Village Thing albums have been reissued as CDs on labels including Scenesof (US);

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, The Weekend Beatnik, Saydisc and Sunbeam (UK); Riverman (Korea); and Vinyl Japan.

Discography

Albums (12 inch vinyl)

*VTS 1 ''Phlop!''

*VTS 2 ''The Sun Also Rises'',

The Sun Also Rises ''The Sun Also Rises'' is a 1926 novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, his first, that portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bu ...

*VTS 3 ''Royal York Crescent'', Ian A. Anderson *VTS 4 ''The Legendary Me'',

Wizz Jones Raymond Ronald Jones (born 25 April 1939), better-known as Wizz Jones, is an English acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England and has been performing since the late 1950s and sound recording an ...

*VTS 5 ''An Acoustic Confusion'',

Steve Tilston Steve Tilston (born 26 March 1950) is an English folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. Early life Steve Tilston was born in Liverpool and brought up in Leicestershire. A graphic designer before taking up music in 1971, Tilston lived in Bristol ...

*VTS 6 ''The Words In Between'', Dave Evans *VTS 7 ''The Folker'',

*VTS 8 ''Piggery Jokery'', Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra *VTS 9 ''A Vulture Is Not A Bird You Can Trust'', Ian A. Anderson *VTS 10 ''Mudge And Clutterbuck'', Mudge And Clutterbuck (unreleased) *VTS 11 ''Magic Landscape'', Hunt and Turner *VTS 12 ''Hokum'', Tight Like That *VTS 13 ''Tucker Zimmerman'',

Tucker Zimmerman Brian Tucker Zimmerman (born February 14, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Early life At age four, Zimmerman began violin lessons, on a violin made by his grandfather. At age seven, his family moved to Healdsburg, a rural town in the Wine ...

*VTS 14 ''Elephantasia'', Dave Evans *VTSAM 15 ''Us'' (Various artist) *VTSAM 16 ''Matchbox Days'' (Various artists) *VTS 17 ''Feelin’ Fine'',

Derroll Adams Derroll Adams (November 27, 1925 – February 6, 2000) was an American folk musician. Biography He was born Derroll Lewis Thompson in Portland, Oregon, United States. At 16, he served in the Army, but was discharged when his true age of 16 was ...

*VTS 18 ''Singer Sleeps On As Blaze Rages'', Ian A. Anderson *VTS 19 ''Jonesville'', Al Jones *VTS 20 ''Frollicks'', Fred Wedlock *VTS 21 ''Chris Thompson'', Chris Thompson *VTS 22 ''Peabody Hotel'',

Dave Peabody Dave Peabody (born David Peabody, 20 April 1948, Southall, Middlesex, London, England) is an English singer-songwriter, blues and folk musician, record producer and photographer, active since the late 1960s, who has appeared on more than 60 album ...

*VTS 23 ''Junk Store Songs For Sale'', Lackey and Sweeney *VTS 24 ''When I Leave Berlin'', Wizz Jones *VTS 25 ''Murf'', Noel Murphy

Singles / Extended Play (7 inch vinyl)

*VTSX 1000 "The Great White Dap" EP - Various Artists (Wizz Jones/The Sun Also Rises/Ian A. Anderson/Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra) *VTSX 1001 "Cut Across Shorty / Shake That Thing" - Strange Fruit *VTSX 1002 "One More Chance / Policeman’s Ball" - Ian A. Anderson ''VTS7, VTS17 and VTS18 were also released on cassette and 8-track cartridge''

References

External links

Village Thing MySpace pageSaydisc RecordsBristol Folk provides a discographical history of many of the artists that recorded for Village Thing and also includes a partial history of the labelThe Saydisc & Village Thing Discography includes a complete discography for Village Thing, including pictures of all sleeves and label designs. It is rounded off with a history of Village Thing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Village Thing, The British record labels Folk record labels Blues record labels Record labels established in 1970