Tugboat Records was a small

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 ...

based in

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, which was affiliated with

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

. It was founded in May 1998 by

Geoff Travis Geoff Travis (born 2 February 1952) is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978. Biography Travis wa ...

, who had previously founded Rough Trade Records itself. The first release on Tugboat Records was "Joan of Arc", a 7" single by

Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

. The label's manager was Glen Johnson of

Piano Magic Piano Magic was a musical collective formed in the summer of 1996 by Glen Johnson, Dominic Chennell, and Dick Rance in London, England. Their sound has been described as ambient pop, post-rock, indietronica, dark wave, "arty baroque pop" and "En ...

. Among the most influential albums originally released by Tugboat was ''

Any Other City ''Any Other City'' is the first and only studio album by Scottish indie rock band Life Without Buildings, released on 26 February 2001 in the United Kingdom and in 2002 in the United States. Reception Critical response Matthew Willson of '' ...

'' (2001), the only studio album by Scottish

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Life Without Buildings Life Without Buildings were a Glasgow, Scotland-based indie rock band. Career Named after a track by English new wave band Japan, Life Without Buildings formed during the summer of 1999. The band consisted mostly of ex-students of the Glasgo ...

Notable artists

Notable artists who released one or more recordings on Tugboat Records include: *Life Without Buildings *Low * Sodastream *

Spring Heel Jack Spring Heel Jack is an English electronic music duo, consisting of John Coxon and Ashley Wales. Formed in 1993 in London, England, Spring Heel Jack began their career exploring drum and bass and jungle, but have since branched out into free ...

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio More ...

Vic Godard Vic Godard (born Victor John Napper) is an English singer-songwriter formerly of the punk group Subway Sect. He is now also a solo performer, while continuing to appear with various incarnations of Subway Sect. Biography Born Victor John Napper ...

References

Record labels established in 1998 Rough Trade Records Record labels based in London British independent record labels Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom Record labels disestablished in 2003 1998 establishments in England 2003 disestablishments in England Indie rock record labels {{UK-record-label-stub