Wiiija 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 ...

founded in 1988 by staff from the

Rough Trade Shop Rough Trade is a group of independent record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London. The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Ladbroke Grove district of West London. Travis re ...

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, London. The name Wiiija is a corruption of W11 1JA, the postcode of the Rough Trade Shop in Talbot Street. The label was notable for introducing the band

Therapy? Therapy? are a Northern Irish rock band from Larne, formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band r ...

and releasing the first records by

Silverfish The silverfish (''Lepisma saccharinum'') is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura). Its common name derives from the insect's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearance ...

Huggy Bear Huggy may refer to: * Huggy (Pillow Pal) *Huggy Boy * Huggy Face *Huggy Leaver *Huggy Ragnarsson *Huggy Wuggy, an antagonist in the horror video game ''Poppy Playtime ''Poppy Playtime'' is an episodic horror video game developed and publishe ...

and

Cornershop Cornershop are a British indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh (singe ...

. Notable later releases included

Free Kitten Free Kitten is an American alternative rock band formed by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Pussy Galore's Julia Cafritz. Originally performing as Kitten, they changed their name after receiving threats of legal action by a heavy metal singer perfor ...

and Bis while the commercial success of Cornershop from 1997 rewarded the label's long-term support. Wiiija became loosely associated with the early UK

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

scene as a result of releases by Huggy Bear and

Blood Sausage A blood sausage is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used. In Europe and the A ...

, as well as the ''Some Hearts Paid To Lie'' EP which featured

Comet Gain Comet Gain are a British indie pop band, formed by singer-songwriter and guitarist David Christian (aka David Feck/Charlie Damage) in 1992, with musical influences including post-punk and northern soul. Pitchfork called them "one of the most un ...

Skinned Teen Skinned Teen was a riot grrrl band from London, England, active in the early 1990s. They have been cited as an inspiration by Beth Ditto, Kathleen Hanna, Gina Birch and Josephine Olausson of Love Is All. History Skinned Teen was formed by teen ...

Linus Linus, a male given name, is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Linos''. It's a common given name in Sweden. The origin of the name is unknown although the name appears in antiquity both as a musician who taught Apollo and as a son of Apollo who di ...

and

Pussycat Trash Red Monkey were an England, English DIY ethic#DIY Music bands, DIY post-hardcore, post-riot grrrl musical ensemble, band, active from 1996 to 2005. The band are notable for their political lyrics. History Red Monkey was formed by Rachel Holboro ...

. Labelmates Cornershop can be seen along with Huggy Bear and Blood Sausage in the 1994 tour documentary ''Getting Close To Nothing''. In 1996 it became a subsidiary of

Beggars Banquet Records Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. History In 1977, spurred by the prevailing DI ...

and remained active until the early 2000s.

Artists

Action Swingers Action Swingers were an indie rock/garage punk band formed in the late 1980s in New York City, fronted by singer/guitarist Ned Hayden, who was the only constant member. During its history the band featured members of several other bands, both as fu ...

* Anjali * Bis *

* Brassy *

* Fabric *

Jacob's Mouse Jacob's Mouse were a three-piece indie rock band from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, consisting of identical twins Hugo and Jebb Boothby on guitar and bass respectively, and singing drummer Sam Marsh. History The band members first got t ...

* Loveblobs * Mucho Macho *

* Sgt Rock *

Sun Carriage Sun Carriage was a band formed in 1988 and disbanded late Spring of 1993. Sun Carriage was founded by Ron Price and Mathew Watts in Plymouth and relocated to Camden where they were joined by fellow Plymouth exile Chris Leech. They recorded t ...

Terminal Cheesecake Terminal Cheesecake are an English alternative rock band, originally formed by Gary Boniface (formerly of The Purple Things and The Vibes), Russell Smith (formerly of A.R.Kane and MARRS), Mick Parkin and John Jobbagy (also from The Vibes and P ...

Terry Edwards Terry Edwards (born 10 August 1960) is an English musician who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, guitar and keyboards. Biography Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding me ...

* Thule * Velocette * Whistler

References

Other sources

*Cavanagh, David. ''The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize''. London: Virgin Books, 2000. . *Young, Rob. ''Rough Trade''. Black Dog Publishing. {{Authority control Record labels established in 1988 British independent record labels Beggars Group Indie rock record labels Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom

Artists

See also

References

Other sources