Zero Hour Records was an

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 ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was established in 1990 by Ray McKenzie, a former

phone clerk A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

for the

Chicago Mercantile Exchange The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (often called "the Chicago Merc", or "the Merc") is a global derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board, an a ...

. The label's first release was McKenzie's own 12" single "The Ozone Hole." In 1995, Rising Tide Entertainment, a joint venture between

Doug Morris Doug Morris (born November 23, 1938) is an American record executive. He is the current chairman of 12Tone Music Group. He previously served as chairman and CEO of the Universal Music Group from 1995 to 2011 and Sony Music Entertainment from 20 ...

and MCA Music Entertainment, announced it would be distributing and marketing Zero Hour Records's albums. In 1997, the label opened the $300,000 mastering studio Ground Zero in

SoHo, Manhattan SoHo, sometimes written Soho (South of Houston Street), is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and has also been known for its variet ...

. According to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', this studio was intended to "cater to the full range of independent labels in New York", not just Zero Hour.

Artists

Artists who released one or more albums on Zero Hour included: * 22 Brides * The Black Watch *

Boyracer Boyracer (sometimes styled Boyracer UK) is a British punk band from Leeds, England. History Boyracer was founded by vocalist/guitarist Stewart Anderson in 1990 and released their first single in 1991. Richard Adams left the group in 1993, after ...

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*Grover (featuring Angie Carlson of

Let's Active Let's Active is an American rock group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1981, and often identified with the jangle pop guitar work of the group's frontman and songwriter Mitch Easter. After disbanding in 1990, the group reformed in Augu ...

) *

John Wesley Harding ''John Wesley Harding'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on December 27, 1967, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and folk ...

* Dirt Merchants *

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, who became the first established artist the label worked with when it released his album '' Melting in the Dark'' in 1996 *

Swervedriver Swervedriver are an English alternative rock band formed in Oxford in 1989 around core members Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge. Between 1989 and 1998, the band released four studio albums and numerous EPs and singles despite a considerable f ...

Varnaline Anders Parker is an American singer-songwriter, guitar player, singer and multi-instrumentalist with a career spanning two decades. He has performed and recorded as a solo artist and as a key member in bands such as Varnaline and Space Needle. ...

* Kittywinder * The Multiple Cat

References

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1990 1990 establishments in New York City Indie rock record labels