Zoo Records 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 ...

formed by

Bill Drummond William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with wh ...

and

David Balfe David Balfe (born 1958 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is a musician and record company executive, most notable for playing keyboards with the Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food independent record labels, signing Blur and for being the subj ...

in 1978. Zoo was launched to release the work of the perennially struggling

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

band Big in Japan (the label's first release being the ''

From Y To Z and Never Again ''From Y To Z and Never Again'' is an EP by the seminal punk band Big in Japan. It includes four of their six recorded songs and is notable for being the first release on Zoo Records, the label created by band members Bill Drummond and David Ba ...

'' EP). The label also released two singles by Lori and the Chameleons, a Balfe and Drummond band which they formed after Big in Japan folded. Zoo Records went on to release early work from

The Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. T ...

and Echo & the Bunnymen. The label also released the first single, "Iggy Pop's Jacket", by the Liverpool band Those Naughty Lumps. Only two albums were released on the label: a Scott Walker compilation put together by Julian Cope, called '' Fire Escape in the Sky'', and a label compilation called ''To the Shores of Lake Placid''. (In 1995, an American bootlegger took various Zoo singles and tracks from ''To the Shores of Lake Placid'' and released a bootleg titled ''The Zoo Uncaged 1978–1982''.) ''Fire Escape in the Sky'' had the catalogue number Zoo Two, while ''To the Shores of Lake Placid'' had Zoo Four. Zoo One was scheduled to be the Teardrop Explodes album ''Kilimanjaro'' (later released on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

) while Zoo Three was to be the same band's album ''Wilder''.

''To the Shores of Lake Placid''

''To the Shores of Lake Placid'' was released in 1982 and was compiled by Bill Drummond and Mick Houghton.

Track listing (1982)

Release notes

* Track A1 – previously unreleased. Recorded T.W. Studios October 1977. Licensed from Warner Bros. Music Ltd. Big in Japan:

Jayne Casey Jayne Casey (born 1956, in Wallasey, Cheshire) is an English artistic director who was known for being involved in the Liverpool punk and new wave scene in the 1970s and 1980s, with Big in Japan, Pink Military and Pink Industry. A Keychang ...

, Kevin Ward, Bill Drummond,

Ian Broudie Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (somet ...

Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was ...

and Phil Allan. * Track A2 – previously released as single (Zoo Cage 002) January 1979. Recorded Open Eye Studios, Liverpool. Those Naughty Lumps: Peter Hart, Bill Drummond, David Balfe, Kevin Wilkinson and Gerry Culligan. * Track A3 – the original version, taken from the never released album ''Everybody Wants to Shag The Teardrop Explodes'' (Zoo 1). Recorded Rockfield Studios March 1980. The Teardrop Explodes:

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

, Mick Finkler, David Balfe and Gary Dwyer. * Track A4 – original version featuring Echo, released as single (Zoo Cage 004) March 1979. Recorded August Studios, Liverpool March 1979. Echo and the Bunnymen: Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Leslie Pattinson and Echo. * Track A5 – B-side of Track A4, not the version on American copies of ''Crocodiles'' or Korova Special Offer Version. * Track A6 – originally released by Zoo Records through Korova Records. Recorded Rockfield Studios January 1980. Lori and the Chameleons: Lori Lartey, Bill Drummond, David Balfe, Gary Dwyer, Ray Martinez and Tim Whittaker. * Track A7 – previously unreleased. Recorded Rockfield Studios February 1981. The Turquoise Swimming Pools: David Balfe, Hugh Jones and

Troy Tate Troy Tate is an English musician and record producer who was a member of several bands including The Teardrop Explodes and Fashion as well as working as a solo artist, for which he is best known for the single "Love Is ..." Biography Born in Liv ...

. * Track B1 – from the forthcoming album ''The Fuel of the Big Machine'', licensed from 'Radio Peeking Duck'. Whopper: Milk (David Balfe), Kevin Stapleton and Buff Manila (Gary Dwyer). * Track B2 – originally released on Back Door. Recorded Rockfield Studios early 1979. Dalek (I Love You): Alan Gill, Dave Hughes and Chris Hughes. * Track B3 – previously unreleased. Recorded Rockfield Studios February 1981. * Track B4 – previously released as B-side of "Sleeping Gas" (Zoo Cage 003). Recorded Open Eye Studios, Liverpool November 1978. The Teardrop Explodes: Julian Cope, Mick Finkler, Paul Simpson and Gary Dwyer. * Track B5 – previously released on ''From Y to Z and Never Again'' (Zoo Cage 001). Licensed from Warner Bros. Music Ltd. * Track B6 – recorded for John Peel Session May 1979. With kind permission of the BBC. * Track B7 – previously unreleased. Recorded Cargo, Rochdale November 1979. The Teardrop Explodes: Julian Cope, Mick Finkler, Gerrard Quinn and Gary Dwyer.

''The Zoo Uncaged 1978–1982'' track listing (1995)

# "Suicide A Go Go" – Big in Japan # "Nothing Special" – Big in Japan # "Iggy Pop's Jacket" – Those Naughty Lumps # "Pure and Innocent" – Those Naughty Lumps # "Sleeping Gas" – The Teardrop Explodes # "Camera Camera" – The Teardrop Explodes # "The Pictures on My Wall" – Echo and the Bunnymen # "Bouncing Babies" – The Teardrop Explodes # "Touch" – Lori & The Chameleons # "Love on the Ganges" – Lori and the Chameleons # "To See You" – Expelaires # "Frequency" – Expelaires # "Treason" – The Teardrop Explodes # "Books" – The Teardrop Explodes # "Revolutionary Spirit" – The Wild Swans # "God Forbid" – The Wild Swans # "Society For Cutting Up Young Men" – Big in Japan # "Taxi" – Big in Japan # "Cindy and the Barbi Dolls" – Big in Japan

Lori and the Chameleons

Lori and the Chameleons were a short-lived new wave band that existed during 1979 and 1980. Formed in

by ex- Big in Japan's

(guitar) and

(bass, keyboards), and the singer Lori Lartey, they combined

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

, and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

styles in their songs.Bill Drummond interviewed by Richard Skinner on ''Saturday Sequence'',

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, ...

, December 1990
MP3
) Lori and the Chameleons released only two singles while together, in 1979 and 1980. The first, "Touch", was written over the course of a year by Balfe and Drummond, based on Lartey's holiday in Tokyo two years earlier."Articulated Lori", ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'', EMAP National Publications Ltd., 15–28 November 1979, p.11 Tim Whitaker of

Deaf School Deaf School is an English art rock/ new wave band, formed in Liverpool, England, in January 1974. Overview Between 1976 and 1978, the year in which they split up, Deaf School recorded three albums for the Warner Brothers label. The first alb ...

Pink Military Pink Military (originally Pink Military Stand Alone) were a post-punk band from Liverpool. Led by former Big in Japan singer Jayne Casey, other band members included former Deaf School drummer Tim Whitaker, guitarist Martin Dempsey who also pla ...

played drums on the single.Strong, Martin C. (1999) ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 375 "Touch" spent one week in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in December 1979, at No. 70. A second single, "The Lonely Spy" featured Gary Dwyer of

the Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. T ...

on drums and Ray Martinez on trumpet. Lartey went to art school, while Balfe and Drummond began to work with the Teardrop Explodes, as keyboardist and manager, respectively.

Discography

* "Touch" / "Love on the Ganges" (1979), Zoo (7-inch single) * "The Lonely Spy" / "Peru" (1980), Korova (7-inch single) * "Touch" / "The Lonely Spy" / "Love on the Ganges"^* (1981), Korova (7/12-inch single) ^*on 12-inch single only

Bibliography

*''Rip It Up And Start Again: Post-punk 1978–1984'' by Simon Reynolds.

References

{{Authority control Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom British independent record labels Record labels established in 1978 Record labels disestablished in 1982 Bill Drummond Indie rock record labels New wave record labels Post-punk record labels Scouse culture of the early 1980s