Poptones was a

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 ...

launched by

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

after the demise of

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

in 1999. Its roster included

The Hives The Hives are a Swedish rock band that rose to prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the album '' Veni Vidi Vicious'', containing the single "Hate to Say I Told You So". ...

, January, Arnold, Cherrystones,

King Biscuit Time :''"King Biscuit Time" is also the name under which ex- Beta Band frontman Steve Mason releases his solo work.'' ''King Biscuit Time'' is the longest-running daily American radio broadcast in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from ...

, Thee Unstrung,

The Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, ...

, Beachbuggy,

Pure Reason Revolution Pure Reason Revolution (PRR) is a British rock group formed at the University of Westminster in 2003. Their music incorporates elements of progressive rock and electronic. Their music has been variously described as 'Astral Folk' and 'Progress ...

and

Nick Laird-Clowes Nick Laird-Clowes (born 5 February 1957, in London, England) is an English musician and composer, best known as the lead singer and one of the principal songwriters for the Dream Academy. He co-wrote songs including " Life in a Northern Town" ...

as Trashmonk. In May 2007, McGee wound down Poptones for financial reasons.

History

Named after a

Public Image Limited In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

song, Poptones was seen as something of a return to the staunchly independent roots of Creation, and also included a re-issue label called From The Vaults and a reggae label run by his wife (Frazier Chorus' Kate Holmes) called In Dub. Poptones' record sleeves were designed by Mike Alway of

él Records él is an English independent record label based in London that was founded by Mike Alway, later becoming a subsidiary of Cherry Red Records. Their musicians were characterized by a strong English sensibility, as well as the French influence ...

and its first releases included licensed product by The Montgolfier Brothers, Outrageous Cherry and

El Vez Robert Alan Lopez (born 1960),"El Vez", ''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'', Thomson Gale 2005–2006reproduced online at BookRags.comand accessed online 28 April 2007. better known by his stage name El Vez, is an American singer-songwrit ...

. Most notably, the label arranged a licensing deal with Sweden's Burning Heart Records and launched the career of

in the UK. Poptones' roster included acts such as the former Creation band Arnold, psychedelic DJ Cherrystones, ex-

Beta Band The Beta Band were a Scottish musical group formed in 1996. Their style was described as being "folktronica", although it was mainly a blend of folk, psychedelia, electronica, experimental rock and trip hop, often involving stylistic experime ...

member Steve Mason's

, Thee Unstrung, January, The Mardous,

, The Icarus Line's sister project Souls She Said, Sailboats are White, Viking Moses, Beachbuggy and acey-folk acts The Singleman Affair and

and Trashmonk, a project of

. Poptones reportedly was close to signing

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

after they left

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and before their demise in 2002. In 2002, Poptones gained national success and media with The Hives' '' Your New Favourite Band'' album, Main Offender 7" (which featured "Lost And Found" originally performed by The Saints as a B-Side), and Supply And Demand/The Stomp 7". ''Your New Favourite Band'' album contained the international hits "Hate To Say I Told You So", "Main Offender", "Supply And Demand", "Die, Alright", and "Outsmarted" off ''

Veni Vidi Vicious ''Veni Vidi Vicious'' is the second studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives. The album was released on 10 April 2000 through Burning Heart and Epitaph. It was later re-released on 30 April 2002 through Sire and Gearhead. The Japanese relea ...

'' (Epitaph/Sire/Reprise Records), as well the Independent success of "Here We Go Again", "A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T", "Automatic Schmuck", and "Hail Hail Spit N'Drool" off '' Barely Legal'' (Burning Heart/Epitaph/Gearhead Records). In May 2007, McGee told ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' newspaper that he was winding down Poptones for financial reasons.

References

{{Authority control British independent record labels Record labels established in 2007 Record labels established in 1999 Indie rock record labels 2007 establishments in England 1999 establishments in England

History

See also

References