Ruthless Records was the name of a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

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 pr ...

. Founded in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

by the Effigies, it was not a real business, but a name used by Chicago and Minneapolis punk bands from 1981 to 1990:

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of N ...

, the Effigies, End Result, Naked Raygun,

Rifle Sport Rifle Sport was an American post punk band active in the 1980s and 1990s, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band took its name from an arcade in downtown Minneapolis which was open in the 1940s to 1960s. An unrelated art gallery, Rifle Sport Galle ...

and

Urge Overkill Urge Overkill is an American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, United States, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass guitar). They are widely ...

The Effigies The Effigies were an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. The band played its first show in 1980 and was active initially for approximately a decade, undergoing multiple personnel changes with frontman John Kezdy the only cons ...

operated the label from its creation in 1981 until 1984, when they found the label to be distracting from their priorities with the band. They handed the label over to Big Black founder

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...

, who ran the label until it dissolved in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

. Ruthless Records was an independent label run as a cooperative by Jon Babbin (later founder of

Criminal IQ Records Criminal IQ Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, founded by Jon Babbin (co-founder of Ruthless Records (Chicago)) and Darius Hurley to facilitate releases from Chicago's no-wave/punk scene that began in around 2003. ...

, Naked Raygun and

fame. After the release of The Effigies' ''Haunted Town'' EP, frontman John Kezdy was dissatisfied with the way

Autumn Records Autumn Records was a 1960s San Francisco-based pop record label. Among the notable acts on its roster was The Beau Brummels, a band who released a pair of top 20 singles, "Laugh, Laugh" and " Just a Little". Also on the Autumn Records roster w ...

handled their expenses and decided to start the label with Babbin. Naked Raygun and Big Black came on board shortly after and all three acts worked together to get their initial records released. It wasn't really a company or anything of that sort, just a way for these bands to get their records out. The bands themselves were pretty much responsible for the creation and costs of their own records; Ruthless was just a central name/address to give the appearance of a record company to join like-minded bands. The latter half of Ruthless' existence (from about 1985 on) was run almost exclusively by Steve Albini and most of the releases were by bands outside Chicago. The label ended around 1990.

Roster

*Appliances SFB *

*Black Spot *

Brick Layer Cake A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

*Circle Seven *Dark Arts *Dig Dat Hole *

*End Result * Naked Raygun *Primos *Rifle Sport *

Label discography

* Effigies – "Bodybag"/"Security" 7", 1982 * Big Black – ''

Lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either si ...

'' EP, (RRBB02, December 1982) * Effigies – ''We're Da Machine'' EP, (E1003, 1983) * Circle Seven – ''Suburban Hope'' 12" (1000, 1983) * Naked Raygun – '' Basement Screams'' 12", (03, 1983) * Naked Raygun – ''Flammable Solid'' 7", (311057, 1983) * Big Black – ''

Bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...

'' EP, (RRBB07, December 1983) * Big Black – Live Cassette, (Recorded at 950, November 1983) * Effigies – ''For Ever Grounded'' LP, (1984) * Effigies – ''Haunted Town'' 12", (1984 Re-release) * Effigies – ''Fly on a Wire'' LP, (1985) * End Result – ''Ward'' EP, (1985) * Rifle Sport – "Plan 39"/"Dub" (RRRS-013, 1985) * Rifle Sport – "

Complex EP Rifle Sport was an American post punk band active in the 1980s and 1990s, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band took its name from an arcade in downtown Minneapolis which was open in the 1940s to 1960s. An unrelated art gallery, Rifle Sport Galle ...

" (RRRS-014, 1985) *

– ''Strange, I'' 12" (1986) * Dark Arts – ''Long Way From Brigadoon'' 12" (1986) * Appliances sfb – "Them"/"Green Door" (1987) * Rifle Sport – ''

White (Made in France) Rifle Sport was an American post punk band active in the 1980s and 1990s, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band took its name from an arcade in downtown Minneapolis which was open in the 1940s to 1960s. An unrelated art gallery, Rifle Sport Galle ...

'' LP (1987) * Black Spot – ''Burn'' LP (1989) * Rifle Sport – ''

Live at the Entry, Dead at the Exit Rifle Sport was an American post punk band active in the 1980s and 1990s, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band took its name from an arcade in downtown Minneapolis which was open in the 1940s to 1960s. An unrelated art gallery, Rifle Sport Galle ...

'' LP/CD (1989) *

– ''Eye For An Eye, Tooth For A Tooth'' 12" (1990) * Rifle Sport – '' Primo'' (Big Money-Ruthless BMI-011, 1991) * Rifle Sport – "Little Drummer Boy"/"Shanghaied" (Big Money-Ruthless BMI-012, 1991)

References

External links

Official Effigies site

Ruthless Records
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

American record labels Record labels established in 1981 Record labels disestablished in 1990 Punk record labels Companies based in Chicago {{US-record-label-stub

Roster

Label discography

See also

References

External links