Y 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 and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

set up in 1980 by Dick O'Dell in the United Kingdom, and distributed by Rough Trade.

History

Artists included

the Slits The Slits were a punk/post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma Rom ...

Shriekback Shriekback are an English rock band formed in 1981 in Kentish Town by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and the League of Gentlemen (keyboards/synthesizers/vocals), and Dave Allen, formerly of Gang of Four (bass guitar), with Carl Marsh, formerl ...

and a number of groups that were associated with the

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

indie band scene from the late 1970s:

the Pop Group The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed ...

Glaxo Babies Glaxo Babies are a Bristol-based post-punk band, formed in late 1977.Strong, Martin C: "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", 1999, Canongate, There were three distinct phases in the band's life and after initially breaking up in 1980, ...

Maximum Joy Maximum Joy are an English post-punk band from Bristol, England,Strong, Martin C.: ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', 1999, Canongate, formed in 1981 and reunited in 2015. ''Pitchfork'' compared their sound to "one of the Slits ba ...

and

Pigbag Pigbag were a British post-punk band, best known for their instrumentals, active between 1980 and 1983. Origin and formation Pigbag were formed in Cheltenham in late 1980 by Chris Hamlin, a fashion student at Cheltenham Art College. Hamlin ...

. The label's first release in 1980 ("Where There's a Will There's a Way" / "In the Beginning There Was Rhythm") was a split single by the Pop Group and the Slits, bands which shared a drummer (Bruce Smith) as well as manager (Dick O'Dell). Pigbag's single, "

Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" is an instrumental performed by British dance-punk band Pigbag and released as a single in 1981. The track was written by Chris Hamlin and James Johnstone before Pigbag was formed and produced by Dave Hunt and Dic ...

") entered the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

in May 1981, and stayed there for 70 weeks in total, peaking at No. 1. Y Records were eventually incorporated into Kaz Records, part of

Castle Communications Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...

. O'Dell later joined with William Orbit's

progressive house Progressive house is a subgenre of house music that emerged in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. It is characterized by its evolving, melodic Musical form, structures, subtle Transition (music), transitions, and layered sound design.Gerard, ...

music company, Guerilla Records, which became prominent in British progressive house music in the early 1990s, with acts such as

Leftfield Leftfield are a British electronic music group formed in London in 1989, a duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of The Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s ...

, Spooky, React to Rhythm and D.O.P.

Discography

* Y1: Pop Group/The Slits - "Where There's a Will"/"In the Beginning" 7" (co-released as Rough Trade RT039) * Y2: Pop Group - ''For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder'' LP (co-released as Rough Trade ROUGH 9) * Y3: Slits - '' Bootleg Retrospective'' LP (coverless authorized bootleg) * Y4: Slits - "Man Next Door" 7" (co-released as Rough Trade RT044) * Y5: Pop Group - ''We Are Time'' LP (co-released as Rough Trade ROUGH 12) * Y6: Glaxo Babies - "Limited Entertainment"/"You Can Sell Your Soul for a Pot of Gold, 24 Hours a Day" 7" * Y7: Slits - "Animal Space" 7" (co-released as Human Records HUM 4) * Y8: Vincent Units - "Carnival Song"/"Everything Is Going to Be All Wrong" 7"/cassette * Y9: Steve Beresford/Tristan Honsinger - ''Double Indemnity'' LP * Y10: Pigbag - "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" 7"/12" * Y11:

- "Stretch"/"Silent Street" 7"/12" * Y12: Pigbag - "Sunny Day" 7"/12" * Y13: Tristan Honsinger/Steve Beresford/Toshinori Kondo/David Toop - "Imitation of Life" LP * Y14: Tesco Bombers - " Hernando’s Hideaway" 7" * Y15: Maximum Joy - "White and Green Place" 7"/12" * Y16: Pigbag - "Getting Up" 7"/12" * Y17: Pigbag - ''Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive'' LP * Y18: Diamanda Galas - '' The Litanies of Satan'' LP * Y19: Sun Ra - ''Stange Celestial Road'' LP * Y20: Mouth - "Who's Hot" 7"/10" with double groove featuring different versions of the song * Y21: Shriekback - ''Tench'' MLP * Y22: Shriekback - "Sexthinkone" 7" * Y23: Christopher Reeves - "Dining at Dzerzhinsky's" 7"/12" * Y24: Pigbag - "The Big Bean" 7"/12" * Y25:

Pulsallama Pulsallama was an all-female band, all-woman, no wave band from New York City, New York. Described as "13 girls fighting over a cowbell," the post-punk group was primarily a percussion ensemble with two bass guitars and several vocalists. The ba ...

- "The Devil Lives in My Husband's Body"/"Ungawa Pt. II" 7"/12" double A-side single * Y26: Maximum Joy - "In the Air" 7"/12" * Y27: Shriekback - "My Spine Is the Baseline" 7"/12" * Y28: Maximum Joy - ''Station MXJY'' LP * Y29: Tymon Dogg - ''Battle of Wills'' LP * Y30: R.A.P.P featuring Archie Pool - ''R.A.P.P. Presents Wicked City featuring Archie Pool'' LP * Y31: The Promenaders - ''The Promenaders'' LP * Y32: Disconnection - "Bali Ha'i" 12" * Y33⅓: Various - ''Birth of the Y'' LP * Y LP 501: Pigbag - ''Lend an Ear'' LP * Y LP 502: Shriekback - ''Care'' LP * Y LP 504: Shriekback - ''Jam Science'' LP (not authorized by the band) * Y MP 1001: Pigbag - ''Live'' MLP * Y PB 100: Pigbag - ''Favourite Things'' compilation LP * Y RA 1: Sun Ra Arkestra - "Nuclear War"/"Sometimes I'm Happy" 12" * Y RA 2: Sun Ra Arkestra - ''Nuclear War'' LP (released in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) * Y(T)101: Pigbag - "Hit the O'Deck" 7"/12" * Y(T)102: Shriekback - "Lined Up" 7"/12" * YT103: Pulsallama - "Qui Qui (A Canadian in Paris)" 12" * Y(T)104: Shriekback - "Working on the Ground" 7"/12" * Y(T)106: Shriekback - "Lined Up"/"My Spine" 7"/12"/12" picture disc

References

External links

* Dick O'Dell at AllMusicbr>The Y Records Discography at DiscogsDick O'Dell Discography at DiscogsDick O'Dell's official Myspace
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1980 British independent record labels Indie rock record labels Post-punk record labels

History

Discography

See also

References

External links