Cherry red records

Cherry Red was originally created in 1971 as a promotional company designed to organize concerts at Malvern Winter Gardens. It got its name in honor of the song “Cherry Red” by The Groundhogs ^[1] .

In the midst of the indie boom following the first wave of punk rock, McNay and Jones released the first single “Bad Hearts” by the local punk band The Tights under the old banner: it was released in June 1978. The first artist Cherry Red signed with was Morgan Fisher, who performed under various pseudonyms. Then, the licenses of The Hollywood Brats, Destroy All Monsters, and The Runaways began to be released here. The last few years remained the most commercially solid label acquisition, until McNay invested his $ 10,000 in the recording of the then-little-known California punk band Dead Kennedys , Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables (1979). The album and singles from it were successful in many countries of the world: the influx of money provided by the releases of this group allowed the label to reach a new level of development.

Mike Olvey, new head of the department of artists and repertoire (A&R), who was engaged in promotion of the Snoopy's concert hall in Richmond, signed to the label The Monochrome Set , Eyeless In Gaza , Felt , Five Or Six , Everything But The Girl - bands that immediately took noticeable places in the British indie hierarchy. McNey has repeatedly said that Cherry Red is a label that makes it possible for musicians to record, who for one reason or another do not fit other independent labels, often limiting their choice to rigid stylistic frames ^[1] .

Cherry Red Records has been in the spotlight of the British music community since the release of Pillows & Prayers by Olway. It was released on Christmas Eve in 1982, cost 99 pence, led the UK Indie Chart, and stayed on top for several weeks. After Olway went to Blanco Y Negro Records (a label that worked under the wing of Warner Brothers , where Jeff Travis, who later created Rough Trade , also worked), Cherry Red lost some of their lead artists, including The Monochrome Set and Everything But The Girl.

Cherry Red continued to sign new contracts, but in the late 80s gradually moved to the area of ​​the music market, which specializes in re-releases. The company has several subsidiaries, purely genre, branches, and also collaborates with a number of labels, which, using the logo and financial support of Cherry Red, operate autonomously. These include Rev-Ola Records, founded by Joe Foster (60s psychedelia and classic pop releases), Mark Stratford RPM Records (pop classics from the late 60s and early 70s), Esoteric Recordings Mark Powell ( progressive rock and folk ). Mark Brennan (in parallel - the head of Captain Oi! Records ) heads the company 7T's Records, which is engaged in re-releases of glam / glitter rock albums. It was Brennan who initially helped Cherry Red form one of his first branches, Anagram Records (punk, psychobilly, goth), which still functions today.

New albums recently released by Cherry Red include Jim Bob's solo album from Carter USM's “It's A Humpty Dumpty Thing” (2007).

• www.cherryred.co.uk . - Official site of Cherry Red Records.
• Cherry Red AZ . - A complete catalog of the label and its affiliates.