Andrew Lauder | |
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Born | 1947-05-22 Hartlepool, County Durham, England |
Genres | Pop, hard rock krautrock |
Occupation(s) | A&R executive Record executive Record producer |
Years active | 1967–to date |
Labels | Liberty Records, United Artists Records, Radar Records, F-Beat Records, Demon Music Group |
Andrew Lauder (born 1947, Hartlepool, County Durham, England) is a record company executive and former A&R manager. Initially noted for his adventurous signings of bands as diverse as Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Can, Hawkwind and Brinsley Schwarz to Liberty Records and United Artists Records in the 1960s and 70s, he went on to form numerous independent labels including Radar Records, F-Beat Records and Demon Music Group.
Lauder was born in Hartlepool, County Durham, England on May 22, 1947 [1] , the son of a timber yard owner, he attended Wellingborough School, Northamptonshire. He moved to London around 1965 to look for a job. [2] He joined Southern Music, as an accounts clerk.
In 1967 a friend introduced Lauder to Bob Reisdorf, who was launching Liberty Records in the UK. [2] Lauder was initially "label manager" and oversaw the reissuing of back catalogues including Eddie Cochran and Fats Domino, before making himself Liberty's Artists and Repertoire (A&R) manager and quickly signing The Idle Race, Family and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Also, in 1968 Tony McPhee & The Groundhogs for £50. On the Liberty sampler Gutbucket (1969) Lauder placed The Bonzo's spoof 'Can Blue Men Sing The Whites' directly after Tony McPhee's 'No More Doggin'. In 1971 The Groundhog's 'Split' LP was the best selling record on the Liberty / UA label. Liberty primarily signed hippy or underground "album bands", [3] and also licensed a number of US acts such as Captain Beefheart. Lauder largely ignored the pop market, although the label had a few UK hit singles such as Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary".[ citation needed ]
In 1968, Liberty was bought by Transamerica Corporation and then absorbed by their existing label United Artists Records, Lauder becoming head of A&R for United Artists in the UK. In 1969 United Artists rebuffed Chrysalis Records’ attempt to poach Lauder, and gave him greater control. [2] During Lauder's tenure at Liberty Records (based in Mortimer Street, London) he organised the Liberty Records Football team made up of various young industry luminaries and occasional guests who played regular friendly matches at Colliers Wood, South London. Among the players were Leapy Lee, Dave Margerrison, Dick Leahy and Daily Mirror editor Richard Stott.[ citation needed ]
Lauder's personal music preferences were West Coast hippy bands such as Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Grateful Dead, [2] which was reflected in his signing bands like Man and Help Yourself; but Lauder became known for releasing an extremely diverse range of bands; from Krautrock:- Can, Amon Düül II and Neu! via Underground music:- Hawkwind and Motörhead to Pub rock:- Brinsley Schwarz, Dr Feelgood and The Inmates [4] and then Punk rock, signing The Stranglers and Buzzcocks shortly before leaving United Artists.[ citation needed ]
Lauder commissioned a number of notable artists, including Barney Bubbles, Rick Griffin and Hapshash and the Coloured Coat and used a wide variety of promotional techniques: coloured vinyl, elaborate album covers, limited edition budget albums and charity concerts.[ citation needed ]
Lauder brought the Flamin' Groovies to Britain even though they had been turned down by United Artists in the US. [5] He would also stick with artists who left bands in his roster, e.g. signing Motorhead, Michael Moorcock and Robert Calvert from Hawkwind, and Deke Leonard, Clive John and The Neutrons when they left Man. [6] His personal interests were reflected in events such as the "United Artists 'Save Hartlepool Football Club' weekend" [7]
In 1977, Lauder was offered major role at Arista Records, but instead, he co-founded Radar Records with Martin Davis. Radar took on several Stiff Records acts, including Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Yachts. [8] Lauder and Jake Riviera opened F-Beat Records in 1979, and several acts, notably Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Nick Lowe, transferred from Radar Records. [9] Lauder and Riviera also started Demon Music Group in 1980, to concentrate on the singles market, early signings including Department S and Bananarama. [10]
Lauder was briefly with Island Records, signing U2 in March 1980 and offering Buzzcocks frontman Pete Shelley a solo record deal. In 1988, he formed the UK based Silvertone Records under the Zomba Group of Companies. Initially focusing on indie bands such as The Stone Roses, [11] he expanded their roster to include Peter "Sonic Boom" Kember [12] John Lee Hooker, J.J. Cale and The Men They Couldn't Hang.[ citation needed ]
In 1993 Lauder started "This Way Up" label whose signings included Ian McNabb, [13] The Warm Jets, Tindersticks, Redd Kross and Pal Shazar. By 2002 he was living in Knowstone, Devon, where he ran Acadia and Evangeline (not to be confused with the US Evangeline Records label) releasing albums by Ronnie Lane, Spirit, Gov't Mule, Loudon Wainwright III and The Steepwater Band and employed local schoolgirl Joss Stone on work experience. [2] These labels later became part of Floating World Records. [14]
Happy Trails: Andrew Lauder's Charmed Life and High Times in the Record Business (ISBN 147462359X), a memoir co-written by Lauder and Mick Houghton, was released in 2023.
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Bolton in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. They achieved commercial success with singles that fuse pop craftsmanship with rapid-fire punk energy; these singles were later collected on Singles Going Steady, an acclaimed compilation album music journalist and critic Ned Raggett described as a "punk masterpiece".
Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic (Supersnazz) and Kama Sutra, Loney left the band in 1971. He was replaced as co-leader by Chris Wilson, and the band's emphasis shifted more toward British Invasion power pop.
Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.
Hawkwind is the debut album by Hawkwind, released in 1970, originally on Liberty Records, later reissued on Sunset Records. This album is historic since it is one of the first space rock LPs.
Charisma Records was a British record label founded in 1969 by former journalist Tony Stratton Smith. He had previously acted as manager for rock bands such as The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator. Gail Colson was label manager and joint managing director.
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
The Icicle Works are an English alternative rock band, named after the 1960 short story "The Day the Icicle Works Closed" by science fiction author Frederik Pohl. They had a top 20 UK hit with "Love Is a Wonderful Colour" (1983). In the US and Canada, they had one top 40 hit, the 1984 single "Birds Fly ".
Radar Records was a UK-based record label formed in late 1977 by Martin Davis who had previously worked at United Artists Records, and Andrew Lauder, who had previously been head of A&R at the UK divisions of Liberty Records and United Artists. The label's first records were released in early 1978.
On Parole is a studio recording released by British rock band Motörhead. It was intended as their first album and left unreleased at the time of its completion in 1976, and it was not released until over three years later, in October 1979, after the commercial success of Overkill and Bomber that same year. It was released without the band's permission, and they consequently distanced themselves from it. As a result, it was not considered an official release by the band at the time and they did not want it released, as they had moved on, since then, first to Chiswick Records and then to Bronze Records. The LP entered the UK charts on 8 December, where it peaked at No. 65.
Warrior on the Edge of Time is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind. Many of the lyrics are by Michael Moorcock, and the album is loosely based on the concept of Moorcock's novel The Eternal Champion. It was the band's highest-charting studio album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 13, and was their third and last album to make the U.S. Billboard chart, where it peaked at number 150. Reviews have been mixed, with Melody Maker panning the album and particularly criticizing the vocal work while the All Music Guide has praised the album for features such as the songwriting. This would also be the last album to feature the band's bassist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, who was fired from the band one day before the album's release.
Robert Ian McNabb is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Previously the frontman of the Icicle Works, McNabb has since embarked on a solo career and performed with Ringo Starr, Neil Young/Crazy Horse, Mike Scott, and Danny Thompson of folk band Pentangle.
Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward.
Silvertone Records is a British record label, owned by Sony Music UK. Originally an independent record label, owned by Clive Calder's Jive Records, which was acquired in time by Bertelsmann Music Group, the original BMG company which would go on to merge with Sony Music, bring the Jive catalogue to Sony as the Zomba Music Group. In 2017, Sony Music UK relaunched the brand as a label for left-field acts, with indie, alt-folk, blues and jazz acts represented in its signings.
The discography of the British space rock group Hawkwind spans from their formation in 1969 through to the present day, with consistent output of live and studio albums, EPs and singles. The group have used aliases to release some albums in an attempt to either redefine themselves, as with the 1978 album 25 Years On released under the name Hawklords, or simply to distinguish the piece of work from their usual output, as with White Zone released under the name Psychedelic Warriors.
Greasy Truckers Party is a 1972 live album by various artists recorded at a February 1972 Greasy Truckers concert at the Roundhouse in London. The concert featured three bands, Man, Brinsley Schwarz, and Hawkwind, and musician Magic Michael. Originally a double vinyl album, in a limited edition of 20,000 and sold at just £1.50, it rapidly sold out, and became a collector's item.
In the world of British underground rock, the Greasy Truckers Party ... ... looms about as large as the Monterey International Pop Festival does in American rock lore; it wasn't the biggest gig ever played by the bands involved, but for reasons of exposure, and resulting word-of-mouth, and the excerpted live album that followed, it came to define what they were capable of.
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde art, the Bonzos came to public attention through appearances in the Beatles' 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour and the 1968 ITV comedy show Do Not Adjust Your Set.
All Good Clean Fun was originally a promotional sampler issued by United Artists Records in 1971. This original release was a double album containing 23 tracks by 20 different artists, with three artists having two tracks each. Most of the artists had been signed by Andrew Lauder at Liberty Records, which was rebranded as United Artists in 1971, the year this sampler was issued. Both labels had been part of Transamerica Corporation since 1968.
Help Yourself, known to their fans as "The Helps", were an English rock band of the early 1970s. Originally formed as a backing band for Malcolm Morley, they evolved into a pub rock band with psychedelic-influences. Releasing four studio albums before their break-up, and one 31 years later, they are possibly best known for the number of notable musicians that passed through their ranks.
Ken Whaley was a rock music bass guitar player, best known as a founding member of Help Yourself and Ducks Deluxe, and as a member of Deke Leonard's Iceberg, Man and The Tyla Gang. He also played with The Archers and The Green Ray.
A Bucket of Brains is a studio EP/CD by the Flamin' Groovies, primarily consisting of seven songs recorded by the group while living in England and recording for the British branch of United Artists Records ("UA") in 1972. The songs were intended to form the basis of the Groovies' fourth studio album, to be entitled A Bucket of Brains. Six of the songs were produced by Dave Edmunds, while the seventh was produced by Groovies' leader Cyril Jordan. The eighth song on the album is the original "correct speed" studio version of the Groovies' most famous song, "Shake Some Action".
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