Barn Records | |
---|---|
Founded | 1976 |
Status | Defunct |
Distributor(s) | Phonogram (1976-78) Pinnacle (1979-80) |
Country of origin | UK |
Barn Records was a record label established by the English musician, record producer and manager Chas Chandler. It was active from 1976 to 1980, and included the production company Barn Productions and publishing company Barn Publishing Ltd. The label was based at Portland Studios in London, which was formerly known as IBC Studios until Chandler purchased them in 1978. [1]
The label's most notable artist was Slade, while others included The Animals, Medicine Head, The Depressions, Stavely Makepeace, Nick Van Eede and Splinter. [2]
Chandler formed Barn in early 1976. [3] At the time, he had been the manager of the successful British rock band Slade since 1969 and convinced them to sign with his new label. Chandler originally negotiated a licensing deal with Polydor, who agreed to finance the label based on the strength of the Slade name. [4] The label's debut single release was "Love on My Mind" by Brian Parrish, released in July 1976. [5]
Barn released only two singles which made an entry into the UK charts. The first was Slade's "Gypsy Roadhog", which reached No. 48 in the UK. [6] The second was Slade's "My Baby Left Me", released later in 1977, which gave Barn its highest charting single at No. 32. [7] Despite this, the band's other Barn releases into 1979 failed to chart. Singles such as "Burning in the Heat of Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Bolero", "Ginny, Ginny" and "Sign of the Times" all failed to sell and most copies were melted down. [8]
In 1976, The Animals reunited and recorded a new album, [9] which was released the following year on Barn as Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted . The band were billed as "The Original Animals". [10] [11] Other album releases on Barn included Brian Parrish's Love on My Mind (1976), Medicine Head's Two Man Band (1976) and Slade's Whatever Happened to Slade (1977) and Return to Base (1979). Barn's final release was the Ada Wilson single "In the Quiet of My Room", released in January 1980. [12] Following this, Chandler established the short-lived Six of the Best label, and was also involved in the independent Cheapskate Records during 1980-82. [13] [14] [15]
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The British Hit Singles & Albums names them the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles. They were the first act to have three singles enter the charts at number one; all six of the band's chart-toppers were penned by Noddy Holder and Jim Lea. As of 2006, total UK sales stood at over 6,500,000. Their best-selling single, "Merry Xmas Everybody", sold in excess of one million copies. According to the 1999 BBC documentary It's Slade, the band have sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
"Mama Weer All Crazee Now" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1972 as the lead single from their third studio album Slayed? It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 1 in the UK, giving the band their third number one single, and remained in the charts for ten weeks. In the United States, the song reached No. 76.
"Coz I Luv You" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1971 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their first number one single, and remained in the top 50 for fifteen weeks.
"We'll Bring the House Down" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1981 as the lead single from their ninth studio album We'll Bring the House Down. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Slade. The band's first single to reach the UK Top 40 since 1977, the song peaked at No. 10 in the UK, remaining in the chart for nine weeks.
"My Friend Stan" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1973 as the first single from the band's fourth studio album Old New Borrowed and Blue. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 2 in the UK, spending eight weeks on the chart. The single was certified UK Silver by BPI in October 1973.
"Universe" is a song by English rock band Slade, released in December 1991 as the second single from their compilation album Wall of Hits (1991). It was written and produced by bassist Jim Lea. "Universe" reached number 76 in the UK Singles Chart and was the band's last single before disbanding in 1992.
"How Does It Feel" is song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1975 as the second single from the band's first soundtrack album and fifth studio album Slade in Flame, in promotion of the film of the same name. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 15 in the UK, remaining in the charts for seven weeks.
"The Bangin' Man" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1974 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 3 in the UK, remaining in the charts for seven weeks. The song was certified UK Silver by BPI for sales over 250,000 that same year.
"Gypsy Roadhog" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1977 as the only single from the band's seventh studio album Whatever Happened to Slade. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 48 in the UK.
"Wheels Ain't Coming Down" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1979 as the opening track from their eighth studio album Return to Base. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Slade. In 1981, the song re-appeared on the band's follow-up album We'll Bring the House Down and was released as the second single from it in March, which reached No. 60 in the UK.
"Rock and Roll Preacher (Hallelujah I'm on Fire)" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1982 as the fourth and final single from their tenth studio album Till Deaf Do Us Part. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Slade. The song was released as a single in Germany only, where it peaked at No. 49.
Six of the Best is an extended play (EP) by the British rock band Slade, released in 1980. Six of the Best includes six tracks; three new tracks and three taken from the band's 1979 studio album Return to Base. All songs were written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, except "I'm a Rocker" which was written by Chuck Berry. The EP was produced by Slade and failed to enter the UK charts.
"We Won't Give In" is a song by English rock band Slade which originally appeared on the soundtrack of the 1986 British drama film Knights & Emeralds. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and was produced by Lea. In 1987, it was released as the fourth and final single from the band's fourteenth studio album, You Boyz Make Big Noize, and reached number 121 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Rock 'n' Roll Bolero" is a song by English rock band Slade, released in 1978 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and was produced by Slade. The song failed to make an appearance in the UK Singles Chart.
"Wild Winds Are Blowing" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1969 as a non-album single under the name "The Slade". The song was written by Bob Saker and Jack Winsley, and produced by Chas Chandler. It failed to make an appearance in the UK charts.
"Know Who You Are" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1970 as a second and final single from their second studio album Play It Loud. The song was written by Jim Lea, Noddy Holder, Don Powell and Dave Hill, and produced by Chas Chandler. It failed to make an appearance in the UK chart.
"Sign of the Times" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1979 as the second single from the band's eighth studio album Return to Base. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Slade.
The Dummies was a musical project formed by Slade bassist Jim Lea and his brother Frank Lea in 1979. Between 1979 and 1981, they released three singles and recorded a number of original and Slade songs, which were collected on the 1992 album A Day in the Life of the Dummies.
A Day in the Life of the Dummies is a compilation album by The Dummies, which was a musical project of Jim Lea of Slade and his brother Frank. The album was released in March 1992 and gathers all of the 1979-80 recordings produced by the pair.
Cheapskate Records was a record label established by Slade bassist Jim Lea and his brother Frank Lea in 1979. It was active until 1982, however was later briefly revived for the release of three Slade singles in 1987–88. Aside from Slade, some of the artists on the label were The Dummies, The Ska-Dows, Sue Wilkinson, Roy Wood, Tich Turner's Escalator, Malcolm Roberts, Top Secret and The Glitter Band.