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| Blood and Fire | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Steve Barrow, Bob Harding, Mick Hucknall, Elliot Rashman, Andy Dodd |
| Distributor(s) | VP Records |
| Genre | Reggae |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | Manchester |
| Official website | www |
Blood and Fire was a British reggae record label active from 1993-2014, specialising in reissues of 1970s dub.
Steve Barrow, Bob Harding, Simply Red's Mick Hucknall, Elliot Rashman and Andy Dodd formed the record label in Manchester in 1993 with the objective of reissuing roots reggae, dub and DJ albums with the integrity of jazz reissues. [1] [2] In the process, Blood and Fire influenced the overall aesthetic of other labels issuing archival Jamaican recordings in the 1990s and beyond.
The company logo and album covers were designed by Intro. [3]
Initial releases drew on mid-1970s Bunny Lee and King Tubby [4] produced material. As Barrow said in 1999:
"The majority of the Blood & Fire Catalogue went through King Tubby's [studio]. There are exceptions but, by and large, most of those records were mixed by King Tubby or one of his pupils, and they were voiced there. We think that King Tubby is one of the most important figures this century, so indirectly the catalogue celebrates King Tubby and his contribution. We think that King Tubby is probably more important than Bob Marley..." [5]
The label subsequently reissued material produced by Yabby You and Glen Brown along with the Lee "Scratch" Perry produced Congos set Heart of the Congos and a three-CD Big Youth set, Natty Universal Dread .
Despite the reissue objective, the label released two one-riddim albums. [2] The first was Tree of Satta (2003) which used the original "Satta Massagana" riddim featuring a mixture of new and vintage voicings over the riddim along with the original version of the song by The Abyssinians. The second, Fisherman Style (2006), used The Congos' "Fisherman" riddim and featured new material from a variety of singers including Horace Andy, U Roy, Big Youth, Luciano, Tony Tuff and Dillinger. [2] [6]
The label also had a sound system which has featured original Jamaican artists such as Dilinger, Trinity, Ranking Joe, U Brown, Horace Andy, Dennis Alcapone, U Roy, Spikey Tee, Country Culture, Raggamonica along with Steve Barrow and Dom Sotgiu. In July 2006 the sound went to Japan with U Roy on a three date sell out tour.
In 2007, news leaked out via the company's popular message board that Blood and Fire had stopped trading as an active company. The loss of their American and French distributors due to bankruptcy as well as some unfortunate management decisions, combined with an industry-wide decline in sales, were to blame. [2] Although the company declined to make any official announcement, it was effectively out of business.[ citation needed ]
In 2014 it was announced that the label would be relaunched in conjunction with VP Records, with Barrow overseeing future projects. [2] [7] Only one release was produced in this incarnation, a twelve inch single of Gregory Isaac's "Mr Know It All" for Record Store Day 2014. [2]
Blood and Fire was dissolved as a Limited Company on 5th February 2019. [8]
