One Little Independent Records

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One Little Independent Records
One Little Independent Records logo.png
Parent company Spiderleg Records
Founded1985 (1985)
FounderDerek Birkett
Genre Punk rock
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Location London
Official website olirecords.com

One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was founded in 1985 by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett, his wife Sue Birkett and former Flux guitarist Tim Kelly. [1] In the 1990s it set up a number of subsidiary labels.

Contents

History

1980s

One Little Indian Records was founded in 1985 and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett, with the name inspired by the "philosophies of the Indigenous People of the Americas". [2]

Many of the early releases on the label stemmed from the founders' anarcho-punk connections. These included reissues of two albums by Flux of Pink Indians, and new releases by several acts previously associated with Crass Records: D & V [3] , The Babymen (featuring members of The Cravats) [4] , Annie Anxiety Bandez and the Sugarcubes (who included Bjork and other former members of anarcho-punk band K.U.K.L.) [1] The first album release on the label was Uncarved Block by Flux. [5]

Other early signings included A.R. Kane. [6] , Kitchens of Distinction and The Shamen. [1]

1990s

Success continued with Alabama 3, [7] Björk, [8] Chumbawamba, [7] Skunk Anansie, [7] Sneaker Pimps. [8]

Beginning in 1990, the label created several autonomous satellite imprints including Clean-up Records, Partisan Records and Fat Cat Records,[ citation needed ] all of which had success. Artists on the labels included Alabama 3 (A3), Sigur Rós, and Sneaker Pimps. Elemental Records was added to the roster in 1995.[ citation needed ]

The song titles of The Shamen's 1996 album Hempton Manor form an acrostic, spelling out "Fuck Birket" in an acrimonious reference to label co-founder Derek Birkett, who wanted the group to move back into more commercial territory. [9]

In 1997 and 2001, the company also acquired some of the old Rough Trade Records and Nude Records labels, and the rights to several albums previously released by spinART Records.[ citation needed ]

2000s

In 2009, Paul McCartney, along with Youth, released an album called Electric Arguments under the name of The Fireman through One Little Indian. [7]

In June 2020, in response to worldwide protests following the murder of George Floyd, it was announced that the company's name would be changed from One Little Indian Records to One Little Independent Records with immediate effect, [10] and that the company would donate money towards organisations which promote and assist Native American communities in North America. [11] In a written statement, Birkett said:

The last few weeks have been a monumental learning curve ... Following the receipt of an eye-opening letter from a Crass fan that detailed precisely why the logo and label name are offensive, as well as the violent history of the terminology, I felt equally appalled and grateful to them for making me understand what must be changed. [2]

Controversies

In 1986, the label's reissue of the Flux of Pink Indians album The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks was banned by several major retailers including HMV and Our Price due to its sexually explicit title and cover art. [12] [13] [14] [15] Copies of the album were seized by police from Manchester's Eastern Bloc record shop, which was charged with displaying "Obscene Articles For Publication For Gain". [16] The label and its publishing company, Second Wind, were also charged under the Obscene Publications Act. [17] All cases were eventually dropped. [18]

In 1992, The Shamen's single Ebeneezer Goode provided the label with its first number 1 hit on the UK Charts. [19] The Sun and The Daily Telegraph alleged that the song encouraged drug use, [20] and the Broadcasting Standards Council ruled that it should not have been broadcast by the programme Top of the Pops . [21]

Notable artists

Reception

Amazing Radio has characterised the label as "consistently brilliant" and as having "a rich musical history". [7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Maverick label reaches 21st birthday". Music Week (4): 2–8. 28 January 2006.
  2. 1 2 "Lady Antebellum: US band change name to Lady A over slave-era links". BBC News . 11 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Pinfold, Will. "Various Artists: Cease & Resist: Sonic Subversion & Anarcho Punk in the UK 1979-1986". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  4. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (1999). The Great Alternative & Indie Discography . Canongate. ISBN   0-86241-913-1.
  5. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 151. ISBN   0-85112-657-X.
  6. ↑ "A.R. Kane Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Interview: One Little Indian". Amazing Radio . 9 September 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Simpson, Dave (8 January 2015). "Björk, KUKL and Purrkur Pillnikk – the anarcho-punk roots of Iceland's music scene". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "7 secret codes and ciphers hidden in music - BBC Music". www.bbc.co.uk. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  10. ↑ "Record label One Little Indian scraps name". BBC News. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  11. ↑ Hatfield, Amanda (10 June 2020). "One Little Indian changes "offensive" name to One Little Independent Records". Brooklyn Vegan . Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  12. ↑ Cloonan, Martin (1996). Banned! Censorship of popular music in Britain, 1967-92. Arena: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. pp. 81–82. ISBN   1857423003.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  13. ↑ Ankeny, Jason "Flux of Pink Indians Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved 14 June 2013
  14. ↑ Ogg, Alex "Flux of Pink Indians" in Buckley, Peter (ed.) (1999) The Rough Guide to Rock, Rough Guides, ISBN   978-1858284576, pp. 382-3
  15. ↑ Glasper, Ian (2006) The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980 to 1984, Cherry Red Books, ISBN   978-1901447705, pp. 43-44
  16. ↑ Redhead, Steve (1990) End of the Century Party: Youth and Pop Towards 2000, Manchester University Press, ISBN   978-0719028274, p. 18
  17. ↑ "Flux: Uncarved Block" (PDF). Maximum Rocknroll . No. 64. September 1988. p. 38. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007.
  18. ↑ "Censorship Matters". The Catalogue (57): 8. March 1988.
  19. ↑ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 5 September 1992. p. 22. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  20. ↑ Dellar, Fred. "MOJO Time Machine: The Shamen Top The Charts". MOJO. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  21. ↑ Cloonan, Martin (1 September 1995). "Popular music and censorship in Britain: An overview". Popular Music and Society. 19 (3): 75–104. doi:10.1080/03007769508591600.
  22. ↑ Oliver, Will (23 October 2022). "Arny Margret - "whatever it means"". We All Want Someone To Shout For. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  23. 1 2 Hobbs, Matt (27 November 2014). "Ásgeir at Shepherd's Bush Empire". The Upcoming. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  24. 1 2 Joyce, Colin (13 October 2015). "Olga Bell Surveys Emotional Wreckage on 'Rubbernecker'". Spin . Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  25. ↑ Stone, Russell Dean (15 July 2015). "Foxtrott's New Mixtape Hits All the Right Frequencies". Beat . Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  26. ↑ Ehrat, Noemi (24 July 2018). "19-Year Old Gabríel Ólafs Signs With One Little Indian" . Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  27. ↑ Yoo, Noah (4 September 2020). "5 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Bill Callahan, Lomelda, Big Sean, and More". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  28. ↑ Hasty, Katie (20 May 2010). "Song Of The Day: Kathryn Williams gives a 'Little Lesson' for our love". HitFix . Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  29. ↑ "Home town gig for folk siblings". Whitby Gazette . 25 February 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  30. ↑ Lester, Paul (26 September 2016). "New band of the week: Sarasara (No 121) – gorgeous but outlandish glitchy pop".
  31. ↑ Turauskis, Maria (28 October 2010). "Wild Palms Interview". More Than the Music. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
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