Postcard Records

Last updated

Postcard Records is a British, Glasgow-based independent record label founded by Alan Horne in 1979 as a vehicle for releases by Orange Juice and Josef K. [1] The label's motto was "The Sound of Young Scotland", [1] a parody/tribute to the Motown motto; its logo featured a cartoon cat beating a drum. Although short-lived, Postcard was a key influence on the C81 and the later C86 indie-pop movements.

Contents

The label's first release, in spring 1980, was Orange Juice's, "Falling and Laughing", [1] which was jointly financed by Horne and band members Edwyn Collins and bass guitarist David McClymont. [2] The label went on to sign such bands as Aztec Camera and The Go-Betweens, before winding down in 1981 shortly after Orange Juice left to sign a major deal with Polydor. [1] In 1984 Horne then started a new label as part of a deal with London Records, called Swamplands, releasing a handful of singles before folding. He then resuscitated Postcard in 1992, releasing various new albums and retrospectives until 1997.

The label was profiled in depth in 2015 documentary film, Big Gold Dream , and the 2014 book by Simon Goddard, Simply Thrilled: The Preposterous Story of Postcard Records, although both concentrate largely on the original 1980-81 era of the label, and Alan Horne declined to be involved in either endeavour.

In March 2020, Postcard Records appeared to be showing signs of activity again, via a Twitter account @Dubh18.5. [3] Tweets referencing "some kind of reboot", and various archival footage in a series of GIFs hinting at further releases.

In December 2020, it was announced that the label was being reactivated as "Postcard Recordings Of Scotland Extra Terrestrial" to release a deluxe anthology vinyl boxset of recordings by Paul Quinn & The Independent Group, [4] including a 144 page hard backed book. The boxset was limited to 300 copies only and went on pre-sale via Bandcamp on 2 April 2021. It sold out within 24 hours and was finally delivered to buyers in late July 2021, to universal praise. The box contained re-pressed versions of the two original 1990s LPs along with a new 3rd double LP of unreleased live and studio material, a 10" of other recordings, along with the aforementioned book, and a handmade screenprint.

Postcard Records Discography (1980-1981)

DateArtistTitleType UK Indie Chart positionCatalogue ref
February 1980 Orange Juice "Falling and Laughing"SingleNo. 4880 1
August 1980Orange Juice"Blue Boy"SingleNo. 1580 2
August 1980 Josef K "Radio Drill Time"SingleNo. 1580 3
November 1980 The Go-Betweens "I Need Two Heads"SingleNo. 680 4
December 1980Josef K"It's Kinda Funny"SingleNo. 1280 5
December 1980Orange Juice"Simply Thrilled Honey"SingleNo. 580 6
March 1981Orange Juice"Poor Old Soul"SingleNo. 581 2
March 1981 Aztec Camera "Just Like Gold"SingleNo. 1081 3
March 1981Josef K"Sorry For Laughing"Single81 4
May 1981Josef K"Chance Meeting"SingleNo. 581 5
1981Orange Juice"Wan Light" (assigned serial number but never issued)Single81 6
July 1981Josef K"The Only Fun in Town"AlbumNo. 381 7
August 1981Aztec Camera"Mattress Of Wire"SingleNo. 881 8

Swamplands Discography (1984–1985)

The source for the information below is the website discogs.com [5]

Postcard Records Discography (1992–1997)

The source for the information below is the website discogs.com [6]

Postcard Records Discography (2021)

The source for the information below is the website discogs.com [7]

Postcard Records Miscellaneous

The above releases all had the Postcard drumming kitten logo on sleeve and label. The 7" catalogue numbers were prefixed POS(tcard)P(olydor)

See also

Related Research Articles

Orange Juice were a Scottish jangle pop band founded in the Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. They became Orange Juice in 1979, and became perhaps the most important band in the Scottish independent music scene that emerged in the post-punk era, inspired by contemporary punk bands including Subway Sect, Television, and Buzzcocks but also 1960s acts, most notably the Byrds and the Velvet Underground. Musically, the band brought together styles and genres that often appeared incongruous, for example, country, disco and punk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Guy Called Gerald</span> British musician

Gerald Rydel Simpson, better known as A Guy Called Gerald, is a British record producer and musician. He was an early member of the electronic group 808 State, contributing to their debut LP Newbuild (1988) and hit single "Pacific State" (1989). He also achieved solo success with his 1988 hit single "Voodoo Ray", which became a touchstone of Manchester's acid house scene and reached No. 12 in the UK charts. He embraced breakbeat production in the 1990s, with his 1995 album Black Secret Technology becoming a "much-touted candidate for 'best jungle album ever.'" He also ran the London-based independent record label Juice Box Records from 1991 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teenage Fanclub</span> Scottish alternative rock band

Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Bellshill near Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley and Gerard Love, all of whom shared lead vocals and songwriting duties until Love's departure in 2018. As of 2019, the band's lineup consists of Blake, McGinley, Francis Macdonald, Dave McGowan and Euros Childs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric's Trip</span> Canadian indie rock band

Eric's Trip is a Canadian indie rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick. Eric's Trip achieved prominence as the first Canadian band to be signed to Seattle's flagship grunge label Sub Pop in the early 1990s. The band had a minor hit in alternative circles with the single "View Master", from the 1994 album Forever Again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clock DVA</span> English band

Clock DVA are a musical group from Sheffield, England, whose style has touched on industrial, post-punk, and EBM. They formed in 1978 by Adolphus "Adi" Newton and Steven "Judd" Turner. Along with contemporaries Heaven 17, Clock DVA's name was inspired by the Russian-influenced Nadsat language of Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange. Dva is Russian for "two".

Vic Godard is an English singer-songwriter formerly of the punk group Subway Sect. He is now also a solo performer, while continuing to appear with various incarnations of Subway Sect.

Josef K were a Scottish post-punk band, active between 1979 and 1982, who released singles on the Postcard Records label. The band was named after the protagonist of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial. Although they released just one album while together and achieved only moderate success, they have since proved influential on many bands that followed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwyn Collins</span> Scottish musician

Edwyn Stephen Collins is a Scottish musician, producer and record label owner from Edinburgh. Collins was the lead singer for the 1980s post-punk band Orange Juice, which he co-founded. After the group split in 1985, Collins started a solo career. His 1995 single "A Girl Like You" was a worldwide hit.

The Secret Goldfish are a band from Glasgow, Scotland. The group was formed by ex-Fizzbombs singer Katy McCullars, guitarist John Morose, and the rhythm section from The Mackenzies, Graham Lironi and Paul Turnbull.

Setanta Records was a British independent record label led by founder Keith Cullen. Setanta published UK and Irish indie music in the late 1980s and in the 1990s.

Paul Walter Quinn is a Scottish musician who was the lead singer of cult 1980s band Bourgie Bourgie, and also released records with Jazzateers, Vince Clarke and Edwyn Collins and sang on an early track by the French Impressionists.

Malcolm Ross is a Scottish guitarist. His career started when he played guitar in the Scottish band Josef K. They released a string of singles and an album, The Only Fun in Town, on Postcard Records in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanessa Briscoe Hay</span> American singer and songwriter

Vanessa Briscoe Hay is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon, Supercluster and Pylon Reenactment Society.

<i>Recommended Records Sampler</i> Record label sampler album by various artists

The Recommended Records Sampler is a sampler double album by various artists released by English independent record label Recommended Records on LP in 1982. It contains tracks by musicians and groups on the Recommended Records catalogue at the time.

Jazzateers were a Scottish underground pop/post-punk group, active for the first half of the 1980s, who recorded for Postcard Records and Rough Trade Records, and have more recently had their original material released by Marina Records, Cherry Red Records and Creeping Bent. The group was formed by ever-present members Ian Burgoyne and Keith Band.

Nene Encarnacion, also known as Myzery, is a Puerto Rican rapper based out of the Bronx in New York City. He was the first solo act signed with Psychopathic Records, and released his debut EP titled Para La Isla on the label in 1998. Following his departure from Psychopathic Records, Myzery continued to release albums independently. He later returned to Psychopathic Records to release 2018's The Demon Angel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rip It Up (Orange Juice song)</span> 1983 single by Orange Juice

"Rip It Up" is a song by Scottish indie pop band Orange Juice, released in 1983 as the second single from their 1982 album of the same name. The song became the band's only UK top 40 success, reaching No. 8 on the chart. "Rip It Up" signalled a departure from the sound of the band's earlier singles, with Chic-influenced guitars and using a synthesiser to create a more disco-oriented sound.

Hullabaloo is a punk/grunge band from Cambridge, Massachusetts, started in 1986 by guitarist/vocalist Sluggo and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist TQ. The band cites myriad influences from John Coltrane to Iron Maiden and King Diamond contributing to their at times "surreal" and "psychedelic" sound. They also employed unusual instrumentation for a band of their ilk; TQ playing trumpet, tenor sax and electric piano in addition to vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Need Two Heads</span> 1980 single by The Go-Betweens

"I Need Two Heads" is a stand-alone single by Australian indie group The Go-Betweens. It was released as a 7" vinyl record on the Postcard Records label in the United Kingdom in June 1980 and by Missing Link Records in Australia, with "Stop Before You Say It" as the B-side.

<i>The Phantoms & the Archetypes</i> 1992 studio album by Paul Quinn and the Independent Group

The Phantoms & the Archetypes is the debut studio album by Scottish band Paul Quinn and the Independent Group, released by Postcard Records in 1992.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 217. ISBN   0-85112-579-4.
  2. Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up And Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 . London: Faber and Faber. p. 353. ISBN   0-571-21570-X.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Dubh18.5". Postcardrecords.co.uk.
  5. "Discogs / Swamplands Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  6. "Discogs / Postcard Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  7. "Discogs / Postcard Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2 August 2018.