Probe Plus

Last updated

Probe Plus was a record label based in Liverpool, England. It was founded by Geoff Davies, an enthusiastic promoter of small, unsigned bands, who described the label as "Music to drive you to drink". [1]

Contents

History

The label was started in May 1981, its first release being the self-titled debut EP by local electronic band Ex Post Facto. [2] For years the label was based in an office above the Probe Records shop in Rainford Gardens. Due to a change in building ownership both the shop and label were forced to move and Davies set up office in his house. After marrying Anne in 1999, they moved house and he continued to run the label from there.

Probe Plus has a number of bands to their name including Kelso, Dead Poppies and Marlowe. In 1990, the label released "Colours", the first single by No-Man, who later signed to One Little Indian and Epic/Sony.

The label is perhaps best known for Half Man Half Biscuit, who were signed from 1985 until the end of the label. Davies signed the group on the basis of a tape they gave to him, saying "I thought that if the tape was half as good as the titles then I'd want to record this group". [1] The band's debut album sold over 50,000 copies, enabling Davies to plough money back into the label. [1]

Probe Plus were later home to a number of Welsh bands, including Fflaps who released a Welsh-language album on the label. [1]

Many of the label's releases were produced by Davies and Sam Davis [2] under the pseudonym 'The Bald Brothers'. [1]

In 2021, Davies announced his retirement and the closure of the label with Half Man Half Biscuit announcing they will move to self-releasing their future material. [3]

Davies died aged 80 on 12 September 2023. [4] [5]

Probe Plus artists

Probe Plus have released records by artists including: [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Holmes</span>

Alan Holmes is a musician, artist and record producer, based in north Wales. Although he began his musical career in the late 1960s in childhood beat group The Insects, he first came to prominence in The Zuggs, followed by A Silly Tree, the latter including Gary Stubbs, later of Cut Tunes with whom Holmes also served. Holmes was responsible for the cult psychedelic band The Pinecones and by the mid-1980s he was a key member of Reinheitsgebot, Third Spain and The Lungs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Half Man Half Biscuit</span> English rock band

Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Crossley, drummer Carl Henry, and guitarist Karl Benson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No-Man</span> English art pop duo

No-Man are an English art pop duo, formed in 1987 as No Man Is an Island (Except the Isle of Man) by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson. The band has so far produced seven studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections (most notably, 2006's career retrospective, All the Blue Changes). The band was once lauded as "conceivably the most important English group since The Smiths" by Melody Maker music newspaper, and a 2017 article of Drowned in Sound described them as "probably the most underrated band of the last 25 years".

<i>Reverberation</i> (album) 1990 studio album by Echo & the Bunnymen

Reverberation is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen. The album was released amidst a line-up change for the group, due to the departure of vocalist Ian McCulloch and the death of drummer Pete de Freitas. The remaining members, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson, were joined by ex-St. Vitus Dance singer Noel Burke, keyboard player Jake Brockman and drummer Damon Reece. The album was produced by former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick at Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, England, and had a more pronounced psychedelic sound than the group's previous releases.

Music for Pleasure and Classics for Pleasure (CFP) were British record labels that issued budget-priced albums of popular and classical music respectively. Albums were subsequently released under the MFP label in Australia (MFP-A) and South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf School</span> English art rock/new wave band

Deaf School is an English art rock/new wave band, formed in Liverpool, England, in January 1974.

<i>Back in the DHSS</i> 1985 studio album by Half Man Half Biscuit

Back in the DHSS is the first album released by the UK rock band Half Man Half Biscuit (HMHB), in 1985.

<i>Back Again in the DHSS</i> 1987 studio album by Half Man Half Biscuit

Back Again in the DHSS is the second album by UK rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Probe Records (shop)</span>

Probe Records is a small independent record shop in Liverpool, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walkingseeds</span> English alternative rock band

Walkingseeds were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1986 in Liverpool.

The Cartel was a co-operative record distribution organisation in the United Kingdom, set up by a number of small independent record labels to handle their distribution to record shops. Pooling their resources in this way allowed them to compete with the larger distribution operations of the major record labels, and also to gain access to the larger shop chains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Onset</span> English indie rock band

The Onset were formed in 1987 by Mike Badger after he left his former band The La's. Badger teamed up with locals Danny Dean on guitar, Hamish Cameron on piano and Colin Becket on drums. The first demo "Let's Go Home" can be found on the 2006 compilation CD, Lo Fi Electric Excursions by Mike Badger & Friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ophiuchus (band)</span>

Ophiuchus are a folk/roots rock group from Castle Combe, Wiltshire, England, formed in 1986 by twin brothers - guitarist Jon and bassist Simon Cousins, with saxophonist Pat D'Arcy and photographer, graphic designer Martin Tom Sawyer.

Simon Cousins is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who was a member of Liverpool indie country rock band The Onset and folk rockers Ophiuchus. He studied music at the Liverpool Music College and has a degree in philosophy from Liverpool University. His solo work is in an acoustic, folk / country genre, described by Tim Peacock of Whisperin and Hollerin' online magazine as "showcasing a fluid finger-picking style and a gentle, unobtrusive voice which nonetheless carries a determined presence." Seph Ong of Glasswerk National stated that Cousins' songs were "derived from real life experience" and that as a performer he "presents a series of tales that gradually unravel to build a story of the mystery of life." Cousins performed at the Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, England, in 2010, 2011 and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Some Bizzare Records</span> British record label

Some Bizzare [sic] Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of Some Bizzare Album, a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Neu Electrikk and Blancmange.

Jegsy Dodd is an English performance poet from Wirral. He first came to prominence in the 1980s with his backing group, The Sons of Harry Cross. The Sons of Harry Cross were Paul Spencer (drums), Ian Jackson (bass) and Ken Hancock (guitar). His current backing band is called The Original Sinners.

<i>90 Bisodol (Crimond)</i> 2011 studio album by Half Man Half Biscuit

90 Bisodol (Crimond) is the twelfth studio album by UK rock band Half Man Half Biscuit. It was released on 26 September 2011 by Probe Plus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Look Dad No Tunes</span> 1999 single by Half Man Half Biscuit

"Look Dad No Tunes" is a 1999 CD single by Birkenhead indie band Half Man Half Biscuit, released by Probe Plus Records, for whom they have always recorded. It is also the final single or album Half Ma Half Biscust released.

<i>No-One Cares About Your Creative Hub So Get Your Fuckin Hedge Cut</i> 2018 studio album by Half Man Half Biscuit

No-One Cares About Your Creative Hub So Get Your Fuckin' Hedge Cut is the fourteenth album by Wirral-based rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released on 18 May 2018 on Probe Plus Records. It is the highest-charting album in the band's history, reaching UK #33.

<i>The Voltarol Years</i> 2022 studio album by Half Man Half Biscuit

The Voltarol Years is the fifteenth album by Wirral-based rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released on 25 February 2022 on the band's own R. M. Qualtrough label. It is their first album release since Probe Plus founder Geoff Davies announced his retirement and the shuttering of the label.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 De Burgh, Simon (1991) 'Probe Plus Records', Spiral Scratch, Issue 12, July 1991
  2. 1 2 Keoghan, Jim. "Geoff Davies of Probe Plus Interviewed". The Quietus.
  3. ↑ Probe Plus. "Probe Plus Home". Probe Plus.
  4. ↑ Shennan, Paddy (13 September 2023). "Probe Records boss Geoff Davies dies as tributes paid". Liverpool Echo .
  5. ↑ "Geoff Davies: Probe Records boss and 'giant' of Liverpool music dies". BBC . 13 September 2023.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.