Probe Records is a small independent record shop in Liverpool, England.
Founded in 1971 by Geoff and Annie Davies and their friend Dave Keats, [1] the shop was originally located on Clarence Street, off Brownlow Hill with a second location soon opened in the basement of Silly Billies clothes shop.
The shop relocated in 1976 to Button Street around the corner from Eric's Club on Mathew Street and found itself at the centre of the city's emerging punk and new wave music scene, acting as a supporter of local independent bands and musicians. Davies admitted that he was far more a music enthusiast than he was a businessman. [2]
There are many stories about the famous musicians who worked behind the counter during this period. Not all of them are true, but it is documented that Pete Burns, Pete Wylie and Paul Rutherford were among them. [3]
Probe was seen as a key part of the Liverpool music scene. John Robb wrote in Louder than War: “Without Geoff, most of post-punk Liverpool probably would not have happened.” [4] Paddy Shennan wrote in the Liverpool Echo: “Geoff didn't just revolutionise their record collections, he transformed their lives.” [5]
During the 1980s, Probe set up an independent wholesale arm of the business as part of the independent distribution network The Cartel. Many larger record retailers throughout the north-west of England such as HMV, Virgin Records and Our Price bought most of their independent label stock from Probe.
In 1981 Geoff Davies set up the record label Probe Plus, which he initially ran from above the shop. The name was chosen to avoid confusion with the American record label Probe Records. Davies told The Quietus in 2011: “The label kind of grew from the shop. Probe was such an integral part of the local scene that I was constantly coming into contact with bands.” [6]
In 1986, Geoff and Annie were divorced and Annie took sole ownership of the shop while Geoff retained the record label. [7]
By the 1990s, the shop had again relocated, this time to Slater Street off Bold Street around the corner from The Zanzibar on Seel Street, where it stayed until 2010 before moving to Bluecoat Chambers on School Lane in the centre of the city. [8]
Geoff Davies died on the 12th of September 2023, 2 weeks after Annie. The Liverpool Post wrote: “Probe was a joint enterprise, and its massive legacy is shared in equal parts between them.” [9]
Big in Japan were a punk band that emerged from Liverpool, United Kingdom in the late 1970s. They are better known for the later successes of their band members than for their own music.
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and is affiliated to Beggars Group.
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Founded 1992 by John Loder, Southern Records is an independent record label. It is based in London and until 2008 had offices in the United States, France and Berlin.
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".
Rough Trade is a retail chain of record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London.
An independent music scene is a localized independent music-oriented community of bands and their audiences. Local scenes can play a key role in musical history and lead to the development of influential genres; for example, no wave from New York City, United States; Madchester from Manchester, England; and grunge from Seattle.
Damon Grant is a fictional character in the defunct British soap opera Brookside, played by Simon O'Brien. The character was part of the initial cast, appearing from episode one in 1982 until 1987. At the time of the soap's inception, Damon was the youngest son of Bobby and Sheila Grant, with an older brother, Barry, and older sister, Karen.
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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.
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"You Make the Whole World Cry" is a song by British singer and musician Tanita Tikaram, released by East West on 17 February 1992 as the only single from her fourth studio album, Eleven Kinds of Loneliness. The song, which was written and produced by Tikaram, peaked at number 92 in the UK Singles Chart.
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