Spiderleg Records

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Spiderleg Records
Founded1981
DistributorRough Trade
Genre anarcho-punk
Country of originUnited Kingdom
LocationLondon

Spiderleg Records was an independent record label founded by UK anarcho-punk band Flux of Pink Indians in 1981.

Contents

The band set up the label after releasing their first EP on the Crass Records label, which taught them the skills necessary to run such a project and provided them with the seed cash. [1]

The first record to be put out was a re-recording of older material made when Flux of Pink Indians were known as The Epileptics. This was an EP entitled 1970s Have Been Made in Hong Kong, which had originally been released by the small Bishop's Stortford based label Stortbeat. However, the band fell into dispute with Stortbeat when the label allegedly re-released the single without paying the band owed royalties. The re-recording for Spiderleg is also notable for featuring Penny Rimbaud of Crass on drums as the original Epileptics drummer was not available. [2]

The band not only used the label to release their own material, but gave opportunities to like-minded punk bands to put out records, including The Subhumans, who in a similar fashion set up their own Bluurg label. Other bands which had their first vinyl releases on Spiderleg were The System, Amebix [3] , Antisect and Kronstadt Uprising. [4]

Spiderleg Records had considerable success, with several hits on the UK Indie Chart, including a number one album with Flux of Pink Indians' Strive To Survive Causing The Least Suffering Possible , which also reached number 79 on the UK Album Chart. [5]

The final releases on the label were an Antisect LP and Flux of Pink Indians EP in 1984.

In 1985, Derek Birkett, bass player of Flux of Pink Indians, his wife Sue Birkett and former Flux guitarist Tim Kelly set up the highly successful label One Little Indian Records [6] , now known as One Little Independent Records, whose releases have included material by Björk, The Shamen, Skunk Anansie, Queen Adreena and Chumbawamba, amongst others.

Releases

chart positions shown from the UK Indie Chart [7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Glasper, Ian (2023). Silence Is No Reaction: Forty Years of Subhumans. PM Press. p. 77. ISBN   9781629636955 . Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  2. ↑ Glasper, Ian (2014). Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980–1984. PM Press. p. 29. ISBN   9781604869880 . Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  3. ↑ Glasper, Ian (2014). Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980–1984. PM Press. p. 96. ISBN   9781604869880 . Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  4. ↑ Glasper, Ian (2014). Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980–1984. PM Press. p. 201. ISBN   9781604869880 . Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  5. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, ISBN   0-86241-913-1
  6. ↑ "Maverick label reaches 21st birthday". Music Week (4): 2–8. 28 January 2006.
  7. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1997) "Indie Hits 1980-1989", Cherry Red Books, ISBN   0-9517206-9-4
  8. ↑ "KFTH - Spiderleg Records Page". Archive.today. Archived from the original on 8 August 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
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