Strange Fruit

The Strange Fruit label, established in 1986 by Peel's personal manager Clive Selwood, was a primary distributor of BBC recordings, focusing on Peel sessions. The DJ himself had nothing to do with the label's ownership or management, although he did lend support and suggested sessions that he felt deserved release.

The name Strange Fruit came from the song written by Abel Meeropol and famously performed by Billie Holiday. Its title and lyrics reference racially motivated lynchings. Selwood recalls that Peel (as a fan of WC Fields and football) put forward the possible label names "Bank Dick" and "Back o' the Net Records," although these received the thumbs down: "The latter seemed like a bit of a mouthful and the former, when written down, can be mistaken for Black Dick, which I figured might limit its appeal somewhat."

The label had the aim of generating sufficient revenue from recordings of 'big name' artists to allow the release of recordings by lesser-known artists. Among the first batch of six 12" EP releases in July 1987 were New Order's 1982 Peel session and the Damned's second, from 1977. These were followed by sessions from some of the biggest names from the punk and post punk eras. Recordings from as far back as the 1960s by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and the Bonzo Dog Band were also released.

Tracking down artists or their representatives and obtaining the rights to release sessions didn't always prove easy. Frankie Goes To Hollywood were among the earliest to refuse permission. Others, however, were happy to give the go-ahead on the basis of "anything for John."

As well as individual sessions, the label also released albums compiling several sessions by the same artist. Strange Fruit was sufficiently successful that it spawned subsidiary labels including Nighttracks (sessions from Radio One's Evening Show), Raw Fruit (concert recordings from the Reading Festival), and Band of Joy (BBC session recordings from the 1960s and 1970s). In 1994, Peel's BBC colleague Andy Kershaw started another subsidiary label, Strange Roots, which released session recordings by world music and Roots music artists from his radio show.

After Strange Fruit pioneered releases of Peel sessions, other companies followed in its footsteps by issuing archive BBC music recordings, including sessions from the Peel show. Clive Selwood sold Strange Fruit to Pinnacle in the mid-1990s and the label was eventually shut down in 2004, when the Zomba group of companies merged with BMG. The last release Strange Fruit put together was an album of complete Peel sessions by New Order.

Strange Fruit Records Catalogue (Peel Sessions, BBC)

 * Individual artists


 * SFPS001 New Order
 * SFPS002 The Damned
 * SFPS003 The Screaming Blue Messiahs
 * SFPS004 Stiff Little Fingers
 * SFPS005 Sudden Sway
 * SFPS006 The Wild Swans
 * SFPS007 Madness
 * SFPS008 Gang of Four
 * SFPS009 The Wedding Present
 * SFPS010 Twa Toots
 * SFPS011 The Ruts
 * SFPS012 Siouxsie & The Banshees
 * SFPS013 Joy Division
 * SFPS014 The Primevals
 * SFPS015 June Tabor
 * SFPS016 The Undertones
 * SFPS017 Xmal Deutschland
 * SFPS018 The Specials
 * SFPS019 Stump
 * SFPS020 The Birthday Party
 * SFPS021 The Slits
 * SFPS022 Spizz Oil
 * SFPS023 The June Brides
 * SFPS024 Culture
 * SFPS025 The Prefects
 * SFPS026 Yeah Yeah Noh
 * SFPS027 Billy Bragg
 * SFPS028 The Fall
 * SFPS029 Girls at Our Best!
 * SFPS030 The Redskins
 * SFPS031 T.Rex
 * SFPS032 Tubeway Army
 * SFPS033 Joy Division
 * SFPS034 The Adverts
 * SFPS035 The Mighty Wah
 * SFPS036 The Triffids
 * SFPS037 Robert Wyatt
 * SFPS038 That Petrol Emotion
 * SFPS039 New Order
 * SFPS040 The Damned
 * SFPS041 Wire
 * SFPS042 Electro Hippies
 * SFPS043 Syd Barrett
 * SFPS044 Buzzcocks
 * SFPS045 Cud
 * SFPS046 The Very Things
 * SFPS047 Ultravox
 * SFPS048 Extreme Noise Terror
 * SFPS049 Napalm Death
 * SFPS050 The Cure
 * SFPS051 The Bonzo Dog Band
 * SFPS052 The Nightingales
 * SFPS053 Intense Degree
 * SFPS054 Stupids
 * SFPS055 The Smiths
 * SFPS056 Bolt Thrower
 * SFPS057 Half Man Half Biscuit
 * SFPS058 The Birthday Party
 * SFPS059 Lindisfarne
 * SFPS060 Echo & The Bunnymen
 * SFPS061 Family
 * SFPS062 The Room
 * SFPS063 Eton Crop
 * SFPS064 Nico
 * SFPS065 The Jimi Hendrix Experience
 * SFPS066 Siouxsie & the Banshees
 * SFPS067 Amayenge
 * SFPS068 Ivor Cutler
 * SFPS069 Unseen Terror
 * SFPS073 Carcass

Compilations

 * SFRLP100 The Sampler
 * SFRLP101 Hardcore Holocaust
 * SFRCD119 Too Pure (Th' Faith Healers, Stereolab, PJ Harvey)
 * SFRLP200 21 Years Of Alternative Radio 1
 * SFRLP111 Joy Division

Other albums

 * SFRSCD016 or SFRSCD079 - Tom Paxton Live In Concert (recorded in London, England in 1971 and 1972, released 1998)
 * SFRSCD035 - Melanie - On Air [taken from November 75 concert, with added sessions from 1969 & 1989)
 * SFRSCD082 - Inspiral Carpets (1999)
 * SFRSCD094 - Joy Division (2000)
 * SFNT015 - Icicle Works "Radio 1 Sessions - The Evening Show" - Four track 12" EP, recorded 1982, released 1988.