Sub Pop

Sub Pop (short for "Subterranean Pop") is an American record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt. In 1988, Sub Pop Records LLC was formed by Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle alternative rock scene. They are often credited with taking the first steps toward popularizing grunge music, and have continued to achieve critical and commercial success in the new millennium, with bands such as Fleet Foxes, Foals, Beach House, The Postal Service, Flight of the Conchords, Sleater-Kinney, Blitzen Trapper, No Age, Wolf Parade and The Shins on their roster. In 1995 the owners of Sub Pop sold a 49% stake of the label to the Warner Music Group.

Links To Peel
In January 1989, Peel wrote a piece on The Observer (later republished in the Olivetti Chronicles) on the phenomenon of the Seattle sound coming from the Sub Pop label:

"'Yet in the past eighteen months the name of Seattle has popped up whenever two or three have gathered together to speak of non-chart pop - and as often as these folk have said 'Seattle' they have said 'Sub Pop'. '"

In a 1994 interview, Sub Pop founder Bruce Pavitt recalled the importance of the Peel article, following the DJ's support for the 'Sub Pop 200' compilation:

"'The real payoff for that was John Peel writing a review in the London Observer in February of ’89, in which he states that Sub Pop ‘had the most distinctive regional sounds since Tamla Motown’. That is a statement. That is a huge endorsement by possibly the most influential person in alternative music on the planet.'"

According to Pavitt, the success of Sub Pop in the UK was vital in winning wider recognition for the label and its bands:

"'We had support from John Peel, so England was everything. It allowed us to get out of the indie-rock ghetto in America and actually get some somewhat mainstream attention in England. And of course that reverberated around Europe and the US and so forth.'"

After Nirvana moved to Geffen Records in 1991, Sub Pop benefited financially from the success of Nevermind, which kept the label going for years afterwards. In 1997, Peel selected the record as one of his Top 20 Albums in a list for The Guardian newspaper.

in March 1994, Sub Pop allowed Peel and his son William to choose session tracks for a compilation album called The John Peel Sub-Pop Sessions. All the sessions came from Peel's shows and featured Sub Pop musicians.

Peel continued supporting artists from Sub Pop even after the end of the Seattle alternative rock scene that the label created, after Kurt Cobain of Nirvana committed suicide in April 1994.

Sessions
Sub Pop Records artists who did Peel sessions.
 * Afghan Whigs: (1 session, 1994)
 * Babes In Toyland: (5 sessions, 1990-1995)
 * Big Chief: (1 session, 1994)
 * Catheters: (1 session, 2002)
 * Codeine: (2 sessions, 1992-1994)
 * Dinosaur Jr.: (3 sessions, 1988-1992)
 * Eric's Trip: (1 session, 1993)
 * Fugazi: (1 session, 1988)
 * Godflesh: (1 session, 1989)
 * Hellacopters: (2 sessions, 1999-2003)
 * Hole: (2 sessions, 1991-1993)
 * J Mascis: (2 sessions, 2000-2002)
 * Jale: (1 session, 1994)
 * L7: (1 session, 1990)
 * Les Thugs: (1 session, 1987)
 * Low: (4 sessions, 1999-2003)
 * Mogwai: (5 sessions, 1996-2003)
 * Mudhoney: (2 sessions, 1989-2002)
 * Nirvana: (3 sessions, 1989-1991)
 * Pond: (2 sessions, 1992-1995)
 * Seaweed: (1 session, 1992)
 * Sebadoh: (3 sessions, 1992-1994)
 * Smashing Pumpkins: (1 session, 1991)
 * Sonic Youth: (3 sessions, 1986-1989)
 * Soundgarden: (1 session, 1989)
 * Tad: (2 sessions, 1989-1990)
 * Thermals: (1 session, 2003)
 * Trembling Blue Stars: (1 session, 2000)
 * Velocity Girl: (1 session, 1993)
 * White Stripes: (3 sessions, 2001)

Festive Fifty
Sub Pop Records artists who had Festive Fifty entries on the Peel show.
 * Babes In Toyland: House #38 (1990 Festive Fifty) / Handsome & Gretel #18 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Catatonic #30 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Laugh My Head Off #31 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Primus #39 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Ripe #42 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Bruse Violet #09 (1992 Festive Fifty) / Handsome & Gretel #22 (1992 Festive Fifty)
 * Dinosaur Jr.: Freak Scene #05 (1988 Festive Fifty) / Just Like Heaven #12 (1989 Festive Fifty) / The Wagon #29 (1990 Festive Fifty) / Get Me #42 (1993 Festive Fifty)
 * Hole: Teenage Whore #10 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Burn Black #7 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Beautiful Son #47 (1993 Festive Fifty) / Olympia #25 (1993 Festive Fifty) / Doll Parts #45 (1994 Festive Fifty) / Miss World #17 (1994 Festive Fifty) / Violet #28 (1995 Festive Fifty)
 * Low: Immune #10 (1999 Festive Fifty) / Dinosaur Act #11 (2000 Festive Fifty) / (That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace #36 (2002 Festive Fifty) / Canada #18 (2002 Festive Fifty) / In The Drugs #16 (2002 Festive Fifty)
 * Mogwai: New Paths To Helicon #2 (1997 Festive Fifty) / Xmas Steps #2 (1998 Festive Fifty) / Cody #14 (1999 Festive Fifty) / Stanley Kubrick #25 (1999 Festive Fifty) / My Father My King #10 (2001 Festive Fifty) / 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong #22 (2001 Festive Fifty) / Hunted By A Freak #3 (2003 Festive Fifty) / Ratts Of The Capital #6 (2003 Festive Fifty)
 * Nirvana: Sliver #23 (1990 Festive Fifty) / Breed #48 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Lithium #25 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Drain You #16 (1991 Festive Fifty) / Smells Like Teen Spirit #01 (1991 Festive Fifty) #08 (All Time 2000 Festive Fifty) / Rape Me #45 (1993 Festive Fifty) / Scentless Apprentice #40 (1993 Festive Fifty) / About A Girl #44 (1994 Festive Fifty) / Where Did You Sleep Last Night? #40 (1994 Festive Fifty) / The Man Who Sold The World #27 (1994 Festive Fifty)
 * Pond: Young Splendour #27 (1992 Festive Fifty)
 * Sebadoh: Soul & Fire #07 (1993 Festive Fifty) / Rebound #16 (1994 Festive Fifty)
 * Shins: New Slang #43 (2001 Festive Fifty)
 * Smashing Pumpkins: Siva #27 (1991 Festive Fifty)
 * Sonic Youth: (I Got A) Catholic Block #37 (1987 Festive Fifty) / Schizophrenia #13 (1987 Festive Fifty) / Silver Rocket #29 (1988 Festive Fifty) / Teenage Riot #19 (1988 Festive Fifty) / Kool Thing #40 (1990 Festive Fifty) / Tunic (Song For Karen) #5 (1990 Festive Fifty) / Theresa's Sound World #26 (1992 Festive Fifty) / 100% #23 (1992 Festive Fifty) / Sugar Kane #17 (1992 Festive Fifty) / Youth Against Fascism #07 (1992 Festive Fifty) / Superstar #47 (1994 Festive Fifty)
 * Trembling Blue Stars: Abba On The Jukebox #19 (1996 Festive Fifty)
 * White Stripes: Dead Leaves & The Dirty Ground #25 (2001 Festive Fifty) / Fell In Love With A Girl (session) #6 (2001 Festive Fifty) / Hotel Yorba #2 (2001 Festive Fifty) / Fell In Love With A Girl #27 (2002 Festive Fifty) / Dead Leaves & The Dirty Ground #15 (2002 Festive Fifty) / Black Math #17 (2003 Festive Fifty) / 7 Nation Army #10 (2003 Festive Fifty)

Sub Pop Records Compilations
(The Sub Pop Singles Club, a monthly subscription service run by Sub Pop Records ran between November 1988 and December 1993 and issued one single per month to its subscribers, total of 61 singles were released, always in limited editions. No full compilation album of that has been issued so far.)

(LP - Sub Pop 100) (LP - Sub Pop 200) (LP - The John Peel / Sub-Pop Sessions 1989-1993)
 * 07 January 1987: Steve Fisk: Go At Full Throttle
 * 21 February 1989: Mudhoney: The Rose
 * 13 November 1992: Nirvana: Spank Thru
 * 16 April 1994 (BFBS): Mudhoney: Here Comes Sickness
 * 03 June 1994: Tad: Helot