Greensleeves Records

Greensleeves Records & Publishing, shortened to Greensleeves Records, is a record label specializing in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick. Based in Britain, Greensleeves Records started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975. The record label was founded in 1977, with early releases including albums by Augustus Pablo and Barrington Levy.

They have released records by Red Rat, Anthony Johnson, Barrington Levy, Billy Boyo, Chezidek, Dennis Brown, Dr Alimantado, Eek-A-Mouse, Elephant Man, Freddie McGregor, Gregory Isaacs, Keith Hudson, Mad Cobra, Scientist, Shabba Ranks, Sizzla, Vybz Kartel and Yellowman, and have had crossover pop hits with Tippa Irie's "Hello, Darling", Shaggy's "Oh Carolina", Beenie Man's "Who Am I (Sim Simma)" and Mr Vegas's "Head High."

Greensleeves Publishing has the largest catalogue of reggae songs in the world, including the copyrights of Shaggy's "Oh Carolina", Sean Paul's "Get Busy", and "Break It Off" among over 20,000 copyrights.

The company was bought by Zest Inc. in 2006, and in 2008 was bought by VP Records.

(Read more at Wikipedia.)

Links To Peel[]

"He [Peel] was fantastic. He played Capital Letters's "Smoking My Ganja" for about two years, at least once a week."[1]
(Greensleeves co-founder Chris Cracknell recalls help from the DJ for the fledgling label.)

12''_Capital_Letter_-_Smoking_My_Ganja — 12'' Capital Letter - Smoking My Ganja

Keith_Hudson_Nuh_skin_up_Extented_mix — Keith Hudson Nuh skin up Extented mix

Shaggy_-_Oh_Carolina_1993_(Official_HQ) — Shaggy - Oh Carolina 1993 (Official HQ)

Born_for_a_Purpose-reason_for_Living — Born for a Purpose-reason for Living

**(Dr Alimantado)**

Huge reggae fan Peel was an early supporter of Greensleeves Records, playing at least six tracks from the label's debut LP, Dr Alimantado's 'Best Dressed Chicken In Town', over two shows on its release in autumn 1978. Initial signings included UK band Capital Letters, who became big favourites of the DJ and recorded a session. Focused mainly on the latest music from Jamaica, the London-based operation quickly emerged as Britain's leading reggae label of the era, charting musical developments from roots to dancehall, ragga and beyond, earning regular airtime over decades of Peel's shows.

Celebrated albums released on the label in the UK and played by Peel include an allegedly unauthorized series of colourfully named and packaged dub LPs by Scientist ('Meets The Space Invaders', 'Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires', etc), which became the subject of long-running legal battles. On air, Peel diplomatically attributed tracks to the Roots Radics (the original studio band).

On 17 December 1984, JP dedicated the Greensleeves single 'Nuh Skin Up' by Keith Hudson to his wife, Pig, describing it as 'one of our all-time favourite records'.

During Peel's week of lunchtime shows covering for Jakki Brambles on Radio One in April 1993,[2] he played Shaggy's recent UK #1 'Oh Carolina' three times.[3] [4] [5] The Greensleeves single was the label's first to top the national charts.[6]

Other artists with Greensleeves releases featured by JP include: Anthony B, Bounty Killer, Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Don Carlos, Clint Eastwood, Junior Delgado, Chaka Demus, Brian & Tony Gold, Half Pint, Beres Hammond, Heptones, King Kong, Frankie Paul, Lone Ranger, Sugar Minott, Johnny Osbourne, Michael Prophet, Junior Reid, Revolutionaries, Tony Rebel, Anthony Red Rose, Ranking Trevor, Admiral Tibet, Trinity, Wailers, Yabby You, Desmond Young.

More than a decade after the DJ's death in 2004, reggae expert and broadcaster Don Letts included the 1977 Greensleeves single 'Born For A Purpose' by Dr Alimantado among his selections for a record box drawn from Peel's Record Collection.[7] In the liner notes to his 2xCD compilation 'Dread Meets Greensleeves: A Westside Revolution' (2008), Letts praised the UK label for staying the course for over three decades, "riding every new twist, turn and new innovation that Jamaican music would throw up".[8]

Sessions[]

(Greensleeves artists who recorded Peel sessions. List includes sessions when the artists were on other labels. Please add more information if known.)