John Peel Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
in: Record Labels, Compilations

Island Records

Sign in to edit
Island logo

Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels.

(Read more at Wikipedia).

Links To Peel[]

“You have to remember that then there were no independent record labels worthy of the name, and people like Island and Virgin were seen as being pretty radical and out on a limb. Having mentioned Island Records, it was one of their acts ... Eddie & The Hot Rods … [who] were the first people to give me an indication that there was change in the air.”
(John Peel recalls drab times in the mid-70s, Peeling Back The Years 4 (Transcript))

Island Records was an enduring presence over the decades of Peel’s shows, releasing records by influential session artists including Nick Drake, Bob Marley, Roxy Music, Slits and PJ Harvey, among many others. In 1997, a Top 20 Albums list compiled by the DJ for the Guardian included two LPs put out by the label: ‘I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight’ (1974) by Richard & Linda Thompson and ‘Different Class’ (1995) by Pulp. In 1999, he included six Island releases in his Peelenium selections covering a century of music.

Peel’s return to the UK in 1967 coincided with Island’s switch of focus away from importing Jamaican music for immigrants and mods to rock and the lucrative album market, following Chris Blackwell’s managerial tie-up with Spencer Davis Group, who recorded an early Top Gear session. Departing SDG member Muff Winwood helped Island rapidly build a roster of underground acts that included Traffic, the new band of brother (and fellow SDG graduate) Steve Winwood, who were Peel favourites and had a big hand in establishing the "pink label" as an emerging force. Guy Stevens, who had run the UK office of Sue Records after Island had gained UK distribution rights for the label and had built up its reputation among soul music fans through his work as a club DJ, became a producer for the label, playing a major role in Island's signing of Mott the Hoople, whom he also managed.

The diversity of Island’s artists seemed in tune with the DJ’s tastes across the Top Gear years. ranging from blues rock (Free, Spooky Tooth, Blodwyn Pig) to folk (Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, John Martyn), prog (King Crimson, Jethro Tull) and art rock (Kevin Ayers, Roxy Music, Sparks), despite Peel’s later complaints about the pre-punk era. Island also distributed early releases on the experimental Obscure label established in 1975 by former Roxy "non-musician" Brian Eno, including his proto-ambient 'Discreet Music' and LPs by Gavin Bryars and Penguin Cafe Orchestra, who were both played by JP.

Meanwhile, Blackwell returned to Jamaica to guide the international breakthrough of Bob Marley, who recorded two sessions in 1973 and set the stage for reggae to play a major role on Peel’s shows in the decades that followed, including Island releases by Jamaican stars (Lee Perry, Toots & The Maytals, Max Romeo, Burning Spear, Black Uhuru) and sessions for its UK artists (Aswad, Steel Pulse, Linton Kwesi Johnson).

Punk scenesters The Slits were huge Peel session favourites before signing for Island and releasing acclaimed debut album 'Cut' in 1979,[1] produced by UK reggae mainstay Dennis Bovell, who was also music director for LKJ. Later, at the Island Records Compass Point studio in Nassau, ace Jamaican rhythm section and production team Sly & Robbie worked with all-star musicians on records for major international acts including Grace Jones and former Peel session artist Joe Cocker.

In the aftermath of punk and the arrival of "new wave" artists such as B-52's, Island scored its first UK chart-topper with ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ by Buggles. Subsequently, it distributed and funded the ZTT label of former Buggles man Trevor Horne, who produced huge hits for former Peel session band Frankie Goes To Hollywood (‘Relax’ etc). The DJ also took great pleasure in ZTT’s Art of Noise hookup with twangy guitar favourite Duane Eddy for an updated version of Peter Gunn.

Elsewhere, the Mango subsidiary initially formed by Island to promote reggae in the US grew to encompass African and other world music artists played by both Peel[3] and his friend and colleague Andy Kershaw[4]. Another Island imprint given generous airtime by Peel was 4th & Broadway[5], which focused mainly on hip hop, leading to Festive Fifty recognition for Eric B. & Rakim and Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy. There was also a licensing deal with New York's "mutant disco" ZE label (Waitresses, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Was (Not Was)).[2]

In 1994, Island released the 'Watusi' album of perennial Peel mainstays Wedding Present, earning numerous plays by the DJ and multiple Festive Fifty entries.

Not all Island artists became Peel favourites, with Emerson, Lake & Palmer, U2 and Tom Waits seemingly barred from his radio shows. As the label continued to evolve within a wider corporate structure, however, performers such as Pulp and PJ Harvey remained Peel session and Festive Fifty regulars into the new century.

Festive Fifty[]

Festive Fifty entries during Peel's lifetime that were released by Island. List excludes session versions and tracks by Island artists on other labels or releases on group labels such as ZTT. According to The Festive Fifty by Mark Whitby (1st edition, 2005, pg195), Island had the 7th most Festive Fifty entries of any label in Peel's lifetime, with 36, in a list led by Rough Trade, with 94, as well as the 4th most entries by separate tracks, with 35, compared with 74 for leader Rough Trade.

Pulp_--_Common_People

Pulp -- Common People

Island's only F50#1 topped the 1995 Festive Fifty and placed #12 in the all-time 2000 Festive Fifty.

Sessions[]

(Island artists who recorded Peel sessions. List includes sessions when the artists were not on Island, but excludes artists signed to group labels such as ZTT. Please add more information if known.)

Peelenium[]

Compilations[]

(Plays by Peel of various artist (v/a) releases on Island, excluding those on group labels such as ZTT. Please add more more information if known. The DJ appears not to have played early Island budget samplers You Can All Join In (1968) and Bumpers (1970), which featured many artists played regularly on his show.)

Intensified
Sounddafrique
Pressuredrop
Arkology

(LP - Nice Enough to Eat)

(2xLP - El Pea)

(4xLP - Electric Muse: The Story Of Folk Into Rock) Transatlantic / Island FOLK 1001

(LP - This Is Sue!)

(LP - Intensified! Original Ska 1962-1966)

(LP - More Intensified! Original Ska 1963-67 Vol. 2)

(LP – Club Ska '67)

(LP – Catch This Beat: The Rocksteady Years 1966-1968)

(LP - The Secret Policeman's Ball - The Music)

(LP - Sound D'Afrique)

(LP - Raiders Of The Lost Dub)

(LP - Sound D'Afrique II Soukous)

(LP - Go Go Crankin')

(LP - Island Reggae Greats)

(LP - Good To Go - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

(7xLP - Pressure Drop - Island Celebrates 25 Years Of Jamaican Music)

(LP - Jah Shaka Presents Dub Masters Volume 1)

(3xCD - Arkology)

(CD - Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (Soundtrack From The Motion Picture))

See Also[]

Links[]

References[]

  1. ↑ At the end of 1979, Peel made 'Cut' his #3 LP of the year, behind only the Undertones and Specials debut albums.[1]
  2. ↑ Peel is quoted as describing ZE as "the best independent record label in the world" in Melody Maker in 1980.[2]
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More John Peel Wiki