The World Won't Listen

The World's Most Flexible Record Label

Ahh, Stiff Records. I remember them with affection. Suddenly at the end of the seventies, to be really cool you had to be signed to a minor label. And, of course, these were the days when minor labels were really a minor label, not a phantasm, an illusion if you will of the kind of small scale label that exists in today's music industry. The media conglomerates still play this game of trying to convince you that the latest bright young things are 'superior' because they belong to the 'sweaty bollocks' label or something similar. And behind the label, skulking like some lardy monster is 'the major' with its corporate bosses chewing on a cigar, and drinking a brandy after their latest business deal. Sickening.

Back in the seventies it was different. The fatcats were still there, but there were also the true independents and one of them was Stiff. Rather famously, of course, Stiff had their "If it ain't Stiff it ain't worth a fuck" slogan, and this provocative stance increased the 'dangerous' feel of the label to spotty faced teenagers like myself. And then there were the artists themselves. Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello were there for a short time, while Ian Dury and Madness were there for much longer. In fact the single sales of Madness really kept the label afloat until its eventual demise in 1986, although it had already teamed up with the semi-independent Island records in 1983. Yes, it was the 'golden age' of the independents and Mr Vicar the cynic believes it is an age we will never see again.

Lene Lovich - Lucky Number (mp3) buy

Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Inbetweenies (mp3) buy

Elvis Costello - Less Than Zero (mp3) buy

The Damned - Neat Neat Neat (mp3) buy