Format Details: Jewel Case
Release Date: 29 March 2004
Label: Ace Records
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 029667000222
Genres: Blues Rhythm and Blues Soul/R&B R&B
Description
As Britain stumbled from the grey torpor of the 1950s into the brash glare of the soon-to-be swinging 60s, Guy Stevens' red and yellow Sue label became a talisman for the hippest kids on the block, a marker for the growing divide between the pop mainstream and the burgeoning R&B/Soul underground. This is the first of an important trilogy celebrating the triumphs and heroic failures of Britain's first cult label. Check out the titles in the panel on the left. Here are the echoes of authenticity that rang true for so many music fans seeking a counterpoint to the first noisy flush of British beatdom. Before Stevens there was Chris Blackwell. He was Stevens' mentor and sponsor, the man who gave Stevens the opportunity to express himself. Blackwell was the first of the young mavericks who helped revolutionise the English record industry in the mid-1960s and though it's rarely acknowledged, he was also a good two years ahead of a distinguished pack which included Andrew Oldham, Mickie Most and Shel Talmy, not to mention Brian Epstein. As the beat boom, stoked by Beatlemania took hold, Blackwell began to cast an envious eye over the rapidly expanding pop market. While visiting Jamaica in July 1963, Blackwell caught the strains of Mockingbird a catchy American hit by Inez and Charlie Foxx, in a distributor's office. He rushed to New York to negotiate for the British release rights with the producer, Juggy Murray, on whose Symbol label Mockingbird was rapidly scaling the US charts. He believed so strongly in Mockingbird's potential as a pop 'crossover' hit, that he offered to launch the Sue label in the UK with Mockingbird as its inaugural release. This appealed to Murray's vanity because even iconic American labels such as Atlantic and Motown had yet to establish their own logos in the UK. Blackwell now had his deal. Whether he was equipped to fulfil his obligations to Murray with the resources at his disposal was another matter. With a few modest alterations, Island's distinctive red and white logo - designed by a thrusting young advertising agency named Saatchi & Saatchi - was transmogrified into a striking red and yellow logo for its new companion imprint, Sue. Guy Stevens first came to the fore when he got a gig as a DJ at The Scene, a small basement club in Ham Yard, a cobble-stoned cul-de-sac off Great Windmill Street directly opposite the famed Windmill Theatre. His Monday evening hops soon began to attract interest and by early 1964, The Scene was a prime Mod hangout. The Animals and Georgie Fame were superstars there long before the rest of the country got to hear of them, as were the High Numbers, a Shepherd's Bush band with Mod pretensions. By late 1963, R&B was fast becoming a code for a subterranean network of wonderful sounds there to be discovered if one knew where to look. Before long, clubs in the image of The Scene were springing up throughout the South East and there were pockets further north too. By the time Blackwell hired St
Tracklisting
The Champs
Richard Thompson
Little Richard
The Seeds
James Carr
Leon Thomas
Alex Chilton
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
