Rhythm King Records Ltd was a British

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, founded in the mid-1980s by Martin Heath, Adele Nozedar, DJ Jay Strongman and James Horrocks. It was based in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, London.

History

Beginnings

Starting out as an offshoot of Daniel Miller's critically acclaimed

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, Einstürze ...

, Rhythm King's initial focus was

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

- specifically

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

, acid jazz, sampling culture and hip hop/rap. Strongman's rap/funk offshoot, Flame Records, signed proto- gangsta rapper Schoolly D and Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers amongst others. James Horrocks left the label at the end of 1987, and subsequently went on to form React Music Limited in 1990, which also had a focus upon dance music. This left Martin Heath in sole charge of the label; however by the beginning of 1988, Rhythm King was to enjoy a period of short term success, which went hand in hand with the partial dominance dance music had on the UK Singles Chart, from the late 1980s to the beginning of the 2000s.

January 1988 - First UK Singles Chart breakthrough - The Beatmasters / Bomb the Bass

The breakthrough was the single " Rok da House" by The

Beatmasters The Beatmasters are an English electronic music group who gained success in the UK in the late 1980s with four top 20 hit singles. They then went on to produce and remix records for other artists, including Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and Marc A ...

featuring The Cookie Crew. Initially reaching No. 78 when first released in July 1987, the single was re-released in January 1988 and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1988. It is acknowledged as not only one of the earliest British house tunes (recorded 1986), but also as the first record to merge hip-hop and house, into a style known as

hip house Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip-hop, which originated in both London and Chicago in the mid-to-late 1980s. A British collaboration between the electronic group Beatm ...

. This was followed up by "Beat Dis" by

Bomb The Bass Bomb the Bass is an electronic music alias of English musician and producer Timothy Simenon (born June 1967). As a name, Bomb the Bass came from Simenon's approach to collaging and mixing sounds whilst DJing in the mid- to late 1980s; he says ...

. The identity of Bomb The Bass was shrouded in mystery until it was revealed that it was the work of London's Wag Club DJ Tim Simenon, and record producer Pascal Gabriel. Simenon brought his DJ experience, record collection and techniques gained from a music production course to create a cut and paste style which, with Gabriel's help, successfully merged sounds and samples from various genres within dance music. These included old school

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

, house, electro and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

with samples from film and TV - most notably ''

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (, literally "''The good, the ugly, the bad''") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach a ...

'' and ''Thunderbirds''. The record reputedly cost £500 to make and debuted at No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1988 - what was then the highest debut position for an unknown artist. It eventually reached No. 2 for two weeks and was kept off the top spot by

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

's debut single " I Should Be So Lucky".

Theme From S-Express and further hits

Rhythm King did not have to wait too long for its first UK Singles Chart No. 1.

S-Express S'Express (pronounced ''ess-express''; sometimes spelled S'Xpress or S-Express) was a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre. " Theme from S'Express", which contain ...

was the brainchild of London DJ Mark Moore who, in collaboration with producer Pascal Gabriel (also in Bomb the Bass), put together the single, " Theme from S'Express". This mixed many of the contemporary

sounds of the time with a sample from

Rose Royce Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B group. They are best known for several hit singles during the 1970s including " Car Wash", " I Wanna Get Next to You", " I'm Going Down", " Wishing on a Star", and " Love Don't Live Here Anymore". Career ...

's 1970s disco anthem "Is It Love You're After" to great success. Vocalist, David White aka Steam supplied vocals for the US release of the single. The single shot to No. 1 in April/May 1988 and 1988 to 1991 would be a golden period for Rhythm King with its artists - in particular The

Betty Boo Alison Moira Clarkson (born 6 March 1970), better known as Betty Boo, is a British Singing, singer, songwriter and Rapping, rapper. She first came to mainstream prominence in the late 1980s following a collaboration with the Beatmasters on th ...

, Merlin and

doing well in the UK Album and Singles Charts.

Outer Rhythm and Renegade Software

With

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

culture going mainstream from the late 1980s, Rhythm King also became interested in this and formed Outer Rhythm in 1989. The emphasis at Outer Rhythm was

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

and was influential in developing the initial music careers of

Leftfield Leftfield are a British electronic music group formed in London in 1989, a duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of The Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s ...

and, to a much lesser degree,

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

. Briefly Outer Rhythm was also associated with

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Warp Records Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...

- and the Yorkshire Bleeps and Bass scene which launched Warp, along with

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

based R&S Records before the labels and their artists - including

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

, CJ Bolland, Dave Angel, Jam & Spoon, LFO and Nightmares on Wax went on to do big things in their own right. Martin Heath also diversified into computer games software in association with the Bitmap Brothers. Renegade Software was successful and some of Rhythm King's artists - including The Beatmasters, Betty Boo, Bomb The Bass and Nation 12 contributed music to some of Renegade's titles.

Deal with Sony Records

The commercial success of Rhythm King enabled it to link a distribution deal with

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the la ...

subsidiary

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. Rhythm King was no longer associated with

from 1991 and towards the end of 1992 it closed down the Outer Rhythm offshoot. Coincidentally, Mute set up Novamute Records around this time - also with a focus on

and

Direction of Rhythm King in the 1990s

As the 1990s progressed, many of the established artists on Rhythm King's roster - including Baby Ford, The

and

either left the label and/or concentrated on producing for other artists - most notably Tim Simenon and The

, the latter in particular immediately achieving success with their work on a string of singles taken from the 1992 Shamen album, '' Boss Drum''. The musical focus at Rhythm King in the mid 1990s shifted away from dance music and more towards indie and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

. Acts signed during this period had varying levels of critical and commercial success, and included David Devant and his Spirit Wife, The Dharmas, Echobelly, Sheep on Drugs, The Sultans Of Ping and X-CNN.

Enter Arista exit Rhythm King

Rhythm King's distribution deal with

expired around 1995/96 so a new deal with BMG's

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

was signed in 1996. Rhythm King was subsequently closed down and merged into the main Arista concern when Martin Heath became head of the label. However, this was not the end of Heath's involvement with an

. Lizard King Records was formed by Heath and Dominic Hardisty in 2001, and its most notable artist was US act

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

, who were signed to Lizard King in the UK and Ireland. In 2005, Hardisty bought out Heath and Heath moved to New York to set up a new label. As part of the deal he was permitted to re-use the name Lizard King, but the Killers remain signed to the original company which has now been renamed Marrakesh Records.

Artists

Rhythm King had a varied roster of artists. Some of these had only a short-term relationship with the label and others had more of a longer term relationship releasing a number of singles and albums to varying degrees of commercial and critical success. The artist roster for the label therefore included the following: * Ability 2 - Released on the Outer Rhythm offshoot. *

- The releases Digeridoo and Selected Ambient Works 85-92 were released by Belgium-based R&S Records who had a distribution deal with Outer Rhythm for UK releases from 1990-92. * Baby Ford - The third Baby Ford album BFORD9 was released on Rhythm King's offshoot label Transglobal. Since leaving Rhythm King in the mid '90s Peter Ford has had a nomadic relationship with a variety of other labels including; Black Market International, Force Inc, Ideal, Klang, Perlon, Plus 8 & Sender. * Bailey & Bridges * Bam Bam Musique - Released on the Splish offshoot label. * The Beatmasters - After seven singles and two Rhythm King albums ('' Anywayawanna'' and ''Life & Soul''), slimmed down to a duo and went on to a successful career as writers and producers. Still working to this day (2009) *

Joey Beltram Joey Beltram (born November 6, 1971) is an American DJ and record producer, best known for his pioneering singles "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm" and for remixing Human Resource (band), Human Resource's "Dominator (Human Resource song), Dominator". ...

- UK releases from 1990-92 were distributed by Outer Rhythm on behalf of Belgium-based R&S Records. Recorded under the aliases Beltram and Second Phase. *

- Signed with WEA in 1992. *

- Formed the label Stoned Heights in association with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

offshoot 4th & Broadway in 1994. * CCP - Released on Transglobal. Signed with MCA Records in 1989. * Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers - Some releases on the Flame offshoot. * CJ Bolland - UK releases from 1990-92 were distributed by Outer Rhythm on behalf of Belgium-based R&S Records. * Congress - Released on the offshoot Inner Rhythm label. * Cookie Crew - Released the single Females before signing with FFRR/

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in 1988. * D'Angel/ Dave Angel - UK releases from 1990-92 were distributed by Outer Rhythm on behalf of Belgium-based R&S Records. * David Devant and his Spirit Wife * The Dharmas - Now named Steadman after frontman Simon Steadman. The band allow fans to download their music for free downloads on their website under a

Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...

licence. * Djum Djum - (Neil Cole) Pianist, keyboardist, drummer/percussionist, vocalist and songwriter, co-wrote and co-produced ''Difference'' in 1990 (cat no. FOOT 8) with Neil Barnes, prior to the formation of

(see below). Released on Outer Rhythm. Difference (Djum Djum/Barnes) also featured on the Leftfield compilation album Backlog. July 1995 saw the Leftfield/Djum Djum collaboration Afro Left (Leftism), released through Sony. * Dr Fresh * Echobelly - Released on the offshoot Favue label. * Fat Planet * Thomas Fehlmann - aka Readymade, released on Transglobal. * Fluffy Toy I.Q. - Released on Splish. * Forgemasters - On Warp distributed by Outer Rhythm 1989-91. * Hard Corps * Heaven WXI * Hotline * How II House - Released on Outer Rhythm. * Human Resource - UK releases from 1990-92 were distributed by Outer Rhythm on behalf of Belgium-based R&S Records. * Ital Rockers - Released on Outer Rhythm. * Jam & Spoon - UK releases from 1990-92 were distributed by Outer Rhythm on behalf of Belgium-based R&S Records. * Jaydee - UK releases from 1990-92 were distributed by Outer Rhythm on behalf of Belgium-based R&S Records. * Joi - Released on Transglobal. * KDFM - Released on Transglobal. * King Sun D-Moet - Some releases on the Flame offshoot. *

- The singles " Not Forgotten" and " More Than I Know" along with a compilation album '' Backlog'' were released on Outer Rhythm before Leftfield formed their own label Hard Hands in 1992. Since 1993 this was in association with Sony Music. * Les Négresses Vertes * LFO - On Warp distributed by Outer Rhythm 1989-91. * Man Machine - Early '90s techno/electro project on Outer Rhythm from Ed Stratton. Stratton was also a member of Jack 'N' Chill best remembered for their 'one-off' top-ten hit, ''The Jack That House Built'' which reached #6 in the UK singles chart in January 1988. Stratton is also co-founder of

Zero-G Ltd Zero-G is a British company that develops sound libraries, sound effects and audio loops. It also develops "singing" synthesisers using the Vocaloid engine developed by Yamaha Corporation. Products Sample packs In the early 1990s, Zero-G ...

(formerly "Time+Space"). * Gwen McRae - Some releases on the Flame offshoot. * Merlin - Signed with WEA in 1991/92. *

- Moby's 1991 single Go was licensed by Outer Rhythm from New York-based Instinct Records. In 1992 Moby signed to

in the UK. * Denise Motto * Nation 12 - A collaboration between John Foxx and Tim Simenon of

* Nightmares on Wax - On Warp distributed by Outer Rhythm 1989-91. *

Nitzer Ebb Nitzer Ebb () are an English electronic body music, EBM group formed in 1982 by Essex school friends Bon Harris, Vaughan "Bon" Harris (programming, synthesizers, drums, vocals), Douglas McCarthy (vocals), and David Gooday (drums). The band were ...

- The single Murderous was released on Transglobal in 1986. The band signed a long term deal with Mute Records in the late 1980s. * One Tribe - Released on the Inner Rhythm offshoot. * Paradise * Q-Pid Featuring Nikki Q * Renegade Soundwave - Signed to Mute Records in 1988, after releasing their first 2 singles Kray Twins and Cocaine Sex on Rhythm King, having been spotted by Mudd Club DJ and S-Express main man Mark Moore. * Kurt Rogers * Robert & Tom Sanders - Released on the Flame offshoot. * Schoolly D - Licensing agreement with Jive Records for UK releases from 1986-88. Some releases on the Flame offshoot. *

- aka S'Xpress. Mark Moore continues to produce music and is an Internationally known DJ. * Shawnie 'G' * She Rockers - Signed with Jive Records in late 1988. * Sheep on Drugs - Released on Transglobal. * Sludge Nation * Jay Strongman "East West" single that sampled Red Army Choir. * Sugar Ray Dinkie * Sulphur (3) - Released on Transglobal. * The Sultans Of Ping FC * Survival Instinct - Released on Outer Rhythm. * Sweet Exorcist - On Warp Distributed by Outer Rhythm 1989-91. * Taffy - Released on Transglobal. * Tanya * Toney Rome * Three Wise Men - aka Three Wize Men. * Tiziana - Released on Splish. * Tricky Disco - On Warp Distributed by Outer Rhythm 1989-91. * Ugly - Which featured Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17. * Underground Resistance - Released on Splish. * Leslie Winer © - With Karl Bonnie,

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

, Kevin Mooney, Helen Terry, John Reynolds, Matthew Ashman and Marco Pirroni. * Vice - aka Survival Instinct, released on Outer Rhythm. * Victim Of The Ghetto * Viola Wills * Wolfman - Released on Splish. * X-CNN - The band were originally called

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

but had to change their name to X-CNN after legal action from the television news channel. The line-up featured ex-

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

member Tim Bricheno on guitar and David Tomlinson on vocals. Released through Transglobal. * YBU - Released on Splish.

References

External links

Rhythm King Records

{{Authority control British independent record labels Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom Electronic music record labels Hip-hop record labels British house music record labels