Cherry Red Records is 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

Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern (, locally also: ) is a spa town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is ...

by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and

Felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...

, among others, as well as the compilation album ''Pillows & Prayers''. In addition to releasing new music, Cherry Red also acts as an umbrella for individual imprints and catalogue specialists. Cherry Red was listed by ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' as one of the UK's top ten record companies in Q1 2015 for sales of artist albums.

History

Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company (similarly named after the song "Cherry Red" by The Groundhogs) founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens. In the wake of the independent record boom that followed the advent of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

, founders Iain McNay (who remains company chairman) and Richard Jones released the label's first single, "Bad Hearts" by punk band The Tights in June 1978. Cherry Red's early roster included releases by Morgan Fisher under various

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s, using a small studio installed in his

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

flat, as well as material licensed from The Hollywood Brats, Destroy All Monsters and The Runaways. The latter was the label's biggest seller until McNay invested $10,000 in the recording of the debut studio album by San Franciscan political punk band Dead Kennedys. '' Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables'' (1979) and its attendant singles sold well worldwide. New A&R head Mike Alway had promoted the Snoopies venue in

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

and been involved with the Scissor Fits, and signed groups including The Monochrome Set, Everything But The Girl, Eyeless in Gaza,

, and Five Or Six. McNay aspired for Cherry Red to be a label that offered a space for artists who would otherwise not fit the image of some of the more succinctly defined and stylised independents. "Cherry Red Records was always about musical individuality, diversity, character, commitment and passion," he stated in 2008. It also marketed other smaller independent record labels, like Bristol's Heartbeat Records, which recorded the Glaxo Babies. Cherry Red's role as one of the keynote labels of the early 1980s independent scene was confirmed by the success of a budget compilation album compiled by Alway and released at Christmas 1982. Retailing for 99p, '' Pillows & Prayers'' topped the independent charts for several weeks. The label also released several albums from Adrian Sherwood and his ON-U Sound Label in the early 1980s. Cherry Red continued to sign contemporary artists but increasingly moved into the reissue market from the late 1980s onwards. It has a number of subsidiary labels dealing in genre-specific releases, curating many "critically unloved" musical genres, in partial continuation of McNay's earlier advocacy of the unfashionable. The label began to acquire the rights to many independent labels from the 1970s and 1980s, including No Future, Flicknife, Rondelet, Midnight, Temple and In Tape - this spawned the "Collector" series of releases, which saw punk, psychobilly, goth and metal genres covered. Another "Collector" series that proved popular was the label's football releases, which released over 60 CDs of collections of club and country football songs. The company has also signed agreements with a number of specialist reissue labels, which operate with a degree of autonomy using Cherry Red's logistical and financial support. Mark Stratford's RPM Records label focuses on pop music from the 1960s to the advent of punk. Esoteric Recordings, headed by Mark Powell, specialises in

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

and folk catalogue. Mark Brennan heads 7T's Records, which reissues albums by that decade's glam/ glitter generation. (Brennan originally helped Cherry Red form one of its first subsidiary labels, Anagram, covering punk, Psychobilly and Goth, which remains active). él Records continues under the auspices of Mike Alway (but purely as a re-release label), alongside other labels including Poker, Giant Steps, Mortarhate, Now Sounds, and Ork. The Cherry Red label group continues to house reissues, but is also active in the release of new studio material by established artists such as Suzi Quatro, Marc Almond, Red Box,

Van Der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith. They were the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much ...

, Jah Wobble & Keith Levene, Squackett (a collaboration between

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English guitarist who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis (band), Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three l ...

and Chris Squire), Hussey-Regan (a collaboration between Wayne Hussey and Julianne Regan), Hazel O'Connor, The Christians and Ken Hensley. Still headed by McNay, a fan of AFC Wimbledon, alongside managing director Adam Velasco, Cherry Red also has interests in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

-related releases, with the most complete catalogue of soccer-related songs extant. In 2007, the company launched a

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable t ...

service, cherry red TV. It also publishes an in-house magazine and an 'in-house' publishing division, 'Cherry Red Songs'. Cherry Red's previous music publisher, Complete Music, was acquired by BMG Music Publishing in 2006. In early 2015, Cherry Red Records and PWL reissued the first four Kylie Minogue albums, ''Kylie'', ''Enjoy Yourself'', ''Rhythm Of Love'' and ''Let's Get To It'', as deluxe CD/DVD and LP boxsets. Cherry Red also released a plethora of prestigious frontline albums by established artists that year, including Marc Almond's ''The Velvet Trail'', The Zombies' ''Still Got That Hunger'', Sarah Cracknell's ''Red Kite'', Andy Bell of Erasure's ''Torsten The Bareback Saint'', Jimmy Somerville's ''Homage'', The Fall's ''Sub-Lingual Tablet'' and

Wolfgang Flür Wolfgang Flür (born 17 July 1947) is a German musician, best known for playing percussion in the electronic group Kraftwerk from 1973 to 1987. Flür claims that he invented the electric drums the group used throughout the 1970s. However, pat ...

's ''Eloquence''. In 2016, Cherry Red had its highest chart position, with the new studio album from Hawkwind, '' The Machine Stops'', reaching No. 29 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

in April 2016. It also announced the release of the latest studio album from

in September. In 2017, Cherry Red confirmed it will be representing several label catalogues and artist discographies, including

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold more than List of best-selling si ...

, The Residents, Arthur Brown, Captain Oi, Glenn Hughes and Tim Blake. It also acquired 13 artist catalogues from

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...

as part of the major's divestments to independent labels, including Howard Jones,

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo ...

, Marc Almond, Third Ear Band, Dinosaur Jr., Mel & Kim, Fourplay (shared with Evolution Media Group),

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

(except their debut album, which remained with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

), Be-Bop Deluxe and Curved Air. These catalogues will be distributed worldwide through Absolute Label Services. The 2017 BPI yearbook ''All About The Music'' included Cherry Red in the 20 Market Share By Corporate Group at number 15, which explained the chart-eligible album sales of all record labels. In 2018, Cherry Red acquired the extensive catalogue of Witchwood Media, home to the music of the Strawbs and a roster of other related artists. In late 2019 and early 2020, Cherry Red acquired more label and album catalogue, including Safari Records (Toyah, Jayne County), Emerald Music, Genesis' debut album, '' From Genesis to Revelation'', and Chapter One Records. Cherry Red have also acquired the catalogue from numerous independent labels including Inevitable Records (Dead Or Alive), Attrix Records (Peter & The Test Tube Babies) and Native Records (Screaming Trees). Artist catalogues acquired in 2020 included Glenn Hughes and Trapeze, rock band The Stairs and Edgar Jones, psychedelic rock band July, heavy metal band Sir Lord Baltimore, psychedelic rock band Outskirts Of Infinity, NWOBHM band Spider, guitarist Paul Brett, record producer and musician Tom Newman and Canadian pub rocker Philip Rambow. In late 2020 Cherry Red acquired producer Joe Meek's "Tea Chest Tapes" collection - a host of quarter-inch tapes kept in 67 tea chests. 2021 saw the label acquire the Dissonance Productions label and catalogue from Plastic Head Distribution. The extreme metal label has a catalogue of approximately 130 releases including At The Gates’ Gardens Of Grief, Holy Terror’s Terror & Submission, Nifelheim’s Servants Of Darkness and Ascension Of The Watchers’ Apocrypha. In 2021 and 2022 it released new albums by Agent Steel, Lawnmower Deth and Tokyo Blade. Notable catalogue acquisitions for the label in 2021 included deals for the catalogue of independent labels such as Golf, Abstract, Planet Dog and Peer Music. Artist catalogue the label now wholly or partially represent include Edward Ball (of The Times), Jah Wobble, Ron Geesin, Suzi Quatro, Miki Dallon and Dead Or Alive’s early recordings. In 2023 Cherry Red acquired Peter Hammill's Fie! catalgogue from the Van Der Graaf Generator frontman. The Fie! imprint was an output for Hammill's solo material and Cherry Red began a reissue campaign through the Esoteric Recordings imprint. In late 2023, Cherry Red announced a partnership with MVD Entertainment to represent the physical rights to Jay Records; a record label specialising in theatrical recordings of classical and musical theatre. In 2024 Cherry Red began to represent the catalogue of Christian rap artist Manafest.

Notable awards and prizes

In June 2008 the ''Pillows & Prayers'' box set won the 'Best Catalogue Release category at that year's '' Mojo'' Honours. At the 2013 Association of Independent Music Awards, Cherry Red won the Special Catalogue Release award for ''Scared To Get Happy'' - a box set that explored indie pop from 1980 to 1989. In 2014, Cherry Red artist Dave Brock of Hawkwind won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural '' Prog'' Progressive Music Awards. They also picked up nominations for Matt Stevens (Breakthrough Artist) and Panic Room (Best Anthem). The 2015 Progressive Music Awards saw Genesis founder Tony Banks receive the Prog God award after his solo material catalogue reissue campaign with Cherry Red that year. The label also picked up nominations for John Lodge and Tin Spirits in the Best Anthem category, and Bill Nelson and Anthony Phillips in the Storm Thorgerson Grand Design Award category. Hawkwind's ''The Machine Stops'', received a nomination for Album Of The Year in the Progressive Music Awards 2016. Cherry Red had two albums in the

Top 40 in 2017. Hawkwind's studio album, ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' charted at No. 34 in May and the Fall's final album, '' New Facts Emerge'', charted at No. 35 in July. On 4 September 2018 at the AIM Independent Music Awards, Cherry Red Records Chairman, Iain McNay, won the Special Recognition Award for his service to independent music for over 40 years, as the label celebrated its 40th anniversary. Hawkwind's studio album '' Road To Utopia'' charted at No. 44 in the UK Albums Chart in September 2018. Hawkwind's next studio album, '' All Aboard the Skylark'', peaked at No. 34 in the UK Albums Chart in July 2019. Jim Bob, the former frontman of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, charted at No. 26 in the UK Albums Chart in August 2020 with his studio album ''Pop Up Jim Bob''. His 2021 album, ''Who Do We Hate Today'', charted at No. 34 on the UK Albums Chart. Other UK charting albums for the label in 2021 included Hawkwind's studio album ''Somnia'' which entered at No. 57, and Kim Wilde's '' Pop Don't Stop: Greatest Hits'', which peaked at No. 51.

Cherry Red artists

Original label artists

* Marc Almond * Attila the Stockbroker * Beau * Blow Up * Bodast * The Charlottes * Kevin Coyne * Dead Kennedys * Destroy All Monsters * Everything but the Girl * Eyeless in Gaza * The Fall *

* Morgan Fisher * Five or Six * Grab Grab the Haddock * Kevin Hewick * In Embrace * Inspiral Carpets * Jane * Jim Bob * Thomas Leer * The Long Ryders * Marine Girls * Medium Medium * The Misunderstood * Momus * The Monochrome Set * The Nightingales * Nektar * The Passage * Pere Ubu * Prolapse * Suzi Quatro * The Seers * The Sting-rays * Red Box * The Runaways *

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...

* Tracey Thorn *

Warfare War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

Reissue label artists

* Marc Almond *

Altered Images Altered Images is a Scottish New wave music, new wave/post-punk band who found success in the early 1980s. Fronted by singer Clare Grogan, the group branched into mainstream pop music, having six UK top-40 hit singles and three top-30 albums ...

The Band of Holy Joy The Band of Holy Joy are an English band formed in New Cross, London, and initially active between 1984 and 1993, releasing several albums. In 1992, they abbreviated their name to Holy Joy. They reformed in 2002, under their original name, releas ...

* Be Bop Deluxe * Beau *

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 ...

Blue Orchids Blue Orchids are an English post-punk band formed in Manchester in 1979, when Martin Bramah left The Fall (band), the Fall, after playing on the band's debut album ''Live at the Witch Trials''. Christened by Salford-based punk poet John Cooper ...

* Marc Bolan *

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...

* Breathe *

Bruce Foxton Bruce Douglas Foxton (born 1 September 1955) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Foxton's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as bassist and backing vocalist of mod revival band the Jam. ...

* Brotherhood of Man * Arthur Brown * Chapterhouse * Cranes * Cud * Curved Air * The Dancing Did *

Divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

* Duffy Power * Exposé * Joe Meek * Julia Fordham * Frazier Chorus * The Freshies * Phillip Goodhand-Tait * Paul Haig * Hawkwind * John Howard * Into A Circle *

La Toya Jackson La Toya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956) is an American singer and television personality. The fifth child and middle daughter of the Jackson family, Jackson first gained recognition on the family's variety television series, ''The Jacksons (TV ...

* John's Children * Howard Jones * June Brides * Laibach * Annabel Lamb * The Long Ryders * Donna Loren * Marilyn * Martha and the Muffins * McCarthy * Mel & Kim * Milk 'N' Cookies *

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 ...

* Mobiles * Mood Six * R. Stevie Moore * Martin Newell * Bill Nelson * Hazel O'Connor * Paw * Red Lorry Yellow Lorry * The Residents * Julian Jay Savarin (as Julian's Treatment) * Screaming Trees * The Servants *

Sex Gang Children Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been packa ...

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series ''The Big Time (TV series), The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to gain a ...

* Spizzenergi * Stavely Makepeace * Sweet * Suzi Quatro * Tears for Fears *

Television Personalities The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...

* Toyah * Lon & Derrek Van Eaton * Weekend * Wigwam *

Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, Keyboardist, keyboard player, songwriter, singer, and music journalism, music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University, Wingfield and three other students formed ...

* The Woodentops * Yeah Yeah Noh

Cherry Red associated imprint labels

The full repertoire of Cherry Red associated imprint labels as of 2016: * 30 Hertz * 359 Music * 3Loop Music * 7Ts * Anagram Records * Analog Baroque (Momus) * Artpop * Atomhenge * Badfish * Bella Casa * Big Break Records * Cherry Pop * Cherry Red Football * Cherry Red Records * Cherry Tree * Cocteau Discs * Croydon Municipal * el * Esoteric Antenna * Esoteric Recordings * FiveFour * Giant Steps * Grapefruit * HNE Recordings * Hot Milk * Hot Shot * IronBird * Lemon * Manticore * Morello * Mortarhate * Now Sounds * Original Dope * Phoenix City * Poker * Pressure Drop * Purple Records * Reactive * Redline * Rev-Ola * Righteous * Robinsongs * RPM * SFE * Sidewinder Sounds * SoulMusic Records * SuperBird * T-Bird Americana * The Right Honourable Recording Company Ltd * Tune In * Visionary * West Midlands * WiseCrack Records

Compilations

Notable compilations released by Cherry Red Records include: * '' Avon Calling'': tracks featuring bands from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

* '' Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984'' * '' Flaming Schoolgirls'': previously unreleased tracks by The Runaways * '' The Genesis of Slade'': tracks by the members of

Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...

from before the band's formation * ''Leapers and Sleepers'': Duffy Power * '' Milking the Sacred Cow'': selection of Dead Kennedys tracks * '' Pillows & Prayers'': tracks from Cherry Red artists * '' Scared to Get Happy: A Story of Indie-Pop 1980–1989'' * '' Silhouettes and Statues: A Gothic Revolution 1978-1986'' * '' Songs in the Key of Z'': outsider music tracks selected by Irwin Chusid * '' That's All Very Well But...'': singles and rarities by the band McCarthy * '' Volume, Contrast, Brilliance...'': unreleased tracks and early sessions by The Monochrome Set * '' Your Box Set Pet (The Complete Recordings 1980–1984)'': three-volume compilation of

tracks

Marketing

From July 2018 to August 2020, Cherry Red were the main shirt sponsor for

English football league The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

club Wycombe Wanderers. They are also the longstanding stadium sponsor for League Two club AFC Wimbledon, both at their original Kingsmeadow ground from 2003 and at the new Plough Lane since 2021.

References

External links

Official website

Matt Bristow interviews Cherry Red Records Chairman Iain McNay about his successful independent label
{{Authority control British independent record labels Record labels established in 1978 Alternative rock record labels Reissue record labels IFPI members