F-Beat Records was a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

set up by Andrew Lauder and

Jake Riviera Jake Riviera (born Andrew Jakeman, February 1948, in Edgware, Middlesex, England) is a British music business entrepreneur, best known for his management of such performers as Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe and as co-founder (with Dave Robinson) of ...

in 1979. Its first release, " I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" by

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

& the Attractions, reached number 4 in the UK charts, the highest singles chart position the label attained.Freeth, Nick (2002) ''The Guitar & rock equipment'', Salamander, , p. 230 The first album released on the label was Costello's '' Get Happy!!'', which peaked at number 2 on 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 ...

.Buckley, Peter (ed.) (2003) ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', Rough Guides, , p. 231 As well as releases from Costello, whom Riviera managed, he sought acts for the label via an advert in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', and one of the bands who applied (and were given an audition, ultimately unsuccessfully) were

Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...

and

Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (17 January 1964 – 19 May 2023) was an English musician best known as the bassist of the 1980s indie rock band the Smiths. Regarded as one of the greatest bassists of his generation, he was known for his melodic and funk- ...

's band White Dice.Rogan, Johnny (1993) ''Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance'', Omnibus Press, , p. 124 The roster was built up to include

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith (country musician), Carl Smith. Since 1978, Carter has ...

the Blasters The Blasters are an American rock music, rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman (drummer), Bill Bateman. Their s ...

Blanket of Secrecy Blanket of Secrecy (BoS) was a short-lived English new wave band formed in 1982. The band was notable for the fact that its band members, true to their band name, were never officially identified at the time - only the pseudonyms Tinker, Tail ...

and Clive Langer and the Boxes. The Album and Single covers were mostly designed by

Barney Bubbles Barney Bubbles (born Colin Fulcher; 30 July 1942 – 14 November 1983) was an English graphic artist whose work encompassed graphic design and music video direction. Bubbles, who also sketched and painted privately, is best known for his distin ...

and also Antoinette (Tony) Riviera. F-Beat was distributed in the mid-1980s by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

.Ellis, Lucy & Sutherland, Bryony (2002) ''Annie Lennox: the Biography'', Omnibus Press, , p. 136 Costello notched up another fifteen hits for F-Beat before leaving for

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. The original F-Beat label was closed down in 1986, but it was briefly reactivated in the early 1990s with a new roster including Blab Happy,

Nicola Hitchcock Nicola Corinne Hitchcock is a British singer and songwriter. She is best known for having been one half of the trip hop duo Mandalay (along with Saul Freeman). Following the demise of Mandalay, she has worked with various dance music and avant- ...

, Phil Burdett and the

Gutter Brothers Gutter may refer to: Water discharge structures * Rain gutter, used on roofs and in buildings * Street gutter, for drainage of streets Film * ''The Gutter'' (1938 film), a French film * ''The Gutter'' (2024 film), an American film Design and p ...

. The F-Beat label had associated offshoot labels in

Demon Records Demon Music Group Limited (DMG; formerly Object Enterprises Limited from 19821991 and Music Collection International Limited from 19912000) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-iss ...

and Edsel Records, the latter concentrating on reissues.Hoffman, F (2004) ''Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound'', Routledge, , pp. 285-6 F-Beat and its sub-labels were acquired by MCI Records and then in 1998 by

Kingfisher plc Kingfisher plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It has over 1,300 stores in nine countries, and its brands include B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt and Screwfix. Kingfisher i ...

for £2 million.Solomons, Mark & Ferguson, Tom (1998)
British Retailer Kingfisher Picks Up Demon Label
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', 18 April 1998, pp. 6, 85. Retrieved 17 November 2012

Roster

& the Attractions *

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,Rockpile Rockpile were a British rock band of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Noted for their strong pub rock, rockabilly and power pop influences, they were a foundational influence on new wave. The band consisted of Dave Edmunds (vocals, guitar), ...

Steve Nieve Steve Nieve ( "naïve"; born Stephen John Nason, 21 February 1958) is an English musician and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Nieve has been a member of Elvis Costello's backing bands the Attractions and the Imposters, as w ...

Clive Langer Clive Langer (born 19 June 1954) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films '' Still Crazy'' and '' Brothers of the Head''. Biog ...

& the Boxes *

The Coward Brothers Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith (country musician), Carl Smith. Since 1978, Carter has ...

The Blasters The Blasters are an American rock music, rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman (drummer), Bill Bateman. Their s ...

* Blab Happy *

* The Gutter Brothers

References

Record labels established in 1979 Record labels disestablished in 1986 Re-established companies Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom Pop record labels {{UK-record-label-stub

Roster

See also

References