Geoff Travis (born 2 February 1952) is the founder of both

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1976.

Biography

Travis was born on 2 February 1952 in

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...

, London, and was raised in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p. 363 He is Jewish, his ancestors emigrated from Romania and Ukraine. Travis studied English at

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

. He worked as a drama teacher before opening the original Rough Trade record shop in Kensington Park Road,

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 ...

, London on 23 February 1976, setting up the record label two years later.The Billboard Q&A: Martin Mills & Geoff Travis
, ''

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 ...

'', 12 January 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2010Hart, Gerry (2003)
Rough Trade: 25 Years of Anarchy, Mayhem, Catastrophe...and Success
, ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'', 15 December 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2010 He claimed that he chose the location because it was close to Powis Square, where ''

Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

'', one of his favourite films, was made.Glinert, Ed (2001)
He likes a bit of Rough; Rough Trade, former home to early punk – not to mention The Smiths – is celebrating its 25th anniversary
, ''

London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

'', 16 February 2001 Travis was also instrumental in the foundation of the independent distribution network The Cartel. While Rough Trade was a key independent label, Travis also co-ran labels with major record companies, including Blanco y Negro in 1983 (with WEA) and Trade2 (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 ...

). Rough Trade was home to

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

, but by 1986, after three years on the label, the band were in dispute over finances. The song "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" from '' The Queen is Dead'' was a jibe at Travis.Spitz, Marc (2005)
The Smiths ''The Queen is Dead''
, '' Spin'', July 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2010 The label was wound up in 1994 after briefly being revived in partnership with One Little Indian, but revived by Travis in 2001 with breakthrough acts

The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

and

The Libertines The Libertines are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, included John Hassall ...

.Cromelin, Richard (2004) "Indie's new adventure; Rough Trade, a force on the '70s and '80s scene, has found renewed life", ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', 30 May 2004 Writer

Douglas Wolk Douglas Wolk (born 1970) is a Portland, Oregon-based author and critic. He has written about comics and popular music for publications including ''The New York Times'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Nation'', ''The New Republi ...

credited Travis as virtually defining "the British post-punk sound",Wolk, Douglas (1995)
Lida Husik & Beaumont Hannant – star
, ''

'', January 1995. Retrieved 20 June 2010 and XFM viewed his impact on independent music as greater than anyone else's in the country.Geoff Travis: From The Smiths to The Strokes
", XFM, 2 July 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2010

Jamie Travis

Geoff Travis has a son called Jamie, who is one half of the post-rave pop duo Babeheaven with singer Nancy Andersen.

References

External links

Interview with Furious in Nov. 1996Several interviews with Travis explaining his ideals are included in this 1979 TV documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Geoff British Jews British music industry executives British people of Romanian-Jewish descent British people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Living people 1952 births Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge People from Stoke Newington People educated at Dame Alice Owen's School