Mother 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, ...

founded by the band U2 in 1983 and distributed by parent

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 ...

. As a supportive promotional platform, the label released several one-off single releases for

The Hothouse Flowers Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, ''People'' (1988), was the most successfu ...

In Tua Nua In Tua Nua are an Irish rock band. The band is named after a mythical Hawaiian island which the band came across in a 1920s edition of the Saturday Evening Post. Biography The group was formed by Leslie Dowdall, Jack Dublin, Vinnie Kilduf ...

and Cactus World News among others.

History

The label was registered on 19 October 1983, and subsequently launched on 1 August 1984 by U2. Initially, the label released only 'one-off' singles promoting Irish artists. The debut single was

's "Coming Thru", and Bono's first producer credit for Cactus World News's "The Bridge". In 1990, the label was relaunched as an independent record company. The debut artists for the revamped label were The Golden Horde, Bumbl

and Engine Alley. The Golden Horde charted with the singles "Friends in Time" and "100 Boys", and their album release, produced by Daniel Rey & Andy Shernoff (eponymously 'The Golden Horde'), was voted joint #1 record with U2's ''

Achtung Baby ''Achtung Baby'' ( ) is the seventh studio album by the Irish rock music, rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 18 November 1991 by Island Records. After criticism of their 1988 documentary film and ...

'' in the prestigious Hot Press Music Awards of 1991. Bumble's genre-bending 'West in Motion' received a re-release in 2022. Engine Alley's debut album ''A Sonic Holiday'', produced by

Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite (born 15 March 1955) is an English record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts The Alarm ...

, was released in 1992. Other artists to join the label's roster were

Longpigs Longpigs were an English indie rock band who rose to fame on the fringe of Britpop in the 1990s, comprising Crispin Hunt (vocals, guitar), Richard Hawley (guitar), Simon Stafford (bass guitar) and former Cabaret Voltaire member Dee Boyle (dru ...

Alicia Bridges Alicia Bridges (born July 15, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter who co-wrote and performed her international hit " I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round)" in 1978. Early years Born in Charlotte, North Carolina and raised in the small Cl ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

, Tanita Tikaram, Lena Fiagbe,

Audioweb Audioweb are an English indie rock band, formed in 1991 in Manchester. They were initially called The Sugar Merchants. Career Audioweb scored two Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart - "Policeman Skank...(The Story Of My Life)", and a cover ve ...

, and

Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock music, rock band U2. Born in Oxfordshire, England, he lived in County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland after his family moved to ...

's and

Larry Mullen Laurence Joseph Mullen Jr. (; born 31 October 1961) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band U2. A member of the band since its inception, he has recorded 15 studio albums with U2. Mullen's distinctive, ...

's "Theme From Mission: Impossible". In 1997, the U2 PopMart Mix of M's " Pop Muzik" was released for Mother Records and was under license to Island Records on U2 releases. The label ceased operations in 2000. Yet according to the Irish Companies Registration Office (CRO), it was dissolved only on 14 October 2011 and was registered at their former accountant's former office.

References

External links

Mother Records release discography #1

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1983 Record labels disestablished in 2011 Irish record labels U2 Alternative rock record labels Electronic music record labels Pop record labels Psychedelic rock record labels Reggae record labels Rock record labels Soul music record labels