Recreational Records was a British record label set up in 1981 by the

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

record shop and distributor Revolver Records. Originally formed as an

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- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

with its own distribution as part of

the Cartel ''The Cartel'' is a 2009 American documentary film by New Jersey-based television producer, reporter and news anchor Bob Bowdon, that covers the failures of public education in the United States by focusing on New Jersey, which has the highest ...

Revolver Records and the Cartel

Revolver Records (not to be confused with

Revolver Music Revolver Music was a British record label. It was created by Paul Birch in 1979 as a guitar music label. Its sister labels are FM Records and Heavy Metal Records. History Revolver is best known for signing the Manchester band, The Stone Rose ...

) was a long established record store based at The Triangle, Clifton, Bristol, and in the 1970s was a hangout of Mark Stewart,

Nick Sheppard Nick Sheppard is a British guitarist. He played lead guitar for The Clash from 1983 until the band's breakup in 1986. Life and career Sheppard was educated at Bristol Grammar School, one of Bristol's leading public schools, and was in the same ...

, and other local musicians. It also had a distribution arm, which allowed it to distribute its own records (under the Recreational label) and those of other Indie labels ( Monopause Records, etc.) via its participation in the Cartel.

The Cartel ''The Cartel'' is a 2009 American documentary film by New Jersey-based television producer, reporter and news anchor Bob Bowdon, that covers the failures of public education in the United States by focusing on New Jersey, which has the highest ...

was a co-operative record distribution organisation in the United Kingdom, set up by a number of small

s to handle their distribution to record shops. By pooling their resources it allowed them to compete with the larger distribution operations of the major record labels, and also to gain access to the larger shop chains. The association of regional distributors included some of the most notable labels of the 1980s UK

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

and

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

scene:

Backs The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column ...

(Norwich), Fast Forward (Edinburgh),

Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and enterta ...

(Sheffield), Nine Mile (Leamington Spa), Probe (Liverpool), Revolver (Bristol),

Red Rhino Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

(York) and

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade Records, a record label * Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''American Dad!''), an episode of ''American Dad!'' *Rough trade (slang), ...

(London).

Artists

* Animal Magic: Were "a brassy Bristol sextet led by vocalist Howard Purse, they swiftly developed from a punk to a hardcore dancefloor sensibility." *

Electric Guitars An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic g ...

: Their first single was on

Fried Egg Records Fried Egg Records was a record label set up in 1979 by Andy Leighton, administrator of the Bristol-based Crystal Theatre. Its first release was by the Theatres anarchic "house band" Shoes For Industry. In its short two-year existence the label ...

and they had tracks on the first Bristol Recorder, before their Recreational single. They later went on to join

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

and release a further two singles. * Ivory Coasters: Afro beat/Highlife band that at one time included Prince Nico Mbarga. They also released the 12" single 'Roscoe/Kinzengi Nzengi/1Z4IC', on Politone (PT001) in 1981. * Mouth: After their single on Recreational, this funk band went on to release records on the Y label, including the track 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea', on the 1982 'Birth of the Y' compilation LP. * Scream And Dance: Tribal funk band. ‘In Rhythm’ was remixed by DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess and released on a German double LP, ‘Meets Her Soulmates At Faust Studio Deejay Laboratory’ in 2008. *

Talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

: A multi-racial Reggae Band who provided the labels very first single and

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the re ...

hit (#17). Dole Age also became Single of the Week and the Record Sleeve of the Year in the NME. In 1982 as well as playing the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contempo ...

, they were the opening act for

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

concert at Ashton Gate, Bristol. * The X-Certs: Started off as a Punk Band in 1978 and recorded several tracks for

Heartbeat Records Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music. Founded by reggae music enthusiasts Bill Nowlin and Duncan Brown, the label's first release was a vinyl LP reissue of ...

, had two tracks on Bristol Recorder 2, and were including reggae by the time of their 1981 Recreational single. This was to be their last recording as they split up in early 1981.

Releases

The Recreational catalogue listed singles with the Sport prefix (some had 7" and 12" versions), apart from The X-Certs 7" single Together/Untogether, which is listed as Play 1.

Singles

Reissues on other labels

Bristol Archive Records are currently providing Recreational back catalogue tracks for download, through the usual outlets (Amazon, iTunes, etc.).

References

External links

Recreational Records at Discogs.com
*

Electric Guitars at Allmusic Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...

br>Electric Guitars discography at Discogs.comThe X-Certs website
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1981 British independent record labels Indie rock record labels Music in Bristol