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

led by founder Keith Cullen. Setanta published UK and Irish indie music in the late 1980s and in the 1990s.

History

Setanta Records was started in a Camberwell, London squat by former bicycle courier Keith Cullen. Their first success came when Dublin band Into Paradise received positive reviews from the British music press for their Setanta debut titled ''Under the Water''. Major label interest followed and Into Paradise subsequently signed to Ensign Records retaining Cullen as band manager. Shortly thereafter, Cullen signed the Cork trio the Frank and Walters, who wore orange shirts and purple flared trousers. As with Into Paradise, the band signed to

Go! Discs Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Sym ...

retaining Cullen as band manager. The Frank and Walters achieved minor commercial success when their song "After All" peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. Commercial success followed Cullen's signing of

the Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

whose first three albums '' Liberation'', ''

Promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

'' and ''

Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

'' were well received in the UK and Europe. The Divine Comedy also provided the soundtrack for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

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''. Despite label boss Cullen not thinking that the song was commercially promising, Setanta also had chart success with the

Edwyn Collins Edwyn Stephen Collins (born 23 August 1959) is a Scottish musician, producer and record label owner from Edinburgh, Scotland. Collins was the lead singer for the 1980s post-punk band Orange Juice, which he co-founded. After the group split in ...

(former frontman of Scotland's

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on Postcard Records) hit " A Girl Like You" which went on to become successful in several national charts. In the late 1990s, the label turned down the Magnetic Fields' album '' 69 Love Songs'', which ended up being a critical and commercial success. In 2007, Setanta signed London band The Tacticians. Their debut album ''Some Kind of Urban Fulfilment'' was released on Setanta in August 2007. In 2012, Cullen announced that he was closing Setanta down.

Selected artists

* A House *

Adrian Borland Adrian Kelvin Borland (6 December 1957 – 26 April 1999) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, best known as the frontman of post-punk band the Sound. Following a substantial musical career spanning numerous group ...

* Catchers * The Chalets *

Evan Dando Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and frontman of the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015 Dando was inducted into the Boston Music Awards ...

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

* Five Go Down to the Sea?O'Neill, Ryan.
Cork remembers post-punk icon Finbarr Donnelly
'' Cork Independent'', 12 June 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2020. * The Frank and Walters *

Richard Hawley Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longp ...

* Hem * Into Paradise * Mason Jennings *

The Prayer Boat ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

Josh Ritter Josh Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006, he was named one of ...

Verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas ...

* The Glee Club

Sources

*''Ireland's Hotpress Yearbook'' (2006)

References

External links

Setanta Records homepage
{{Authority control British independent record labels Indie rock record labels