The Subway Organization 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 and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

founded in 1985 in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

by Martin Whitehead.

Indie pop and ''C86''

The label was associated with the

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

movement and the seminal ''

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 ...

'' cassette tape ''

C86 ''C86'' is a Audio cassette, cassette compilation released by the British music magazine ''NME'' in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, ''C86'' quickly evolved into shorthand for a g ...

'', that included the track "It's Up To You" by

Shop Assistants Shop Assistants were a Scottish indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as 'Buba & The Shop Assistants'.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 502 After achieving success with indepe ...

, from the label's first release (the group subsequently joined the 53rd & 3rd label). The label also had contacts with other groups including

Pop Will Eat Itself Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorpo ...

but their songs were only released on compilations. The founder of the label had his own group, The Flatmates.

Singles artists

* Rodney Allen: Released the Happysad LP on his shemt in 1987, and 12-inch Circle Line EP in 1988. Then after a brief spell in

The Chesterfields The Chesterfields are an English indie pop band from Yeovil, Somerset, England. Hardcore fans tended to refer to them as "The Chesterf!elds", with an exclamation mark replacing the "i", following the example of the band's logo. The band was for ...

(replacing guitarist Brendan Holden), joined The Blue Aeroplanes. * Bubblegum Splash!: Short lived (1987–1988) indie pop band from Salisbury, England. With Nikki Barr on vocals, Dave Todd on bass, Jim Harrison on guitar, Marty Cummins on tambourine and backing vocals, and Alan Harrison on drums. They recorded only 7 tracks in total, 4 of which were released on their debut and only EP "Splashdown!” in August 1987, which reached No. 15 in the indie charts. In December 1987 the track "If Only" came free on a split 7-inch flexidisc with

The Darling Buds The Darling Buds are an alternative rock band from Newport, Wales, Newport, Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel ''The Darling Buds of May (novel), The Darling Buds of May'' – a title taken in turn, from t ...

, in issue 2 of fanzine So Naive. * The Charlottes: *

: Indie rock band from Yeovil, Somerset (1984–1989). They garnered Indie Chart Hits for their singles and albums not only on The Subway Organisation, but their own Household label. Fans tended to refer to them as 'The Chesterf!elds', with an exclamation mark replacing the 'i', following the example of the band's logo. * Choo Choo Train: *

The Clouds ''The Clouds'' (, ''Nephelai'') is a Greek comedy play written by the playwright Aristophanes. A lampooning of intellectual fashions in classical Athens, it was originally produced at the City Dionysia in 423BC and was not as well received as th ...

: Glasgow brothers John and Bill Charneley, who began as back-bedroom punks and gradually softened to an acoustic, West Coast-influenced sound after signing with The Subway Organization. * The Fastbacks: * The Flatmates: Indie pop band. The band's core members were Martin Whitehead (Guitar) and Debbie Haynes (Vocals). Initially, the band also included Kath Beach (Bass guitar) and Joel O'Beirne/Rocker (Drums). They released five singles, all of which featured in the

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 ...

Top 20. * The Groove Farm: * Korova Milk Bar: * Razorcuts: Melodic UK guitar band with strong 60s folk-rock influences. The line-up consisted of Gregory Webster (vocals & guitar), Tim Vass (bass) and Dave Smith (drums). Vass later formed the psych/folkers Red Chair Fadeaway. Webster and Vass reunited under the name Forever People in 1992 for a one-off single on Bristol label Sarah Records. * The Rosehips: Jangly UK pop band. *

: ''Their All Day Long EP'' (SUBWAY 1) was the first release by the label in 1985. The track "It's Up to You" taken from the EP ended up on the ''

'' cassette tape from the ''

''. *

The Soup Dragons The Soup Dragons are a Scottish alternative rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Named after a character in the 1970s children's television series ''Clangers'', the group is best known for its cover of the Rolling Stones' song " I'm Fre ...

: The band formed in

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...

, Glasgow in 1985 and recorded their first

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

, ''You Have Some Too'', after playing a few local gigs, and this was followed by a

flexi disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

single "If You Were the Only Girl in the World".Thompson, Dave (2000) ''Alternative Rock'', Miller Freeman, San Francisco, , p.646-647 Originally inspired by

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...

and lumped in with the

movement, along with fellow members of the ''Bellshill Sound'', such as the BMX Bandits and

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (Scottish musician), Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), al ...

, they went through a number of stylistic changes in their career. The band signed to Subway in early 1986 and their first proper single (''The Sun in the Sky'' EP) was Buzzcocks-inspired pop-

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

. The band's big breakthrough came with their second single for Subway, "Whole Wide World", which reached No. 2 on the

UK Independent 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 ...

in 1986.Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980 – 1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p.213

Compilations

*Take the Subway to Your Suburb, (suborg 1 P *Surfin' in the Subway, (suborg 4 P

Reissues on other labels

In 2005 Cherry Red released a CD of ''The Best of The Subway Organization 1986–1989''.

References

External links