Wiiija 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 1988 by staff from the

Rough Trade Shop Rough Trade is a retail chain of record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London. The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Ladbroke Grove district of West London. Travis reporte ...

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. The name Wiiija is a corruption of W11 1JA, the postcode of the Rough Trade Shop in Talbot Street. The label was notable for introducing the band

Therapy? Therapy? are a Northern Irish rock band from Larne, formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band ...

and releasing the first records by

Silverfish The silverfish (''Lepisma saccharinum'') is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura). Its common name derives from the insect's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearanc ...

, Huggy Bear and

Cornershop Cornershop are an English indie rock band formed in Leicester, in 1991. The group are best known for their single " Brimful of Asha" from their third album '' When I Was Born for the 7th Time''. A remixed version of the track reached number one ...

. Notable later releases included

Free Kitten Free Kitten is an American alternative rock band formed by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Pussy Galore's Julia Cafritz. Originally performing as Kitten, they changed their name after receiving threats of legal action by a heavy metal singer perf ...

and Bis while the commercial success of Cornershop from 1997 rewarded the label's long-term support. Wiiija became loosely associated with the early UK

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...

scene as a result of releases by Huggy Bear and

Blood Sausage A blood sausage is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used. In Europe and the ...

, as well as the ''Some Hearts Paid To Lie'' EP which featured

Comet Gain Comet Gain are a British indie pop band, formed by singer-songwriter and guitarist David Christian (aka David Feck/Charlie Damage) in 1992, with musical influences including post-punk and northern soul. Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork called the ...

, Skinned Teen, Linus and Pussycat Trash. Labelmates Cornershop can be seen along with Huggy Bear and Blood Sausage in the 1994 tour documentary ''Getting Close To Nothing''. In 1996 it became a subsidiary of

Beggars Banquet Records Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels. History In 1977, spurred by the prevailing D ...

and remained active until the early 2000s.

Artists

* Action Swingers * Anjali * Bastard Kestrel * Bis *

* Brassy *

* Fabric *

* Jacob's Mouse * Loveblobs * Mucho Macho *

* Sgt Rock *

Sun Carriage The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light an ...

* Terminal Cheesecake *

Terry Edwards Terry Edwards (born 10 August 1960) is an English musician who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, guitar and keyboards. Biography Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding mem ...

* Thule * Velocette * Whistler

References

Other sources

*Cavanagh, David. ''The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize''. London: Virgin Books, 2000. . *Young, Rob. ''Rough Trade''. Black Dog Publishing. {{Authority control Record labels established in 1988 British independent record labels Beggars Group Indie rock record labels Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom

Artists

See also

References

Other sources