Chiswick Records was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 record company

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

. Chiswick was the "first true 'indie

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

' label" to be established in Britain for nearly a decade". The label has been described as "significant" in the "punk era". It released some of the earliest records recorded by Billy Bragg

Billy Bragg

Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...

, Kirsty MacColl

Kirsty MacColl

Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer-songwriter.MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s...

, Shane MacGowan

Shane MacGowan

Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan is an Irish musician and singer, best known as the original singer and songwriter of The Pogues.-History:...

, the band that became Simple Minds

Simple Minds

Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...

, and Joe Strummer

Joe Strummer

John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...

.

History

The label was started by Roger Armstrong and Ted Carroll in 1975 as a subsidiary of Rock On Records. Shortly after Trevor Churchill joined it was incorporated into Swift Records Ltd. Two years later it entered into a licensing deal with EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

. Subsidiary Ace Records

Ace Records (UK)

Ace Records Ltd. was started in 1978. Initially the company only gained permission from the label based in Mississippi to use the name in the UK, but eventually also acquired the rights to publish their recordings. When Chiswick's pop side was licensed to EMI in 1984, Ace switched to more licensing...

 was started in 1978

1978 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom....

, and Chiswick closed in 1983.

Hit artists include The Damned, Motörhead, Radio Stars

Radio Stars

Radio Stars are an English new wave group formed in early 1977. They released three albums and had one UK Top 40 single.-Biography:Radio Stars were formed by ex-John's Children vocalist Andy Ellison, Sparks exile Martin Gordon , and Ian MacLeod in 1977, following the end of their underachieving...

, and Sniff 'n' the Tears

Sniff 'n' the Tears

Sniff 'n' the Tears is a British rock band best known for their 1978 song "Driver's Seat", a hit in many countries . The exception was the UK itself where a problem with EMI's pressing plant meant that the single was not available following the band's appearance on Top of the Pops and it peaked...

.

The label released a number of sampler Compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

s showcasing their bands. These included Submarine Tracks & Fool's Gold

Submarine Tracks & Fool's Gold

Submarine Tracks & Fool's Gold is a various artists Compilation album made up of acts on Chiswick Records. Chiswick was the "first true 'indie' label" to be established in Britain for nearly a decade". The label has been described as "significant" in the "punk era". The 101ers are notable for...

 (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume One) (1977) and Long Shots, Dead Certs And Odds On Favourites (Chiswick Chartbusters Volume Two) (1978).

Artists released by Chiswick

• Amazorblades
  Amazorblades
  Amazorblades were one of the early punk groups, as cronicled in Henrik Poulsen's book 77: The Year of Punk and New Wave, from Brighton, England. They released a single, "Common Truth" c/w "Mess Around" on Chiswick Records...
  
  
• The Count Bishops
• The Damned
• Dr. Feelgood
  Dr. Feelgood
  Dr. Feelgood may refer to:In music:*Dr. Feelgood , an album by American band Mötley Crüe**"Dr. Feelgood" , a single and the title track from that album*"Dr. Feel Good", a song by Travie McCoy on the album Lazarus...
  
   - (Fast Women and Slow Horses album) (1982)
• Drug Addix
• The Gorillas
  The Gorillas
  The Gorillas were a rock group from Hammersmith, London, England formed in 1974, and fronted by Jesse Hector, who played high energy rock music.-History:...
  
  
• Jakko Jakszyk
  Jakko Jakszyk
  Jakko M. Jakszyk is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter , multi-instrumentalist and producer...
  
  
• Jeff Hill
• Johnny Moped
  Johnny Moped
  Johnny Moped were a mid 1970s English punk rock group from south London, who once had Chrissie Hynde and Captain Sensible within their ranks.-Biography:...
  
  
• Johnny & the Self Abusers
• The Jook
• Kid Rogers and the Henchmen
• Killerhertz...
• Little Bob Story
• Matchbox
  Matchbox (band)
  Matchbox is an English rockabilly band that formed in 1971, and is still active .-Career:Matchbox was formed in 1971 by Iain "Houndog" Terry, Fred Poke, Jimmy Redhead and Wiffle Smith. After 1978, the line-up consisted of Graham Fenton , Steve Bloomfield , Gordon Scott , Fred Poke and Jimmy Redhead...
  
  
• Motörhead
• The Nipple Erectors
  The Nipple Erectors
  The Nipple Erectors are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976 by female punk artist Shanne Bradley and are notable as Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan's first musical group.-Career:...
  
  
• The 101ers
  The 101ers
  The 101ers were a pub rock band from the 1970s, notable as being the band that Joe Strummer left to join The Clash. Formed in London in May 1974, the 101ers made their performing debut on 7 September at the Telegraph pub in Brixton, under the name El Huaso and the 101 All Stars. The name would...
  
  
• The Radiators From Space
  The Radiators From Space
  The Radiators From Space are an Irish punk rock band. The band formed in 1975 in Dublin, originally under the name Greta Garbage and the Trashcans, and consisted of Philip Chevron , Pete Holidai, Steve Rapid, Jimmy Crashe and Mark Megaray. They were one of the earliest punk rock bands...
  
  
• Radio Stars
  Radio Stars
  Radio Stars are an English new wave group formed in early 1977. They released three albums and had one UK Top 40 single.-Biography:Radio Stars were formed by ex-John's Children vocalist Andy Ellison, Sparks exile Martin Gordon , and Ian MacLeod in 1977, following the end of their underachieving...
  
  
• Riff Raff
  Billy Bragg
  Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
  
  
• The Rings
• Sniff 'n' the Tears
  Sniff 'n' the Tears
  Sniff 'n' the Tears is a British rock band best known for their 1978 song "Driver's Seat", a hit in many countries . The exception was the UK itself where a problem with EMI's pressing plant meant that the single was not available following the band's appearance on Top of the Pops and it peaked...
  
  
• Rocky Sharpe
  Rocky Sharpe
  Rocky Sharpe is the pseudonym of an English rock/pop singer who, with Rocky Sharpe and the Replays, first found fame in the late 1970s. The usual line-up of the group was Rocky , Helen Highwater , Johnny Stud and Eric Rondo...
  
   & The Razors
• Skrewdriver
  Skrewdriver
  Skrewdriver was an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde in 1976. They later evolved into one of the first neo-Nazi rock bands, playing a leading role in the Rock Against Communism movement and becoming known as the most prominent white power skinhead...
  
  
• T. V. Smith
  T. V. Smith
  T. V. Smith is a British punk rock singer-songwriter, who was part of the band The Adverts in the late 1970s...
  
  
• The Stukas
• The Table
  The Table (punk band)
  The Table were a punk rock band from Cardiff, Wales, best known for their 1977 single "Do The Standing Still ".They consisted of Russell Young , Tony Barnes , Len Lewis and Mickey O'Connor...
  
  
• Whirlwind

External links

• A history of Chiswick Records