Zoo Records
Encyclopedia
Zoo Records was a British independent record label
formed by Bill Drummond
and David Balfe
in 1978. Zoo was launched in order to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool
band, Big in Japan (the label's first release being the From Y To Z and Never Again EP). The label also released two singles by Lori and the Chameleons, Balfe and Drummond's band formed after Big in Japan folded. Zoo Records went on to release early work from The Teardrop Explodes
and Echo & the Bunnymen
. The label also released the first single "Iggy Pop's Jacket" by the Liverpool band Those Naughty Lumps.
Only two albums were released on the label: a Scott Walker
compilation put together by Julian Cope, called Fire Escape in the Sky
, and a label compilation called To the Shores of Lake Placid, which was re-released in 1995 with extra tracks and called The Zoo Uncaged 1978-1982. Intriguingly, Fire Escape in the Sky had the catalogue number Zoo Two, while To the Shores of Lake Placid had Zoo Four. Zoo One was scheduled to be the Teardrop Explodes album Kilimanjaro (later released on Mercury Records) while Zoo Three was to be the same band's album Wilder (or perhaps their 'never released' album Everyone Wants to Shag the Teardrop Explodes).
band that existed during 1979 and 1980. Formed in Liverpool
by ex-Big In Japan
's Bill Drummond
(guitar) and David Balfe
(bass, keyboards), and the singer Lori Lartey, they combined synthpop
, and post-punk
styles in their songs.
Lori and the Chameleons only released two singles in 1979 and 1980. The first, "Touch", was written over the course of a year by Balfe and Drummond, based on Lartey's holiday in Tokyo
two years earlier. "Touch" spent one week in the UK Singles Chart
in December 1979, at #70. Lartey went to art school, while Balfe and Drummond began to work with The Teardrop Explodes
, as keyboardist and manager, respectively.
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:...
formed by Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
and David Balfe
David Balfe
David Balfe is most notable for playing keyboards with The Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of their number one hit - "Country House".-Biography:...
in 1978. Zoo was launched in order to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
band, Big in Japan (the label's first release being the From Y To Z and Never Again EP). The label also released two singles by Lori and the Chameleons, Balfe and Drummond's band formed after Big in Japan folded. Zoo Records went on to release early work from The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman...
and Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
. The label also released the first single "Iggy Pop's Jacket" by the Liverpool band Those Naughty Lumps.
Only two albums were released on the label: a Scott Walker
Scott Walker (singer)
Scott Walker, born Noel Scott Engel on January 9, 1943 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and the former lead singer of The Walker Brothers. Despite being American born, Walker's chart success has largely come in the United Kingdom, where his first four solo albums...
compilation put together by Julian Cope, called Fire Escape in the Sky
Fire Escape in the Sky: The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker
Fire Escape in the Sky: The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker is a compilation album of previously released Scott Walker material. Compiled by Julian Cope in 1981 and released by Zoo Records...
, and a label compilation called To the Shores of Lake Placid, which was re-released in 1995 with extra tracks and called The Zoo Uncaged 1978-1982. Intriguingly, Fire Escape in the Sky had the catalogue number Zoo Two, while To the Shores of Lake Placid had Zoo Four. Zoo One was scheduled to be the Teardrop Explodes album Kilimanjaro (later released on Mercury Records) while Zoo Three was to be the same band's album Wilder (or perhaps their 'never released' album Everyone Wants to Shag the Teardrop Explodes).
To the Shores of Lake Placid
To the Shores of Lake Placid was released in 1982 and was compiled by Bill Drummond and Mick Houghton.Track listing (1982)
Release notes
- Track A1 - previously unreleased. Recorded T.W. Studios October 1977. Licensed from Warner Bros. Music Ltd.
- Track A2 - previously released as single (Zoo Cage 002) January 1979. Recorded Open Eye Studios, Liverpool.
- Track A3 - the original version, taken from the never released album 'Everybody Wants To Shag The Teardrop Explodes' (Zoo 1). Recorded Rockfield Studios March 1980.
- Track A4 - original version featuring Echo, released as single (Zoo Cage 004) March 1979. Recorded August Studios, Liverpool March 1979.
- Track A5 - b-side of Track A4, not the version on American copies of 'Crocodiles' or Korova Special Offer Version.
- Track A6 - originally released by Zoo Records through Korova Records. Recorded Rockfield Studios January 1980.
- Track A7 - previously unreleased. Recorded Rockfield Studios February 1981.
- Track B1 - from the forthcoming album 'The Fuel Of The Big Machine', licensed from 'Radio Peeking Duck'.
- Track B2 - originally released on Back Door. Recorded Rockfield Studios early 1979.
- Track B3 - previously unreleased. Recorded Rockfield Studios February 1981.
- Track B4 - previously released as b-side of 'Sleeping Gas' (Zoo Cage 003). Recorded Open Eye Studios, Liverpool November 1978.
- Track B5 - previously released on 'From Y To Z And Never Again' (Zoo Cage 001). Licensed from Warner Bros. Music Ltd.
- Track B6 - recorded for John Peel Session May 1979. With kind permission of the BBC.
- Track B7 - previously unreleased. Recorded Cargo, Rochdale November 1979.
The Zoo Uncaged 1978-1982 track listing (1995)
- "Suicide A Go Go" - Big In Japan
- "Nothing Special" - Big In Japan
- "Iggy Pop's Jacket" - Those Naughty Lumps
- "Pure and Innocent" - Those Naughty Lumps
- "Sleeping Gas" - The Teardrop Explodes
- "Camera Camera" - The Teardrop Explodes
- "The Pictures On My Wall" - Echo And The Bunnymen
- "Bouncing Babies" - The Teardrop Explodes
- "Touch" - Lori & The Chameleons
- "Love On The Ganges" - Lori and the Chameleons
- "To See You" - Expelaires
- "Frequency" - Expelaires
- "Treason" - The Teardrop Explodes
- "Books" - The Teardrop Explodes
- "Revolutionary Spirit" - The Wild Swans
- "God Forbid" - The Wild Swans
- "Society For Cutting Up Young Men" - Big In Japan
- "Taxi" - Big In Japan
- "Cindy And The Barbi Dolls" - Big In Japan
Lori and the Chameleons
Lori and the Chameleons was a short-lived New WaveNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band that existed during 1979 and 1980. Formed in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
by ex-Big In Japan
Big in Japan
Big in Japan was a punk band that emerged from Liverpool, England in the late 1970s. They are better known for the later successes of their band members than for their own music...
's Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
(guitar) and David Balfe
David Balfe
David Balfe is most notable for playing keyboards with The Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of their number one hit - "Country House".-Biography:...
(bass, keyboards), and the singer Lori Lartey, they combined synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
, and post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
styles in their songs.
Lori and the Chameleons only released two singles in 1979 and 1980. The first, "Touch", was written over the course of a year by Balfe and Drummond, based on Lartey's holiday in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
two years earlier. "Touch" spent one week in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in December 1979, at #70. Lartey went to art school, while Balfe and Drummond began to work with The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman...
, as keyboardist and manager, respectively.