If it ain't Stiff, it ain't worth a f*ck
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This is a post about Stiff Records. (Not about which kind of drink or coughschlongcough is desirable, and what for.) The title is just one example among many of the label's humorous marketing strategies. Partially responsible for starting the punk and new wave revolution of the late '70s, Stiff Records started out in the fall of 1976 by releasing Nick Lowe's 'So It Goes/Heart Of The City' (with, as the story has it, a recording budget of 45 pounds), and stayed in business for about ten years. Lowe would become a kind of house producer for Stiff, and under his guidance Stiff released a string of seminal singles in their first years, including the debut singles by the Damned (also in 1976), Elvis Costello, the Adverts, and Richard Hell. The label also discovered and broke Madness, Ian Dury, Kirsty McColl, and The Pogues. But in my view equally importantly, Stiff released an enormous number of catchy, energetic, and compusively listenable rock'n'roll singles, not all of them hits, not all of them punk or new wave. This includes Wreckless Eric, Lowe himself, Graham Parker, the Yachts, Lene Lovich, the Pointed Sticks, and Any Trouble, who all turned out a series of raw pop gems. Here are two Stiffs (for a few more, go to m):
The Damned: New Rose (promo video)
Wreckless Eric: Whole Wide World (live)
Now I've run out of excuses to avoid resuming the grading of winter quarter final exams.
The Damned: New Rose (promo video)
Wreckless Eric: Whole Wide World (live)
Now I've run out of excuses to avoid resuming the grading of winter quarter final exams.
Comments (9)
STIFF Stuff FANTASTIC !