Skip to main content

Stiff

Stiff Records: The archetypal independent Record Company upon which much of the Punk and New Wave revolution was built, from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, when it closed down.

Being an avid NME reader, I was well aware of eth progress of the various Stiff Tours in the mid to late 1970s, packaged tours, much like the Motown tours in 1960s USA, where Acts signed to Stiff Records were showcased.

Stiff signed various punk and new wave acts such as Nick Lowe, the Damned, Lene Lovich, Wreckless Eric, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, and Devo. In the 1980s, with most of their early signings having moved on, the label found commercial success with Madness, The Pogues, Tracey Ullman, The Belle Stars, Kirsty MacColl and others.

The first great British Hits Factory and you'll find many of their acts on this blog...

Here are a selection of some of the best Stiff signings, that may or may not get a post of their own at some point!

Lene Lovich with 'Lucky Niumber'


The magnificent Wreckless Eric and 'Whole Wide World'



Kirsty McColl with 'They Don't Know'



The Belle Stars with 'A Sign of the Times'


Of all the records released by Stiff Records, about one quarter charted, a remarkable success rate.

Elvis Costello with the sublime  'Alison'


Ian Drury with  'Sweet Gene Vincent'



I'll leave it with the fabulous Pogues and 'Dirty Old Town'



For full Stiff Records Discography look HERE




Popular Posts

Dexy's Midnight Runners

Dexys Midnight Runners were an English pop band with soul influences from Birmingham, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They are best known in the UK for their songs " Come On Eileen " and " Geno ", both of which peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as six other top-20 singles. The original Dexys Midnight Runners were founded in 1978 in Birmingham, England by Kevin Rowland (vocals, guitar) and Kevin "Al" Archer (vocals, guitar). Both had been in the short-lived punk band the Killjoys. Rowland had previously written a Northern soul-style song that the two of them sang, " Tell Me When My Light Turns Green ", which became the first Dexys "song". The band's members were "Big" Jim Paterson (trombone), Geoff "JB" Blythe (saxophone, previously of Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band), Steve "Babyface" Spooner (alto saxophone), Pete Saunders (keyboard), Pete Williams (ba...
Read more

The Rezillos

The Rezillos were a punk/new wave band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, in th emid 1970s. Although they emerged at the same time as other bands in the punk rock movement, the Rezillos  took a more light-hearted approach to their songs. Their songs were heavily influenced by 1950s rock and roll, 1960s English beat music and garage rock, early 1970s glam rock, and recurring lyrical themes of science fiction and B movies; their influences mirrored those of US bands the Cramps and the B-52s, who were starting out at the same time.  The Rezillos' biggest hit in their home country was the UK Top 20 single " Top of the Pops " in 1978, but they are best known outside the UK for their cover version of " Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight ". Released in July 1978, the Rezillos' first studio album " Can't Stand the Rezillos " (and one of my favourite albums) is considered a classic of the first wave of British punk, but the group split up...
Read more