THE STIFF STORY
In the dark days of the mid-‘70s, when the likes of Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd and their gargantuan, gatefold-sleeved albums were the hippest thin on the block, it wasn’t much fun being a pop fan. No-one had coined the word ‘indie’, and the only singles in the shops were those by hand-picked by middle-aged gits from corporate record companies, who were oblivious to “the street”, let alone “the kids” on “the street”. A change had to come, and it came via the highly influential Stiff Records, formed over 20 years ago in July 1976.
Stiff was very much the blueprint for the independent label of today, a rough-and-ready setup founded on enthusiasm, naivety, a touch of business acumen (although not too much, mind), a modicum of talent, and a few good pairs of ears. Think of your favourite imprints of today and the recent past.
Think Creation, Postcard, Go! Discs, Wiija, Food, 4AD, Domino, XL – all of them freely admit to owing a debt to Stiff Records.
“My first label, South Circular Records, was a direct result of Stiff, because they showed that anyone could do it,” says Andy Ross, managing director of Food Records, home to Blur, Shampoo and Jesus Jones. “They took music out of the boardroom and gave it back to the rest of us.”
Stiff was the brainchild of Jake Riviera and Dave Robinson, two movers and shakers on the burgeoning London pub rock circuit. Riviera had just returned from a stint as tour manager for R&B merchants Dr Feelgood in the States, where he’d been impressed by the number of small independent labels that were serving up a vibrant alternative to the staid major fodder.
Drafting in a partner in the guise of ex-raodie Robinson, then managing Graham Parker and running a record studio from the ‘Hope & Anchor’ pub in Islington, Riviera borrowed the princely sum of £400 from the Feelgoods’ lead singer, the late Lee Birilleaux, and Stiff were in business.
The first Stiff act was an old friend of the dynamic duo, Nick Lowe had been the main singer and songwriter with perennial pub circuit favourites Brinsley Schwarz (whom Robinson once managed), and was now looking to cut his teeth as a solo artist. Lowe had already amassed a cache of songs ready to record, and two – “So It Goes” and “Heart Of The City” – became Stiff’s inaugural release, both sides recorded for a mere £45. The double A-side hit the shops on 14 August 1976 (with the legendary catalogue number BUY 1), and was well received by the press – two music papers named “Heart Of The City” ‘Single Of The Week’. – Stiff had arrived.
Unfortunately, the next few releases weren’t as successful, The Pink Faries, Roogalator, the Tyla Gang and Lew Lewis were all capable of pulling a few hundred punters in a London pub, but the stretch limo to “Top Of The Pops” was never waiting outside. Pub rock was all very well, but Riviera and Robinson had to move with the times, and at the tail-end of 1976 that meant punk rock..
Stiff’s first “new wave” act were the Damned, and their debut single “New Rose” (BUY 6) became one of John Peel’s most played records. The Damned were also the label’s acts to release an L.P. – Damned Damned Damned; produced by Nick Lowe, it was recorded in less than a day. Lowe had by now become the label’s in-house producer, and it was his work with the Damned that earned him the enduring nickname Basher, after he described his production technique thus; “I just bash it down and tart it up later.”
Stiff released a second classic punk single before the year’s end “Blank Generation” by New Yorker Richard Hell, erstwhile bassist with Television.
However, 1977 saw the emergence of the label’s first true star … A young singer / songwriter under the name D.P. Costello walked into Stiff’s offices the very day Lowe’s single was released, armed with just one-song demo tape. Jake Riviera became the lad’s manager and renamed him Elvis.
“I was the first artist actually signed to Stiff, the first with a contract,” recalls Costello. “I was the 11th release, but my stuff kept getting put back because things like the Damned and Richard Hell were very much tied to the moment. Timing was much more crucial to their records than mine.”
It was worth the wait, though, as Elvis went on to give the label its first Top 20 single(“Watching The Detectives”) and L.P. (My Aim Is True). These, however, were to be Costello’s last releases for Stiff; Riviera left at the end of ’77, taking Costello and Lowe with him, to form Radar Records.
Things didn’t look too good for Robinson, and the industry buzz was that Stiff was finished, seeing as none of its other signings (a motley bunch including Wreckless Eric, Larry Wallis and Ian Dury) seemed to have any chance of crossing over into the mainstream. But Island Records, who had taken over distribution, held their nerve.
Their patience was rewarded when Dury finally cracked the Top Ten in April 1978 with “What A Waste”. In the meantime, his debut album, “New Boots And Panties” climbed to Number Five and stayed in the charts for over two years, easily outstripping Costello’s sales. The ageing Jack-the-lad Essex boy had become a bona fide pop star, and he continued to save Stiff’s bacon when “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” became the labels first Number One in January ’79.
Stiff Records was now well and truly established and injecting fun into the music business. Beyond the fact that, prior to Stiff, hardly any other companies issued their single in picture sleeves, the label’s flamboyant marketing ploys were garnering as much attention as the records. Slogans like “The world’s most flexible label”, “Mono enhanced stereo”, and “If it ain’t Stiff, it ain’t worth a fuck” were splashed across every release.
Stiff even revived the package tour, a staple of the ‘60s pop scene, sending a disparate collection of artists out on the road together. The first jaunt introduced Costello and Dury to the live circuit, the second did the same for Lene Lovich and Jona Lewie. True to form, it lost shitloads of money, as the acts travelled from gig to gig on a specially chartered train.
Buy the end of the decade, punk was all but dead and buried, but the spirit of independence lived on in the ska scene. Stiff’s next move was a surprise, luring Camden ska heroes Madness away from 2-Tone after just one single. The Nutty Boys’ first Stiff release was “One Step Beyond” in October 1980, the beginning of a five-year relationship which saw Madness mature into one of the most literate pop groups to come out of the UK. Notching up 18 Top 20 hits for Stiff, before moving on to Virgin, they were the singles band of the ‘80s. They eventually gave Stiff a second and final chart-topper, “House Of Fun”.
With Suggs and co. keeping the cash flow healthy, Stiff were able to indulge their most outlandish whims. Jona Lewie came close to a Christmas Number One with “Stop The Cavalry”; Tenpole Tudor – a refugee from “The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle” - became a ‘T.O.T.P.’ regular; T.V. comedienne Tracey Ullman had six hits in just over a year; the Belle Stars were flavour of the month for; erm, a month; and Alvin Stardust entered the Top Ten for the first time in eight years, with a Nat King Cole song!
The likes of the Pogues, King Kurt and Department S also carded Stiff’s name well into the ‘80s – but so did countless flops. Then again, such monumental failures were part of the label’s charm; indeed, who else would put out a totally blank album called “The Wit And Wisdom Of Ronald Reagan”, or even the soundtrack to the West End production of ‘Oklahoma’?!
The beginning of the end for Stiff came when Madness left in 1985. Still, it managed to the last two years dogged by distribution wrangles, attempted takeovers and staff upheavals, but with precious little success. Ironically, one of Stiff’s last signings was Dr Feelgood, a belated repayment of the loan that started the party ten years earlier.
Could Stiff have survived if it had found another Madness or Costello? Would it still be here if it hadn’t been quite so eclectic?
“If anything Stiff is sometimes remembered too fondly,” says Andy Ross. “They had a very cavalier attitude to their roster, some of the things they did were absolutely barmy. There were several records that should never have seen the light of day, but every now and then there’d be an indispensable classic.”
Let’s gloss over the barmy and remember those classics, and never forget that this was the label that made so much that followed in its wake possible. Stiff Records – well worth a fuck.
Courtesy of Paul Adams aka Johnny Moped (not the real original one though!).
The Prologue ………………….
The original incarnation of Stiff folded in 1986 with debts in excess of £5 million. The assets of the company were acquired by producer Trevor Horn and his wife Jill Sinclair, who then acquired the Stiff name and trademarks in the early ‘90s. For some years the label was run purely as a catalogue concern with a series of frankly piss-poor CD releases through Disky in Holland and Repertoire in Germany.
Around 2001/2 the label came under new management who conducted a deal with London based Union Square Music to release a series of catalogue compilations, including ‘Best ofs’ by Kirsty MacColl, Wreckless Eric, Tracey Ullman, Jona Lewie and The Rumour.
In 2006 Stiff approached the BBC with a view to producing a programme documenting the history and influence of the label. Producer ben Whalley, along with Stiff’s General Manager Pete Gardiner, trawled through the archives for long lost footage, including the little seen film of the original ‘Stiff’s Live Stiff’s tour. Ben also interviewed many of the key players in the Stiff story, including Dave Robinson, Jake Riviera (after a lot of Jake-style prevaricating), Nigel Dick, Paul Conroy and key artists, including Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Madness, The Pogues, Wreckless Eric, Jona Lewie and Lene Lovich. The documentary also talked to celebrity Stiff fans Phill Jupitus and Jonathan Ross and was narrated by Ade Edmundson.
The resulting programme, “If It Ain’t Stiff” was originally shown in September 2006 on BBC 4, the corporation’s arts channel, and received unanimous acclaim. Around this time, the label management hatched plans to release the first new material in some years and Coventry three-piece The Enemy signed a deal to release two singles. With digital retailers on the up and the retail market in terminal decline, Stiff took the logical step of ignoring prevailing market trends and released the singles (40 days & 40 Nights and It’s Not OK) on limited edition, hand numbered 7” vinyl in November and December 2006 respectively. Both runs of 1,000 copies sold immediately and the band were able to conclude a long-term deal with Warner Records, subsequently selling 250,000 albums in the UK alone.
This was followed early in 2007 by Eskimo Disco’s “What Is Woman?”, two singles by young Leicester rock-band The Displacements and a limited edition release of “Barking Up The Wrong Tree” by The Producers, featuring Trevor Horn, Lol Crème and Steve Lipson. 2008 kicked off with the “Mondestrucken E.P.” by F. Lunaire and further single releases are planned throughout 2008 and 2009.
In the summer of 2007 Stiff also released its first new albums in twenty one years, the self-titled debut by Canadian power-pop / mod / punkers The Tranzmitors and “Life In Reverse” by the reformed Any Trouble (some twenty five years on from their Stiff debut). In April 2008 took a major step forward with the release of “The Last Temptation Of Chris” the second solo album by Chris Difford, one of pops finest lyricists and one half of Squeeze.
Late in 2007, Union Square also released “The Big Stiff Box”, a fabulous 4CD collection containing 98 tracks drawn from the two incarnations of the label and containing all of the names you’d expect to see. The box is accompanied by a 96 page book detailing the label history and containing profiles of all of the featured acts, alongside memorabilia and striking artwork. The box is a positive embracing of the labels history but also a statement of intent as a movie into the new century.
BORN STIFF
IF IT AINT STIFF, IT
AINT WORTH A FUCK
REMEMBER THOSE CLASSICS, AND
NEVER
FORGET THAT THIS WAS THE
LABEL THAT MADE SO MUCH THAT
FOLLOWED IN ITS WAKE POSSIBLE …
By courtesy and kind permission of Stiff Records 2008