Friday, January 22, 2021

Last Of The Rough Trade Singles

The final volume of Rough Trade singles opens with The Boo Radleys' Kaleidoscope EP (RT 241) and Carter USM's Anytime Anyplace Anywhere EP (RT 242), followed by The Band Of Holy Joy (RT 243) and James (RT 245). It ends with Galaxie 500's Blue Thunder (RT 246) and Fourth Of July (RT 249).

RT 244, RT 247, and RT 248 do not exist. The catalog numbers may have been assigned, but the label went bankrupt. Rough Trade ceased doing business as a distributor and retailer. Its record shops closed, and its assets were liquidated. 

The record label continued under new ownership for the next ten years, until Geoff Travis and Jeannette Lee bought back the Rough Trade name in 2001. What ended in 1990 was not the label itself but something less readily defined. In this interview, Travis refers to it as "the Rough Trade ethos/ spirit/ thing". 

And so ends this series, which one blog reader kindly called "a public service, like free ice cream on a hot day". For anyone who's still hungry, here's a bonus scoop. Rough Acquaintances compiles eleven 7" releases that were distributed by Rough Trade as one-offs on the artists' own labels. Most of these "labels" had no other releases, and (as you can see from the tracklist) the singles were assigned catalog numbers similar to the debut singles by Essential Logic (SELL 1) and Scritti Politti (SCRIT 1). 

This set captures the ethos, the spirit, the mystical thingy of independent music in the UK circa 1979-81. "White Mice" and "Getting Nowhere Fast" will be familiar to fans of that era, and Girls At Our Best and The Last Words released singles on Rough Trade. Fans of The Fall may recognize Bok Bok (with Karl Burns on drums) and The Distractions, whose member Arthur Kadmon briefly appeared on Room To Live. Thanks to All I Want for the Glass Torpedoes single, and to spavid for Bok Bok.

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16 comments:

  1. jonderJanuary 22, 2021 at 11:10 AM

    RT Singles V34 (RT 241-249): https://tinyurl.com/y2g7x9jf

    Rough Acquaintances: https://tinyurl.com/yxkxpkdm

    The entire series (link to folder): https://tinyurl.com/RTS1NGL3S

    The singles discography: http://www.highdive.de/info/rt/

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    1. ejhJanuary 22, 2021 at 2:51 PM

      Congratulations and Thank You for the comprehensive job on this project.
      This is such an interesting new way to listen to the music I grew up with.

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    2. jonderJanuary 22, 2021 at 6:01 PM

      I found it very interesting to listen to it this way too. There were a lot of gaps in my knowledge of the singles, and some of them I didn't hear until they were compiled in retrospective anthologies. But I used to pore over the Rough Trade catalog and the zines that reviewed the records, and I traded tapes by mail with other record collectors.

      There will probably never be an official Rough Trade box set (partly because of the freedom the artists had), so it's been exciting to compile these snapshots of what was going on from the time the first store on Kensington Park Road to the peak of their success. Before the whole thing crumbled they had Rough Trade US, Rough Trade Japan, and Rough Trade Deutschland labels.

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  2. thanksloadsJanuary 22, 2021 at 1:20 PM

    thank you very much for this Jonder.

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    1. jonderJanuary 22, 2021 at 6:02 PM

      You're welcome! It was a pleasure to put it together, and I'm glad it's being heard and enjoyed.

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  3. antony jJanuary 22, 2021 at 2:29 PM

    This series has been brilliant1 Thanks a lot - truly epic achievement! A

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    1. jonderJanuary 22, 2021 at 6:15 PM

      Antony, I appreciate the ongoing encouragement from you, Paolo Meccano, Piers The Plowman, MrDave, Nick, ApeMummy, FiveGunsWest, Ramone666, Viacomclosedmedown, tsi&hrjs, and other readers; as well as the blogs I borrowed music from, especially Mythkoz at "Old, Weak But Always A Wanker"!

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    2. jonderJanuary 22, 2021 at 6:42 PM

      Forgot to say thanks to Pernt, zipper, draftervoi, Nathan, and Stinky. Thanks to everyone who ripped and shared their Rough Trade vinyl. Most of all, thanks to the people who created the music and the label, which is still well-loved and well-remembered 45 years later.

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  4. Ape MummyJanuary 22, 2021 at 10:21 PM

    Tipping my cap your way yet again, on the completion of a terrific series! So many records I've never heard before, as well as a few things I hadn't been able to lay hands on before. You and Stinky prove, yet again, why this is a daily visit for me.

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  5. yuttreJanuary 23, 2021 at 5:07 AM

    It has been a long and beautiful journey! Thanks

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  6. MrDaveJanuary 23, 2021 at 10:57 AM

    Woo Woo!! You did it! Congrats on an epic job and many thanks Jonder!

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  7. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2021 at 6:18 PM

    That was obviously a LOT of work! Thanks, and congrats on seeing it through to it's conclusion! - Stinky

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  8. jonderJanuary 23, 2021 at 8:24 PM

    I hope so too. It's hard to imagine it getting any worse.

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  9. jassywestwindsJanuary 24, 2021 at 6:47 AM

    Congratulations on the completion of a labour of love, although it's probably a perfect example of love being hard work at times ! It is so important that this music, which is actually the foundation and motherlode for so much good music being produced today, is not forgotten, and Jonder you've done more than your bit to help this happen. Geoff T should be proud of you.

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  10. Piers the PlowmanJanuary 24, 2021 at 11:37 AM

    This has been a brilliant piece of work!

    Thank you so much!

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  11. zipperJanuary 25, 2021 at 6:14 AM

    Who needs an official Rough Trade box set when we've got this superb collection. Many thanks.

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