ROUGH TRADE RECORDS

Rough Trade Records

Geoff Travis left Cambridge University with a little money but little inclination to find a suitable job. A rundown shop on Kensington Park Road London was to provide him with not only work but the means to make a mark on the music world.

He opened Rough Trade (slang for engaging in sex with a masculine, working class homosexual) a record store which initially specialised in selling imported Jamaican and US records. Rough Trade primarily started for Geoff as a means of spending all day surrounded by the music he loved. In fact his record shop focused on selling things which had never, and in many cases would never, experience any significant commercial success. But in these records he found an unexpected demand. Bands such as The New York Dolls, Count Five and Velvet Underground were gaining a sizeable following in London.

Indeed when punk kicked off no respectable musician wasn't aware of bands like the New York Dolls. As a result Rough Trade became the place to be seen in London. Punks, small time music writers and bands all gathered in the shop to buy records and talk about music. So well known was Rough Trade that bands such as the Ramones and Talking Heads made a point of visiting when on tour.

Periodically bands and artists who knew Travis would ask if he would help them put out their material. Eventually he agreed and two of his first signings were Northern Irish punks Stiff Little Fingers and Sheffield's Cabaret Voltaire. Despite Travis having a rather pretentious ethos 'we were pro-feminist, pro-humanitarian, antifascist, antiauthoritarian' the label continued to grow and in 1983 signed The Smiths who would become the most successful British independent band to date.

'Johnny Marr came down and collared me whilst I was making a cup of tea in the warehouse and gave me a tape of 'Hand in Glove'. I remember being really struck with Johnny - he always looks great. He gave it to me and said, "This isn't just another tape, go and listen to it". I took it home, listened to it all that weekend, called them up on Monday and Tuesday morning we went and cut the single. It doesn't usually happen that fast I have to say!' - Geoff Travis

By the late 80's Rough Trade had assembled a catalogue of artists which included Scritti Polliti, James and The Fall. But Travis had overstretched himself, cash flow had become a problem and Rough Trade closed in similar circumstances to legendary Manchester indie label Factory Records.

In the year 2000 Rough Trade re-launched. Whilst Travis maintains we may never get a 21st Century Smiths he has managed to uncover some of the most influential artists of recent years. The Rough Trade label today mixes British acts like Belle and Sebastien, Jarvis cocker and The Libertines with some of The biggest alternative bands of the US, chiefly Arcade Fire, Low, Sufjan Stevens and Beachwood Sparks. As a result of their increasing popularity Rough Trade have opened several shops internationally including one in Tokyo.

The Artic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs proved last year that independent labels could successfully promote, manage and nurture hugely successful artists without forcing them to compromise artistically. The only danger is that Rough Trade will once again, as it did prior to 1991, overstretch itself.

Written By Hammond