e1 - A New Era
5/6/202648 min
Before the hits, before the headlines, there was chaos, instinct… and a gamble.
Welcome to the birth of London Records: a label that didn’t just ride the wave of 1980s pop, but helped create it. In this opening episode, journalist Siân Pattenden throws us headfirst into a music industry that feels more like the Wild West: fast-moving, rule-breaking, and full of possibility.
With founders Roger Ames and Tracy Bennett at the helm, London Records wasn’t interested in playing it safe. Instead, they built a culture driven by risk, rebellion, and raw cre...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSiân Pattenden· Host0:00
Okay. So the first thing is could we have a little intro would be great.
Goldie· Guest0:04
Okay. Hi, I'm Siobhan Fahey.
Richard Coles· Guest0:06
I'm Richard Coles. Now the Reverend Richard Coles, but I used to be plain Richard Coles in the Communards, which was a London band.
Goldie· Guest0:14
Uh, this is Goldie and I was signed to FFRR known as London Records in the '90s. It was a blur.
Richard Coles· Guest0:22
And, uh, we had our slightly longer than 15 minutes of fame.
Goldie· Guest0:26
For my sins, I was on London Records for 14 years then dropped for about 10, and now I'm back on London Records again. It's a life sentence.
Siân Pattenden· Host0:37
How would you describe the music business to an alien or someone who's just crawled out from under a rock?
Goldie· Guest0:44
[laughs] I would describe it in the same way that Hunter S. Thompson describes it. The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. [laughs] It's good, isn't it?
Richard Coles· Guest1:05
People gambling on very imprecise product. There's a lot of money and a lot of attention and a lot of very talented people working very hard to try to turn something mysterious into a success. And when it happens, the rewards are enormous, which is why they do it and it suits people who are hungry for risk and adventure and it