Stiff Records - History

History

Robinson and Riviera were well-known London music business characters. Robinson had briefly worked for Jimi Hendrix in the late 1960s and also managed pub rock combo Brinsley Schwarz in the early 1970s, and Jakeman had been an early manager for another pub rock band, Dr. Feelgood, from Essex. The label was started with a loan of £400 from Lee Brilleaux of Dr. Feelgood.

Stiff found quick success. Its first release, on 14 August 1976, was a single (in the normal 7" vinyl 45 rpm format) by Nick Lowe, "So It Goes", B-side "Heart Of The City", with the striking catalogue number BUY 1. That record sold 10,000 copies, but Stiff's next release, "Between The Lines" by the Pink Fairies, sold only around half that. Robinson and Riviera used money from their Advancedale management company to finance the release of what is generally accepted as the United Kingdom's first punk single, "New Rose" by The Damned, in November 1976, which was a veritable hit.

November 1976 also saw the release of a single by Nottingham-based band Plummet Airlines 'Silver Shirt'/ 'This is the World'. Plummet Airlines then went on to be featured on the John Peel show in May and August 1977, as well as releasing the album 'On Stony Ground' on Armageddon Records in 1981. Early in 1977 Stiff Records picked up speed, signing Wreckless Eric, Ian Dury, and Elvis Costello. Bigger sales followed, and a distribution deal with Island Records and EMI was set up. Each release was given individual attention, with inventive artwork, picture sleeves and a range of snappy slogans, often coupled with inventive marketing campaigns that achieved the label a great deal of publicity, if not always huge profit margins.

Robinson and Riviera were a fiery management combination, and after a series of disagreements, Riviera left Stiff in early 1978 to form the short-lived Radar Records, taking Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Yachts with him as a settlement package. Riviera's departure coincided with the end of the "5 Live Stiffs Tour", which showcased emerging star Ian Dury. Dury's album New Boots & Panties had raced up the charts and its sales kept the label in business over the following months. In 1979, Robinson signed Madness, whose considerable commercial success, both in Britain and abroad, would keep Stiff afloat for several years.

The next few years were the halcyon period, with many Top 20 single chart placings, including the label's first No. 1 single, "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" by Ian Dury, and a number of other big-selling albums. Stiff expanded rapidly and moved its premises twice. It also continued to release dozens of obscure and uncommercial releases. For example The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reagan, was an LP that was completely silent on both sides, which sold over 30,000 copies, on Magic Records, with its own slogan, "If it sells, it must be Magic".

At the end of 1983, Island Records bought 50% of Stiff, and Robinson ran both labels. Island was very short of money at the time and Robinson had to lend it £1,000,000 to fund the share purchase and pay the payroll. Nonetheless, Robinson led Island through their best year ever, with, among others releases by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Legend by Bob Marley, and U2's The Unforgettable Fire. Stiff signed The Pogues, but then Madness left under a cloud. The Island deal failed and Dave Robinson regained control of the newly independent label in 1985. Hits by the Pogues and Furniture helped Stiff to survive another twenty months, but the underlying causes for the failure of the Island deal finally became too burdensome for Stiff and it was sold to ZTT.

In 2007, ZTT and its parent company SPZ Group reactivated the label. Stiff quickly broke one of the UK's hottest new indie acts, The Enemy. It then released a string of well-received albums of new work from legacy Stiff artists, including as Wreckless Eric, Henry Priestman, Any Trouble and Chris Difford. Brand new acts signed to the label included the Tranzmitors and Eskimo Disco. Swedish designer Tobbe Stuhre was appointed official Stiff Records designer.

In 2008, Union Square Music released The Big Stiff Box Set. This detailed catalog release contained 98-tracks across four CDs and the 100-page The Big Stiff Book by music journalist and Stiff expert, Ian Peel.