Greensleeves Records
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Greensleeves Records | |
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Founded | 1975 |
Founder | Chris Sedgwick Chris Cracknell |
Distributing label | Universal Music Distribution |
Genre | Reggae Dancehall |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Location | Isleworth, London |
Official website | Official website |
Greensleeves Records & Publishing is a record label specialising in dancehall and reggae music. The company was founded by Chris Cracknell and Chris Sedgwick and started as a small record store in West Ealing, London, in November 1975 and is based in England.
They have released records by Dr Alimantado, Scientist (musician), Eek-A-Mouse, Yellowman, Mad Cobra, Shabba Ranks, Gregory Isaacs, Sizzla, Dennis Brown, Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel and have had crossover pop hits with Tippa Irie "Hello Darling", Shaggy "Oh Carolina", Beenie Man "Who Am I" and Mr Vegas "Head High". In 2002, Greensleeves released the popular "Diwali" album which launched a global resurgence in dancehall and reggae music. The album contained the global hits "No Letting Go" by Wayne Wonder and "Get Busy" by Sean Paul. The riddim was also used by Lumidee on the hit "Never Leave You". The label has a catalog of close to 500 albums.
Greensleeves Publishing has the largest catalogue of reggae songs in the world including the copyrights for Shaggy's "Oh Carolina", Sean Paul's "Get Busy" and "Break It Off" among over 20,000 copyrights.
In early 2008, Greensleeves was acquired by VP Records, the largest reggae label in the world.