Spiderleg Records

Spiderleg Records was an independent record label founded by UK anarcho-punk band Flux of Pink Indians in 1981.

The band set up the label after releasing their first EP on the Crass Records label, which both taught them the skills necessary to run such a project and provided them with the seed cash. In turn, the band not only used the label to release their own material, but gave opportunities to like-minded punk bands to put out records, including The Subhumans, who in a similar fashion set up the Bluurg label. Others that released records on Spiderleg included The System, Amebix and Antisect.

The first record to be put out was a re-recording of older material made when the band were known as The Epileptics (they changed the name to EPI-X following complaints from the British Epilepsy Association and eventually emerged as Flux of Pink Indians having reverted to The Epileptics and then The Licks). This was an EP entitled 1970s Have Been Made in Hong Kong, which had originally been released by the small Bishop's Stortford based label Stortbeat. However, the band fell into dispute with Stortbeat when the label allegedly re-released the single without paying the band owed royalties. The re-recording is also notable for featuring Penny Rimbaud of Crass on drums as the original Epileptics drummer was not available.

The label had considerable indie chart success, with several hits on the UK Indie Chart, including a number one album with Flux of Pink Indians' Strive To Survive Causing The Least Suffering Possible, which also reached number 79 on the UK Album Chart.[1]

Derek Birkett, bass player of Flux of Pink Indians, later set up the highly successful One Little Indian Records, whose releases have included material by Björk, The Shamen, Skunk Anansie, Queen Adreena and Chumbawamba, amongst others.

Releases

chart positions shown from the UK Indie Chart[2]

[3]

See also

References

  1. Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, ISBN 0-86241-913-1
  2. Lazell, Barry (1997) "Indie Hits 1980-1989", Cherry Red Books, ISBN 0-9517206-9-4
  3. Lane, Mark, Spiderleg Records discography, KFTH

Further reading

External links