Motorcity Records

Motorcity Records
Founded	1987
Founder	Ian Levine
Distributor(s)	PRT, Pacific, Charly, Total/BMG
Genre	R&B/soul music, pop music, Motown
Country of origin	United Kingdom

Motorcity Records is a British record label formed by producer Ian Levine in 1989. The label aimed to record new material with former Motown artists.

Levine, a Motown fan since his childhood in the 1960s, was offered a chance to record Kim Weston on his Hi-NRG label Nightmare in 1987. The result Signal Your Intention topped the UK Hi-NRG charts and met with enthusiasm from Motown fans. Kim Weston brought other former Motown acts to the label, including Mary Wells (of My Guy fame), The Velvelettes and Marv Johnson. Mary Wilson of The Supremes followed next and during 1988, a full Motown reunion began to take shape. In April 1989, more than 60 artists gathered in front of the legendary Hitsville studios in Detroit, receiving ample media coverage. Later in the year, Levine changed the label name to Motorcity Records.

Joined by former Motown writers like Sylvia Moy, Johnny Bristol and Ivy Jo Hunter, Levine and his crew wrote and produced around the clock, getting the backing tapes recorded in London while vocal sessions took place in both Detroit and Los Angeles, but despite the media attention and prominent artists in the roster of the likes of Martha & The Vandellas, and former Supremes Jean Terrell, Scherrie Payne and Lynda Laurence, it proved harder than expected to get the product released. In the U.S., the record companies were reluctant to invest in artists of yesteryear.

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