Stiff Records
| Stiff Records | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Parent company | SPZ Group Warner Music Group USA |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Founder | Dave Robinson, Jake Rivera |
| Distributor(s) |
ZTT (UK) Rhino Entertainment (US) |
| Genre | Pub rock, punk rock, new wave |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Official website | www |
Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007.
Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff Records signed various punk and new wave acts such as Nick Lowe, the Damned, Lene Lovich, Wreckless Eric, Plummet Airlines, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and Devo.
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 Pink Fairies, sold only around half of 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, on 22 October 1976.
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