Stiff Records - Definition and Overview

The Stiff Records record label was created in 1976, at the height of the punk boom by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera.

The label entered a distribution deal with Island Records. Riviera left Stiff in 1977 to form Radar Records. In 1984 Stiff became part of Island Records. The deal wasn't a success and Robinson regained control in 1986 of the newly independent label. After a serious cashflow crisis, ZTT Records bought the label for a reported £300.000.

Stiff billed themselves as The World's Most Flexible Record Label. The label had a lot of attitude. Other slogans were "We came. We saw. We left." and "If it ain't Stiff it ain't worth a f*ck."

Barney Bubbles was responsible for the graphic art associated with Stiff Records.

Although Stiff had the punk reputation, it hosted a wide variety of players. Artists who recorded on Stiff include:

• Elvis Costello, angry young rocker
• Ian Dury and the Blockheads, blend of jazz and pub rock, creators of rock and roll anthem "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll"
• Wreckless Eric, wry pub rocker
• Kirsty McColl
• Madness, ska and more
• Tracey Ullman, over-the-top pop
• Larry Wallis, crazed punk, on his own and with the Pink Fairies and the first version of Motörhead.
• Dave Edmunds, rockabilly revivalist
• The Adverts
• Graham Parker
• Jona Lewie
• Devo, kitschy futuristic new wave
• The Damned
• Any Trouble
• Richard Hell and The Damned, punk to be sure
• Nick Lowe, "Looking for love in the heart of the city"
• Sean Tyla and the Tyla Gang, early power pop
• Plasmatics
• The Pogues
• Lene Lovich
• Rachel Sweet

External links

• Stiff site (http://www.bestiff.co.uk/main.htm)
• Stiff Discography site (http://www.buythehour.se/stiff)

See also

• List of record labels