Charlie Gillett - Dave Robinson

This weeks dip into the Charlie Gillett radio archive brings us a show from the mid 80's on Capital with guest Dave Robinson who started Stiff Records in the late 70's.
Interesting chat and records chosen by both as always.

Wikipedia says -

"Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976 by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman (aka Jake Riviera), and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007.

Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff Records signed pub rock acts and marketed them as punk and New Wave, including Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric, Elvis Costello and Ian Dury. The label's marketing and advertising was often provocative and witty. Stiff billed itself as "The World's Most Flexible Record Label". Other slogans were "We came. We saw. We left.", "If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth a Fuck", and "When You Kill Time, You Murder Success" (printed on promotional wall clocks). On the label of Stiff's sampler compilation Heroes & Cowards was printed: "In '78 everyone born in '45 will be 33-1/3". A very early Stiff sampler album, A Bunch of Stiff Records, introduced the slogan, "If they're dead, we'll sign them" and "Undertakers to the Industry".

Stiff also produced eccentric but highly effective promotional campaigns, such as the three package tours in 1977 (Live Stiffs), 1978 (Be Stiff) and 1980 (Son Of Stiff), Elvis Costello's "busking outside CBS Records" arrest and the at least 29 different wallpaper sleeves printed for Ian Dury's second album, Do It Yourself, with associated unscheduled makeovers of unsuspecting record shops.

Barney Bubbles was responsible for much of the graphic art associated with the early Stiff releases."


Charlie Gillett - Dave Robinson Pt.1

Charlie Gillett - Dave Robinson Pt. 2