Over the last few years the CD has had increasingly bad press. The media generally talks about it like it is rapidly becoming an extinct species. It wasn't that long ago it was hailed as the successor to vinyl and was the exciting future of how we would all be listening to our music.

 

Vinyl was quickly seen as something that would rapidly disappear. Then of course we had the launch of downloads, and then streaming, and anything physical was increasingly regarded as unnecessary and actually rather old fashioned.  Cars stopped automatically fitting CD players and supermarkets stopped stocking CDs.

 

Then came the vinyl renaissance; it was regarded as hip and trendy, and sales increased. There has always a strong core of music fans and collectors that loved the CD, which is what we have primarily focused on at Cherry Red. I run an informal group called ‘Physical Support Group’ which is made up of around 15 Independent record labels who all support physical releases.

 

We meet for dinner every few months and invite retailers and industry figures as guests. Everyone has the same experience. The CD is very much alive and well and indeed growing again. Recent figures published by ERA support this showing that the total spent on purchasing CDs in the UK increased over the previous year. There was a remarkable 664,487 CD albums available, more than there were available on Streaming services.  

Back in 1971 one of my favourite albums was Rod Stewart’s ‘Every Picture Tells A Story.’ Well at Cherry Red we look at our CD releases as a way of telling a story which includes the music, the words and the visuals in the booklet. Many of them are box sets and there are some great stories there to be enjoyed and cherished.

 

Iain McNay, April 2024

 

We are sad to hear of the death of music industry legend Larry Page. A successful manager, producer and label owner, Larry discovered both The Kinks and The Troggs and produced the Chelsea anthem Blue Is The Colour in 1972, which is still played at every Stamford Bridge home game.  
 
He also ran the Page One label, released music as The Larry Page Orchestra, gave early exposure to a young Jimmy Page, worked with Sonny and Cher and Bob Lind, and was described by Bruce Welch of The Shadows as "the worst singer I ever heard in my life." If he lacked anything as a singer, he more than made up for it in humour, generosity and character.
 
A passionate football fan and good friend of Cherry Red, Iain and Adam from Cherry Red and Mark from Captain Oi spent a lot of time with him watching Kingstonian FC during our early sponsorship days. Larry moved to Australia, but we always stayed in touch and we’ll miss his stories. Our condolences go out to his family and friends. 

The most recent sync deals include Kim Wilde’s 'Cambodia' in French indie film Kanun and series 2 of Brazilian drama Hidden Truths. 80s post-punk band Prolapse have had their track 'Tina, This Is Matthew Stone' appearing in US sci-fi tv series Impulse, while Apollo 100’s 'Joy' in US TV show For All Mankind, Suzi Quatro’s 'Strict Machine' is included in video game Everywhere and The Mekons’ 'Where Were You' appears in the new Ronnie O’Sullivan documentary The Edge Of Everything. Finally, the Laurel Aitken track 'Sally Brown' has been used in a new Spanish doctumentary about fanzines called Fanzilona. 

Our monthly show is available to hear now. Cherry Red Radio is also now an online Radio Station, broadcasting 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!

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Left: Frank Chickens' Kazuko Hohki with Mushi Jenner and Martina. 

 

Iain with manager and agent Gary Davison.

The performers and crew from a recent tribute concert held at Moth Club for the Les Cousins folk and blues Club. The original club was situated in the basement of a restaurant at 49 Greek Street. Read a review here. 

 

L-R: John Altman, Martin Carthy, Bridget St John, Diana Matheou, Ian A Anderson, Wizz Jones, Jon Wilks, Ben Mandelson, Angeline Morrison. 

Rod Lynton and Ray Beverley of Rupert's People with John.

We're back at the Independent Label Market taking place at Coal Drops Yard in Kings Cross on Saturday 11th May from 11am - 6.30pm. Drop by and say hi! Find out more here.

Momus Signs To Cherry Red ... the story of Momus and the early days of Cherry Red by Nick Currie. Click here to read.

A star studded box at AFC Wimbledon's Cherry Red Records stadium for a Tuesday night game vs Grimsby Town. 

 

Back row L-R: Gareth Ainsworth, Adam Velasco, Jack Martin, Jah Wobble, Iain McNay, Mease, Keith Young.

Front row L-R: Peter Quick, Billy Grant, Paul Hatcher, Simon Wills, Matt Ingham. 

Record Store Day took place on Saturday 20th April this year and we had limited edition vinyl releases from Hawkwind, Kim Wilde, Barclay James Harvest, The Fall, Be Bop Deluxe, The Residents and UFO.