- Slash Records
Slash Records is a
record label inLos Angeles , originally specializing in local andpunk rock bands.The label was formed in 1978 by Bob Biggs as an outgrowth of the
Los Angeles -basedfanzine , Slash. Biggs, a painter, initiated the label with a seven-inch single fromThe Germs in 1978. A full album from that band was released the next year, and X's "Los Angeles" followed in 1980. Until 1981, the label was distributed through Jem; when that company went bankrupt, Slash entered into a distribution deal withWarner Bros. , a move that was among the first of the collaborations between independent and major labels in American punk music. During the time of this arrangement, the label released albums by prominent Los Angeles punk andRock and roll bands, including Fear,The Blasters , L7 andLos Lobos .The label flourished even after the magazine stopped in
1980 . A subsidiary,Ruby Records , was started in1981 ; Ruby released albums byThe Misfits ,Dream Syndicate , andGun Club . By the mid-1980s, Slash had branched out into other parts of the country, signing such acts asViolent Femmes andBoDeans (both fromWisconsin ) and releasing albums byRobyn Hitchcock andBurning Spear .The label was sold to
London Records in1986 . From1982 until1996 , releases from Slash Records were distributed in theUnited States byWarner Bros. Records , and elsewhere byMercury Records .Universal Music (the owner of American Decca) acquired PolyGram, which owned London Records, in 2000 and closed Slash as an active label. When Ames moved to theWarner Music Group , he retained the rights to London and Slash, and the back catalogue of Slash was acquired by Warner. In 2003, Ames relicensed the use of the name Slash back to Bob Biggs, who then relaunched the label. [ [http://www.diyreporter.com/news/news2.asp?news2_id=318 "Slash Records revived in LA and NY"] , "The DIY Reporter", June 20, 2003.] [ [http://www.cosmik.com/aa-september03/slash.html "Bigg News! The Return Of Bob Biggs And The Rebirth Of Slash Records"] interview with Bob Briggs by Shaun Dale, "Cosmik Debris Magazine" #98, September 2003.]Notable artists
*
The Blasters
*The BoDeans
*Burning Spear
*Dream Syndicate
*Failure
*Faith No More
*Fear
*Field Trip
*GRADUATION DAY
*Green on Red
*Gun Club
*Gun Bunnies
*Imperial Teen
*L7
*Los Lobos
*Plugz
*Rammstein
*Soul Coughing
*Steel Pole Bath Tub
*The Germs
*Tribe
*The Misfits
*Violent Femmes
*Xee also
*
List of record labels References
Complete Slash discography http://www.discogs.com/label/Slash+Records
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