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Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>

Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British record publishing world. Some labels are bigger than others, some have had a profoundly bigger influence over the current cultural climate than others, but all must be heralded for unique place within the musical strata. Subsequently I have shied away from the BIG labels, and taken a somewhat more inquiring eye as to what constitutes the fabric of the British record industry.

10. Rough Trade Records

Whilst I stated previously that this was not a ranked assessment of British record labels, past and present, I don’t think it’d be held against me if I were to assert that no single record label has done more to help the evolution of British music than Rough Trade. From humble beginnings in London’s E1 postcode, Rough Trade have been a staple on the British musical landscape since their inception in 1978. Having traded contracts with the likes of Stiff Little Fingers in their early years, then The Smiths later in their tenure, Rough Trade have always been at the forefront of new British musical movements. Despite several brushes with bankruptcy, Rough Trade re-established themselves as a forerunner within the industry thanks to a highly anticipated re-launch in 2000. The Libertines, The Strokes and Babyshambles were all released on Rough Trade post re-launch. Need we say anything more?

9. Factory Records

Brain Child of the tempestuous Tony Wilson, Factory Records was equal parts record label, artistic collective, party machine and the founding force behind the Mad-chester scene. Tony Wilson was a very busy boy indeed! It’s something of a rarity for a label to strike and oil well upon first signing, but upon signing a little known Manchester based act called Joy Division, factory records did just that, and so entered the upper echelons of the British recording industry. Wilson’s tempestuous nature was only rivalled by the tempestuous way in which he invested Factory’s assets. The Hacienda project, The Happy Mondays troubled fourth album (which happened to be recorded in Jamaica), and various financially questionable ventures at the hands of New Order saw Factory go into bankruptcy in 1992. But what was left behind was a back catalogue of some of the most influential British post-punk records, all catalogued with the eponymous FAC. Upon Wilson’s passing in 2007, the UK mourned the loss of one of its most influential, if somewhat financially inept, music business prodigies.

8. Apple Record

Aside from the obvious reasons for inclusion on the list, I have a little idiosyncrasy that I am indulging through it’s inclusion in the list. There must be something about people from Swansea that we hold an impossible degree of pride about things going on, regardless of how minimal or seemingly inconsequential, in our hometown. This is particularly true when it comes to musical happenings within the town. No matter how minor a band in Swansea achieves, it is always with the greatest reverence that it is treated. Such a great deal of talent for such a small town, and very little of it ever leaves (see, I’m doing it again), such I hold high on a pedestal Badfinger. Very few people (outside Wales) have heard Badfinger, but they were signed for a time, prior to the lead singer’s untimely suicide that they were signed to Apple Records, with the promise of doing something big, and I mean BIG. Paul McCartney, at the height of his Beatles success wanted to write with the Swansea boys. That’s pretty much as big as it gets. So, you may not have heard any Badfinger directly, but it’s a certainty, and I retain all vitriol with the following statement that you HAVE heard something they have written. I Can’t Live If Living is Without You is one of the most frequently covered songs, rightly or wrongly, in popular music, and yes, you guessed it, it was a Badfinger composition. It’s one of the very few link’s Swansea has to popular music, so it’s something we have held onto, and will not let go of for all the cockles in Penclawdd, (all the people from Swansea will get that joke, possibly).

And The Beatles’ stuff was pretty good as well.

7. V2 Records

As a subsidiary of Virgin, whose early signings included Punk monoliths The Sex Pistols amongst others, so it’s safe to say V2 had rather large shoes to fill. But when greeted with a challenge V2 are the tenacious little pups you’d expect having been spawned by Virgin (the name’s rather ironic considering the previous analogy). Having homed Elbow, a band who, despite being relatively underground fro the majority of their career, Coldplay will be forever indebted to; the thinking man’s Indie band, Blow Party; Belgian eccentrics dEUS & the ambient trickster himself, Moby, V2 have a considerable, if somewhat smaller (but it’s not about size anyway) degree of influence within the British recording world. Daddy Virgin would be awfully proud!