Vic's show
Hey, so Vic is standing in again for Huw this week...and its a bit of a Scottish special with Found https://www.surfacepressure.co.uk/found/ recorded live at the BBC Electric Proms a couple of weeks ago...and our DIY label of the month is Grace Records
Home Fury of the Headteachers, stopstarts, Linear, Zapped By A Million Volts plus releases by Orphan Boyand The Home Wreckers Club.
The label is based in Greenock – a seaside town near Glasgow. It was set up by music fan and record collector Stuart Clark in November last year and fulfilled a lifelong ambition. He runs it with his mate Stuart Robertson.
The aim of the label is to help bands get their first single out and to take it from there. Three bands - Fury of the Headteachers, stopstarts and Linear, have all signed recording agreements and are now with Grace for the long haul.
Zapped By A Million Volts were recently added to the roster and Stuart says the label is more like a club than a business. Bands decide what they want to release, including the artwork and are given as much of a free hand as possible.
Although the label is based in Scotland, most of the bands are not Scottish. He says it’s a case of keeping your ear close to the ground to find out what bands are creating a buzz and who are worth checking out. He likes bands that have something different about them – something "quirky and fresh".
“Fury of the Headteachers had a demo on a Sheffield fanzine that I got a copy of and I was blown away the first time I heard 'Fables'. I just took it from there and followed up my interest.
“Linear I came across on Myspace and loved what I was listening to even though I knew nothing about the band.
“In the case of Zapped By A Million Volts – I was so impressed with what I heard I signed them without seeing them live. Drummer Mick actually asked if I was serious – but I could tell immediately that they had something special about them. When I finally caught them live they didn’t disappoint.
And stopstarts live are fantastically different – yes the backing vocals may nod towards XTC and The Futureheads but the 80s tinged mathematical, metronomic pop is a style that is hard to reference.”
The Linear single ‘Think Cynic’ is out next week on limited 7” and limited CD.
The First Five Singles is out 4th December on a limited CD run of 1000 copies.
Zapped By A Million Volts release the single ‘What’s The Miles Per Gallon, Alan?’ on 15th January.
Fury Of The Headteachers release a full album early next year. The first album proper on the label.
Grace Records live dates:
23rd November: Linear - The Charlotte, Leicester
24th November: Linear – The Miller, London Bridge
28th November: Zapped By A Million Volts – Nice n Sleazy, Glasgow
2nd December: Linear - Campbell/Phoenix, Coventry
12th December: Linear – The Colosseum, Coventry
19th December: stopstarts – The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
https://www.gracerecords.co.uk/
How informative I am this week!!
