Popkiss: The Life and Afterlife of Sarah Records

Description

From 1987 to 1995, Bristol, England's Sarah Records was a modest underground success and, for the most part, a critical laughingstock in its native country-sneeringly dismissed as the sad, final repository for a fringe style of music (variously referred to as “indie-pop,” “C86,” “cutie” and “twee”) whose moment had passed. Yet now, more than 20 years after its founders symbolically “destroyed” it, Sarah is among the most passionately fetishized record labels of all time. Its rare releases command hundreds of dollars, devotees around the world hungrily seek out any information they can find about its poorly documented history, and young musicians-some of them not yet born when Sarah shut down-claim its bands (such as Blueboy, the Field Mice, Heavenly, and the Wake) as major influences. Featuring dozens of exclusive interviews with the music-makers, producers, writers and assorted eyewitnesses who played a part in Sarah's eight-year odyssey, Popkiss: The Life and Afterlife of Sarah Records is the first authorised biography of an unlikely cult legend. Title Page Copyright Page Author’s Note Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 Songs of Innocence and Inexperience: The Roots of Sarah Chapter 2 ‘Let’s Just Communicate!’: The 1980s Fanzine Underground Chapter 3 ‘How Much Do One Thousand Flexidiscs Weigh?’: When Matt Met Clare Chapter 4 ‘Come to My World’: The Sea Urchins and the Beginning of Sarah Chapter 5 ‘A Constant Source of Bemusement and Wonder’: The Orchids Chapter 6 ‘Another Fucking Harvey Band’: The Ubiquitous Harvey Williams Chapter 7 ‘Sarah Records Unequivocally Supports a Fully Integrated Light-Rail Rapid-Transit System for the Greater Bristol Area’: Expressions of Civic Pride Chapter 8 ‘A Diary of Sorts’: The Field Mice, Northern Picture Library, and the Quicksilver Bobby Wratten Chapter 9 ‘I Sometimes Feel So Lost’: Brighter Chapter 10 Safe Harbour: The Wake and the Hit Parade Chapter 11 ‘I Am Telling You Because You Are Far Away’: Internationalism and Sarah’s Written Communiqués Chapter 12 ‘Atta Girl’: Heavenly, Riot Grrrl and Feminism Chapter 13 ‘Sadness is Unisex’: Blueboy and ‘the Best Album’ Sarah Released Chapter 14 An Economy of Ambition: Sarah’s Short-term Visitors In the beginning … Noise annoys New romantics Destination: Oblivion Outliers Chapter 15 ‘We Had an Outsider’s Perspective’: Sarah’s Foreign Visitors Chapter 16 ‘A Day for Destroying Things…’: The End of Sarah Chapter 17 The Afterlife of Sarah The Sarah Discography Singles/EPs Mini-Albums (10”) Albums (12”) Compilations Index