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ZOO RECORDS

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from COUNTER SOUND - THE HISTORY , page 100

Article from: COUNTER SOUND - THE HISTORY
Happy Mondays

In Liverpool, rising from the scene revolving around the Erics’ club, a new label was created

The spirit of independence wasn't confined to Manchester. In cities across the country, scenes were popping up, all with their own local flavour. In Liverpool the first sprouts could be seen in the market stalls of the alternative fashion scene.

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But it was here in central Liverpool opposite the site of the properly world-famous Cavern Club there was another dank, basement cellar that became equally legendary. Eric’s, where the punks band played, but it was just the kind of sanctuary in the late ‘70s that would form the meeting place for the misfits who would guide the city’s independent scene.

Bill Drummond, with his partner, Dave Balfe, decided to set up his own indie record label, Zoo, to showcase other bands emerging from Eric’s. Zoo was the vision of Bill and Dave to try and make 50 quid. It was inspired by Buzzcocks’ Spiral Scratch single, which was a very important single to many Northern musicians, to see that someone could actually do that, and have a kind of hit. “We just felt total amateurs. That’s the main thing we felt. We were running on ridiculous budgets. We were all basically subsidised by the dole. We would just about make 300 or 400 quid profit, if we were lucky.” Dave Balfe stated in an interview. Zoo Records was a British independent record label formed by Bill Drummond and David Balfe in 1978. Zoo was launched to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool band, Big in Japan (the label’s first release being the From Y To Z and Never Again EP). The label also released two singles by Lori and the Chameleons, a Balfe and Drummond band which they formed after Big in Japan folded. Zoo Records went on to release early work from The Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen.

Only two albums were released on the label: a Scott Walker compilation put together by Julian Cope, called Fire Escape in the Sky, and a label compilation called To the Shores of Lake Placid. (In 1995, an American bootlegger took various Zoo singles and tracks from To the Shores of Lake Placid and released a bootleg titled The Zoo Uncaged).

Fire Escape in the Sky had the catalogue number Zoo Two, while To the Shores of Lake Placid had Zoo Four. Zoo One was scheduled to be the Teardrop Explodes album Kilimanjaro (later released on Mercury Records) while Zoo Three was to be the same band’s album Wilder.

“Zoo was the vision of Bill and Dave to try and make 50 quid.”

Bill Drummond

“That’s how it worked then. It was simple.”

Erics’ Liverpool, venue entrance

ZOO RECORDS

This is how Zoo Records operated

Dave Balfe, a recently recruited bass player, asked me what I was planning on doing next. I said, “Forming a record label.” And he said, “Can I do it with you?” And I said, “Fine.” And he said, “What do you think we should call the record label?” And I said, “Bill’s Records.” And he said, “That’s a crap name.” And I said, “OK, so what do you think we should call it?” And he said, “The Zoo.” And I said, “Fine.” So we started recording and we ALMOST succeeded in recording bands that had never been heard of before and were never going to be heard of again. But people wanted to hear these bands again and the bands wanted to make more records.

In 1979, this is how it worked at The Zoo.

Balfey and I would record the band in Liverpool. We’d take the tape down to London in the Balfemobile. We’d go round to the mastering rooms, Alan would master it and cut it, we’d take the acetate up to Lyntone pressing plant off the Holloway Road. We’d ask them to press up 2,000 copies of the record. They’d say, “It takes two weeks.” We’d drive back up to Liverpool. Kev Ward or Alan Gill would design a record sleeve. We’d have the sleeve printed down the Dock Road.

Two weeks later we’d drive back down to London, with the sleeves, go into Lyntone, pick up the 2,000 records, drive round to Rough Trade record shop, go in, play it to Geoff. Geoff would say, “Great! I’ll have 1,000 copies.” We’d go out to the car, sleeve up the records, take it in, he’d hand us a cheque. We’d drive down to Beggars’ Banquet record shop, somewhere south, I’d play it to Martin, Martin’d say, “Great! I want 200 copies!” We’d hand it over, get a cheque. Drive back up to Liverpool. Go into Probe Records. They’d say, “It’s rubbish, but we’ll have all of what you’ve got left,” and we’d hand them over.

Except we’d keep a box for ourselves. We’d give two copies to each member of the band, one for himself one for the mother.

Then we’d go up to Mike at the bank. We’d hand in the cheques. Then we’d write out cheques and send them out to the studios, the printers, the pressing plant, the band, and then we’d send a copy out to each of the music papers, The Record Mirror, the Sounds, the Melody Maker, ...NME.

A week later, it’d be record of the week in one of them, or most of them. The next day, Geoff would phone us from Rough Trade and say, “I want 1,000 more copies of that record.”

That’s how it worked then. It was simple.

- Bill Drummond [ZOO RECORDS, KLF]

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