On this day in 1976……

….the rather wonderful Stiff Records was launched with a whopping £400 loan(!), the first release was the equally wonderful ‘So It Goes’ by Nick Lowe….

classics from Elvis Costello, The Damned, Madness, The Pogues and more would soon follow (plus a few turkeys too!). Not forgetting their neat line in promotion and self-deprecating humour.

Here’s some text from the Stiff Website with a little more background

Founded in 1976, Stiff Records was at the heart of the new wave, bringing the world artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Kirsty MacColl and Ian Dury and what is generally regarded as the first ever punk rock single, New Rose by The Damned.  The label set the yardstick for music business marketing, with artwork by Barney Bubbles and an array of memorable slogans, not least “It It Ain’t Stiff, It Ain’t Worth A F***”.  

Stiff continues to this day, with the 2012 UK #1 single Bom Bom by Sam And The Womp and a back catalogue comprising 150 singles and more than 50 albums of revered 70s and 80s pop, punk and rock.  

Catalogue highlights include Tenpole Tudor’s Swords of a Thousand Men (as synched in 2012 to Aardman Animations’ Pirates! and in 2011 to US TV ads for EA Games’ FIFA 11), Tracey Ullman’s They Don’t Know (a #8 US hit in 1983 on the Billboard Hot 100), Wreckless Eric’s Whole Wide World (recently synched to 2012 MacDonalds Canada TV ads) and Desmond Dekker’s Israelites (as featured in Drugstore Cowboy).

You can find original Stiff Records vinyl and CDs at eil.com

Have you got a favourite Stiff release or perhaps you attended one of the revue style tours? Tell us the gory details!