Rough Trade: Labels Unlimited

by Rob Young

Rough Labels Unlimited tells the engrossing story of one of England’s most groundbreaking record labels. It is 30 years since the Rough Trade Shop first opened its doors in Notting Hill, London. Disco and soft-rock ruled the airwaves, The Clash had just signed to CBS and Geoff Travis set up the company with some friends as a communistic, DIY alternative to the increasingly stale mainstream. Over the ensuing years the Rough Trade Shop, Rough Trade Records and Rough Trade Distribution profoundly altered the landscape of modern music.

Rough Trade looks back on three fascinating decades of innovation, noise and change, taking in ups and downs, twists and turns and some of the best music ever committed to vinyl. The label released many of the most important records of the late 1970s and 80s by artists The Smiths, Scritti Politti, Mazzy Star, The Go-Betweens, Aztec Camera, Robert Wyatt, The Fall, Arthur Russell and Linton Kwesi Johnson.

Rough Trade profiles these artists and much more, as both the history of Rough Trade, and by proxy the story of British independent music over the last 30 years are engagingly chronicled. Visually stunning, Rough Trade is filled with archive images, interviews and previously unseen photographs and artefacts.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

190 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

To date the most comprehensive history of the Rough Trade label. Yes there's another one but that is too much. This one balances information and visuals perfectly.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading books about bands and record labels is like being a kid in a candy factory. And Rough Trade is by far my favorite candy-maker. This book had me exploding with excitement and nostalgia for so much of the music that I love, music that I used to love, and even the music that I tried to love but couldn't. From French synth punks Metal Urbain, to Northern Irish hitmakers Stiff Little Fingers, to the kicckass femme fantasticalness of the Raincoats and Liliput, to the renaissance magic of Mayo Thompson and the Red Crayola, to the over-the-top politics of the Pop Group, to the unfolding drama of the Smiths, this book had a massive playlist from past decades of my life blasting in my head while hipping me to post-punk's progression for reggae roots into an indie-rock upsurge. An archive of photos, record sleeves, and the label's complete discography tailor Rough Trade's ear-candy to the eyes, and even the book's few bits of errata were a treasure for nerds like moi.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing about this book is all of the photographs, original sleeve art, and ephemera (the postcard the Raincoats sent from New York City is priceless). But there isn't a lot of value in the actual written part of the book. The author editorializes a lot, denigrating some of my favorite Rough Trade acts while valorizing others that I don't see the merit in. A more even-handed approach would have been better. More importantly, it just isn't very engaging.

[Jan Michaels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this series.....I hope they keep going on.........