Riot City Records

Riot City Records
Parent company Heartbeat Productions
Founded 1980
Founder Simon Edwards,
Dave Bateman and
Shane Baldwin
Defunct 1988
Distributor(s) The Cartel
Genre Punk/Hardcore
Country of origin United Kingdom
Location Bristol
Official website Riot City Records at Heartbeat Productions

Riot City was a British record label based in Bristol, active between 1980 and 1988, and run by Heartbeat Records boss Simon Edwards along with Dave Bateman and Shane Baldwin from the band Vice Squad.[1][2] Vice Squad's Last Rockers EP was Riot City's first release - it reached number 1 in the UK Alternative Chart and sold 22,000 copies.[3]

The label released dozens of singles, albums, and EPs by bands including Chaotic Dischord, The Ejected, Chaos UK, and Abrasive Wheels, selling over 200,000 records in total.[1]

In 1982 an American punk compilation album "Hell comes to your House" (Reagan 1) was licensed from Bemisbrain Records USA, and issued on the subsidiary Riot State Records label. In 1985 Chaotic Dischord released the spoof NOW! album, "NOW! That’s What I Call A Fuckin' Racket (Vol 1)" (GRR 1) on another subsidiary, Not Very Nice Records.

Riot City received its share of criticism, with journalist Garry Bushell describing the label as "the dustbin of punk", and members of Crass accusing the label of being the "back door to EMI" (Vice Squad had gone on to sign with EMI).[1]

Riot City folded in the late-1980s and label boss Edwards continued with his job as a route planner with the AA. In 1994 he returned to the music industry as head of Trash City Records.[1]

Discography

Albums

Singles

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Glasper, Ian (2004). Burning Britain: The History of Punk 1980-1984. Cherry Red Books. pp. 380–384. ISBN 1-901447-24-3.
  2. ↑ "Simon Edwards – Heartbeat Records and Riot City Records". Bristol Archive Records. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Riot City". Vinylnet. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Record Label Discographies for rare and collectable vinyl records". Vinylnet.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
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