Fifty years of Island Records

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Fifty years of Island Records

Wednesday May 20, 2009


Amy Winehouse will be helping celebrate Island's birthday

OK - here goes. U2, Bob Marley, Cat Stevens, Traffic, Free, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Toots & The Maytals, John Martyn, Marianne Faithfull, Aswad, Tom Waits, King Sunny Ade, Third World, Roxy Music, Robert Palmer, the B52s, Sly & Robbie, Melissa Etheridge, The Slits, Steel Pulse, Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club, Pulp, Tricky, Talvin Singh, and latterly Amy Winehouse , PJ Harvey, DJ Shadow, Sugababes, Keane, The Fratellis, Scott Matthews, Paul Weller, The Feeling, Portishead and Florence & The Machine.

Phew. That's quite a list.

The link? Island Records was responsible for launching their careers. Why are we telling you this?

Shepherds Bush Empire is hosting a week of live shows by Island artists past and present later this month to mark the legendary record label's 50th anniversary.

Island also has a very strong link to H&F, having been based in St Peter's Square, Hammersmith, for many years.

Founder Chris Blackwell relocated to London after founding the business in Jamaica, in 1959. Its Hammersmith base was the place to be if you wanted to meet a wide variety of music stars, with the likes of Bob Marley recording his Exodus sessions in a studio at the back in the 70s. Island is now in Kensington High Street.

Blackwell said: "When I recorded Lance Hayward at the Half Moon in 1959 at Federal Records Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, I had no inkling what path this had set me on.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to work with some of the greatest musical artists of all time. It was always my intention at Island to make records that stood the test of time, and I'm proud that Island is still a potent force in music 50 years after that first disc.

"I'm very excited to be collaborating with the label to celebrate Island's 50th birthday and I'm particularly excited about the week of shows in London."

Some top names will be at the Empire from May 26-31.

  • May 26: Sly & Robbie and legendary The Compass Point Allstars featuring 'very special guests'.
  • May 27: The Fratellis, another 'very special guest' and Bombay Bicycle Club.
  • May 28: Cat Stevens/Yusuf and friends, and Baaba Maal
  • May 29: Paul Weller, Ernest Ranglin and Spooky Tooth.
  • May 30: Keane, Tom Tom Club and Ladyhawke.
  • May 31: Amy Winehouse, Toots & the Maytals and I Blame Coco.

Other ways to mark this anniversary include the publication of Keep On Running - the Story of Island Records edited by Chris Salewicz, author of a recent biog of another Shepherds Bush music legend, Joe Strummer.

There are a couple of exhibitions in London to look out for. Visit www.island50.com (opens new window) for full details.