Review: 'These Things Happen The Sarah Records Story'
Director: 'Duffus, Jane'Writen By: 'Jane Duffus'
- Starring: 'Clare Wadd, Matt Haynes, Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey, The Sweetest Ache, The Flatmates, The Orchids, BoyRacer, Even As we Speak,'
These Things Happen does exactly what it says on the cover, telling the story of Sarah Records over 464 pages, the story unfolds as Jane Duffus conducted 140 interviews including at least one member of every band whoever put out a record on Sarah records as well of course the labels twin head honchos Clare Wadd and Matt Haynes and talking heads including Pete Paphides, Dave Quantick and Simon Price.
The book describes in detail all the legendary labels 100 releases, how two fanzine editors came together to start putting out the music they loved but was unlikely to find a home on major labels. As a music nut who saw a few of the Sarah bands back in the day but didn't buy any of the records, only really started hearing more of the Sarah output through being asked to review re-issues, or new music from bands who were on the label it was a great history lesson to me.
I will dedicate the review to the man who initially linked me into the world of re-issues of Sarah Records on other labels, the late great Marty Thau who back in the Myspace era noticed I was posting live reviews of Suicide and Alan Vega and asked if I would review the new bands he was helping promote, that led to the labels involved (Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records, Emotional Response Records and Jigsaw Records sending me stuff by Boyracer, The Flatmates and all things Rob Pursey and Amelia Fletcher, as well as in the intervening years several of Beth Arzy's bands, The Orchids, Even As We Speak and lots of other Sarah related acts that make me keenly aware of the labels enduring legacy.
Back to the book it discusses how the label came about and how it was always run from Care and Matt's home in Bristol, as they went from novices to turning over £250000 a year while maintaining a fiercely independent DIY spirit that was music and product orientated, while battling against a very male orientated music industry, that found it hard to accept a record label chief could be a woman. They clearly didn't own any records on the first label to sign Bob Dylan Spivey Records, run by Victoria Spivey and her husband on a shoestring in the 1960's, or Sonia Pottinger who ran Gay Feet, Tip Top, Rainbow, and High Note labels in Jamaica, but they were rare exceptions as is Clare Wadd.
Jane explores what scenes Sarah bands are part of, I had never heard of the Cutie scene, but would have described most of the bands as being either Fey or Anorak bands who attracted wallflower fans, at least for the more sensitive nature of the sweet love songs many of the bands played.
Although the Boyracer show I remember seeing at the Garage in Highbury was more of a shambling noise than anything else, the Sea Urchins I remember being fuzzy psychedelia, while as ever I still get my The Orchids (on Sarah) and The Blue Orchids (Not On Sarah) mixed up, I know I went and saw The Orchids thinking they were the Blue Orchids and being a bit disappointed. But that as the book points out was the nature of gig going for obscure bands, you heard on John Peel was often like back in the pre-internet days.
As the label asserted it's feminist credentials by never using any sexual imagery to sell a record, with dowdy or flowery dresses preferred whole the floppy fringes abounded with the guys they also put a series of photos of Bristol on the singles labels.
As a label that got lots of play on the John Peel show he is mentioned a lot, especially as someone who would show up at gigs by unlikely bands in all sorts of odd places, while giving sessions to several Sarah bands with some great stories of recording at Maida Vale from the Field Mice, Heavenly and Even As We Speak among others.
Not all of the releases on the labels were records, as they put out their own board game Saropoly and Fanzines as well as creating all sorts of cool artwork to accompany the mainly 7" singles.
While these bands are not into total debauchery there are lots of tales of Fist fights at gigs, drunken antics, naked stage invasions and lots of typical youthful fun and games. Fighting at gigs in the late 80's and early 90's was certainly not unusual, I remember one Johnathan Richman gig that had to be stopped three times to break up fights in the audience, so Sarah bands getting into fights was in keeping with the times.
The book doesn't shy away from the cerebral nature of many of the musicians involved in Sarah Records especially star turn Amelia Fletcher OBE who was lecturing in Economics at Oxford University while playing in Heavenly, as no one was making enough money to give up on having a day job.
Of course, Amelia was also one of the very few Sarah Records artists to appear on Top Of The Pops while moonlighting on sax in Jimmy Nail's band. Although Caesar appeared as part of Altered Images his first band, before joining The Wake and signing to Sarah records, although signing contracts was something Sarah didn't do, rather coming to verbal agreements that were kept too, so that no one got ripped off, they were insistent on being ethical in how they treated everyone.
The label also helped to put on lots of shows with bands on tours usually staying on people's floors, the hardship of being in small bands is made clear, while they were also having lots of fun, including Duglas T Stewart from BMX Bandits turning out to be rather straight edge, preferring an episode of Miss Marple to going to a party with Urge Overkill and Shonen Knife!!
This book will make a great stocking filler if you want to go against Sarah records ethics, or just a fine addition to any Indie fans book shelf that is hard to put down once you start reading it and marveling at all the great pics of bands and fliers posters and records to celebrate a label that at times was much maligned by all sorts of snooty music fans who all should know better. This book may well leave you wanting to buy lots of Sarah Records which may prove expensive as Clare and Matt have kept there promise to never do any re-issues the original releases are highly sought after.
Find out more at https://www.tangentbooks.co.uk/shop/these-things-happen-the-sarah-records-story-by-jane-duffus-signed-copies https://www.janeduffus.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesethingshappen
