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Here's an email University Challenge on Org Records with Footlights College Organ represented by head honcho Sean Worrel with interrogational questions by Happy House's very own Bambi Gaza - Rick.

Howdy Sean, your starter for 10 - When did Org Records come into existence and what made you start a label in the first place?

Well now, ORG Records and Organ zine and all the gig promotion and things kind of all go together. The first Organ zine came out in late 1986, and almost straight away we started a tape label and started selling compilations at gigs as well as putting stuff by people like Bolt Thrower, Ring, Civilised Society?, No One, Cardiacs, Sabbat and loads loads more - We're really in to the idea of walking up to people and strapping a Walkman (Why aren't they called Walkpersons?) to them and saying check this out, we've sold thousands of tapes like that - I don't know why loads of other people/bands/zines don't try it..
The first lump of vinyl came out in 1990 - it was an Atom Seed 12", it was a kind of Organ collaboration with Heavy metal records - I was doing a lot of stuff with Atom Seed at the time and they got offered a little deal with Heavy Metal, we were in to doing it but we weren't really that keen on being on a label called "Heavy Metal" (even if they did release an Amebix record) so the first ORG vinyl was kind of by accident...
We carried on putting out lots and lots of tapes - mainly because tapes are a really nice friendly underground way to get new music out, and also cheap to do in small runs... sell 100 then go back and get 100 more...
So anyway, we were seeing loads of bands who we really rated and couldn't understand why more established labels couldn't see it, one of those bands was Angel Interceptor (who later had to change their name to Angel Cage 'cause Captain Scarlet and his lawyers got upset), one night we saw them play an even more brilliant gig that usual and the next day we took all this major label crap that we were being sent to review (and almost always ignored, we get all kinds of junk sent to Organ!) - We got about £900 for all these crap albums we'd been sent since Organ started - and that money was used to fund the first Angel interceptor 7" - funded by all the majors at once!!!
Marina (co-Organ/Org Records creator) and I never planed any of this, we just started a zine just for the fun of it, and here we are 12 years later with a monster on our hands... Why did we start it all... mostly because so many good bands were being ignored by everyone else... we're music addicts - it all kind of happened, and everytime we think we've had enough and we'll go off in to the sunset some band will come along and we're all fired up again, right now it's CAY....

As many people will probably be aware you're also responsible for the long running publication Organ, I know you concentrating on the label at the moment so will Organ still continue and has Organ been a springboard for many bands to come to your notice ?

Yeah, Organ will always be around in some form or other...right now I'm really in to this band called Knuckles who I accidentally saw for the first time a few weeks ago, and this band called Cay (who I just mentioned) who really excite me...so yeah, there has to be Organ or no one will find out about them - we've certainly been a springboard for a lot of bands who are very big now (one of them might even say thanks one day).
So many zines just cover the bands NME covered last week, but we've always been it to searching out new things, got this package of 7"ers in handmade covers from Finland this morning, they look exciting... Yes, Organ is a good band magnet... as a rule, the tapes sent in to Organ fanzine are really interesting and often ver inspiring, and the packages addressed to the "Head of A&R" at Org Records are almost always boring, safe, uninspired... the best bands are the one out there just doing 'it' rather than the ones who are just in it for a record deal.

Does Org have a music policy if so what is it and generally what are you personally into ?

The only policy is that we have to be excited about it... there's certainly no particular sound, we don't want to be a Sub Pop or Epitaph or one of those labels you get a (sometimes wrong) preconceived idea about, and you'd certainly find us constantly contradicting ourselves if you went through Organ back issues....
Personally my tastes are all over the shop, I love so many different things, I'm as much in to 70's Genesis and old unfashionable shit like that as I am with the bands I grew up with like Discharge or Motorhead or GBH, Blitz, Twelfth Night... my tastes are all over the place, it's impossible to answer - Cardiacs, IQ, The Plungers, Spo-its, loads of metal, punk stuff, Devo, Blur - I really respect Blur, Pulkas, Slits, Sleepy People, Dead Kens, Killing Joke, Hawkwind, Bis, Beasties, Hole, The Flying Luttenbachers... I don't know.. I'm really in to the Brian Jobestown Massacre right now - I really get a kick out of putting out records by bands like Disco Pistol... MOGUL, Mogul, I'm really into their lo-fi keyboard punk rock, can't wait to get their album out

How many releases has Org put out to date and what do you consider the best and worst release and why?

Don't know how many tapes - 'proper' records, well we're working on organ049 right now, 49 releases in one form or another, I think we've done about a dozen albums.. hang on.. no we've done 11 albums.. the best? How can I say a full on kind of scathing industrial metallic/dark wave band like GLOBAL NOISE ATTACK are better or worse than say a slice of glitter powered teen pop like Disco Pistol...
The best band should have been Gog Magog - a mix of the Pistols and Dead Kens, but they were so self destructive... Huge Baby were great and will be again, it's hard to say, we had as much fun doing PJ&Duncan tours with Charlie's Angels as releasing bands that really have something to say like Telford's finest Assert... the worst?
I'm honestly really proud of all the stuff we've done - I think the second Angel Cage single was the wrong thing to put out, they had far better songs, the band insisted on Cruiser, bad move.

You've recently been putting out a monthly singles club type of thing, how have they been received and will any of these bands be releasing full lengther on Org ?

They've been received really well, I'm shocked that so may people sent in their £15 to subscribe and get the next 12, they haven't a clue what they're buying, mostly because I don't know what the next singles are going to be myself yet, I guess people are starting to trust our taste - We've done 5 singles so far (I'm hoping Cay will be the sixth one). The series is on CD (most singles clubs tend to be 7" which don't seem to work so much these days, people should explore the possibilities of DIY packaging with CDs a lot more) - We did it on CD so we could get the bands out to radio stations all over the world, it's working very well, even hearing them on daytime Radio One - it's nice doing them on CD, and with the minimal packaging because it's cheap to send them to strange radio stations in Brazil and such...
As for follow up releases, the first single we did was from Inaura and we've already done albums and singles for them, Liberty 37 were second, they've signed to Beggars Banquet now, then we did Mogul, we've got lots more coming up from Mogul, Sea Nymphs were fourth, I'm hoping we'll have an album out with them, Brian Jonestown Massacre is a one off I think, they're American and they have lots going on in the USA right now, our BJM release is a three track single, but it does has 17 hidden bonus tracks, 73 minutes of music for £1.99 - that's what we call Punk Rock.... we've got a single coming up for Little Giant Drug, and I hope we'll do more with them... some of the thing are one off, some will lead to more... Who knows

How does Org operate with regard to signing bands and what do you look for commitment wise from a new band ?

We kind OF stumble up to people at the end of their gig and say "Hey, want to release a record?" or phone them up and say, great tape, let's do something blah blah.... Commitment wise, I like bands to be doing it for the right reason and to be as committed and passionate about it as we are....
There are band's who music we really like who just don't have their heads in the right places... only interested in using us to get to the majors, or won't do gigs to support the records... we like to keep it as ego free and enjoyable as possible... there's been one or two bands who've pissed us off, we paid for FLS to go in to the studio and record three tracks and then they split up even before the record came out...
Map did the same, split three weeks after we pressed a loads of 10"ers... we tend to check out the people and spend more time getting to know them, hanging around in the background watching before we make a move these days... I can't understand bands who don't want to get out there and gig, get in the transit van and play anywhere and everywhere - I like the way bands like Knuckledust are getting their shit together at their moment and just doing it, playing on bills not caring about the running order, just in it for the pure enjoyment and the communication and everything that goes with it.... if you're asking what deals we do it's just a straight 50/50 profit share, I haven't got time for anything more than simple one page agreements, if the bands don't want to work with us then we don't want to work with them, I'd rather just shake hands and get the record out

The Mogul single which covered Oasis' "Roll With It" received a far bit of attention so avoiding the pun here but what's the story ?

A Mogul tape turned up, we liked it, phoned them up and said lets do it... I've never actually asked them if they like Oasis or not.. everyone thought we were taking the piss... I never said we were, I think the world needs a band who sound like Bis or The Flying Lizards doing an Oasis song or two... there's a lot more to Mogul than that though, they write some great stuff, it's all dome in their bedroom on four tracks and cassette player... really D.I.Y punk rock creativity, if you come across anyone's rules, break 'em - that's our only rule.... Noel should be flattered, I haven't answered any of the phone calls from Creation... Mogul rule...

How did you manage to find a great sounding address like "The Old Gramophone Works" and is it really an old gramophone works ?

Yeah it really is, it's this big old building, one of those places that has loads of little businesses, people getting off the dole and setting up themselves, there a few record labels (mostly dance), studios, people making furniture - but it was once the home of Trojan Records, and before that Saga in the 50's they had the perfect set up, they had a record pressing plant, a recording studio, their offices and everything...
They could do everything without leaving the building - I don't know what went wrong

Does being a London based label make life easier with respect to distribution, promotion and selling of your releases ?

Not sure because we've never not been a London based label - I guess it means were more in the face of the big bad music business and we get to bump into journalists and DJs and say "Take notice you bastards" and London's good because we have good gigs going on everyday, but then the downside is everyone takes it for granted, it's far more fun to go out of town to see a band, talk to people...
There is a big underground in London though, loads of bands and labels and gigs that never get any coverage from the mainstream, sometimes it can feel like elements of the underground hate us 'cause we're in London, and the mainstream hate us 'coz were doing it under their noses...
I guess it's frustrating for labels/bands outside... I see bands driving down from places like Newcastle to play fourth on the bill in Camden on a Monday night as if London is everything.... people should set up their own scenes, labels, zines, gig - there a lot going on out there but there's always room for more - it's good that bands like Bis and Disco Pistol have inspired a lot of people to start bands, zines, labels, even Just Seventeen had a feature on how to start a band, they used that old "here's a chord, here's another now go and do it girls" - had a big picture of Organ in their page - don't bother with London just get going in your own towns and set up your own distribution and links and work together.... London isn't the answer, we only ended up here by mistake .

Name three people you hate and three people you love and why ?

Oh gawd.... I try not to hate anyone, but you can't do what we do without sometimes pissing people off, making enemies... who do I hate? I really don't know.... who do I love - I'll answer it later

If your record label was a chocolate bar what would your advertising slogan be ?

Hey, we treated Organ like a chocolate bar anyway.... here's my Organ, want to suck it? We get great groupies.... "bite it and see, we dare you to be different"

So what's in store for the rest of the year for Org ?

If we can carry on paying the bills then lots more from Cynical Smile, the new Speedurchin single, more from the Sea Nymphs, Little Giant Drug, some more Organ Radio compilation CDS just to piss off those holier than thou Hardcore kids who don't like us putting out hardcore records (only joking kids, Billy Milano gave us written permission to use the word), seriously though, I'd like to put out a lot more Radio Organ CD albums, mixed up stuff, more Hardcore compilations, more straight on metal compilations, we get lots of good underground Goth stuff, maybe we'll have a Goth compilation - I enjoy putting on Goth gigs 'cause it's so unfashionable and it confuses everyone so much and they don't know where we're coming from and Goth gigs are great because they scare the shit out of the venue owners in Camden, we love to contradict ourselves, destroy what we've got when it's looking a little safe....
We're going to start this thing called "Org Records - The Brown series" - lots of experiment arty bullshit, random bleeps and smashed up Meltrons and Weird wired sounds.... I really have this burning ambition to start a re-issues label and get some of that old and long lost stuff by great bands who inspired us so much when Organ started, Civilised Society, Ring, bands like that.... Oh yes, and the biggest edition of Organ ever with a free CD on the front. Like I SAID, our musical tastes are all over the place, I'd like to think we're documenting a lot of what's going on via Organ and Org Records.. i haven't got a clue what we'll have out by the end of the year, lots of stuff but I don't know what.... Organ TV, we've got loads of stuff on video we need to put out...

Finally Sean, here's the say what you like, plug that shit and general cheerios bit at the end of this interview ?

Well I've done far too uch plugging already... hang on!!!! shit!, Cardiacs just came on the radio, (2pm on a Thursday, XFM can be a good thing at times, you even get Dead Kens and The Tubes on the breakfast show) Cardiacs are almost perfect, this is why we do it, this is our fuel, while there's bands like Cardiacs doing 'it'... where were we, plugs... Check out DDD fanzine or the stuff intensive Scare are putting out, go and see Knuckles, support your local bands, watch out for the new edition of Abuse zine, the next Vyvian single, 17 Stitches have this great song about Mickey mouse being bead 'cause they shot the bastard in the head... 17 Stitches rule, go to a King Prawn gig, forget the Bosstones go and see The Write Offs, they're on your own doorstep...
Mostly big thanks to everyone who's out there putting on gigs, putting out zines and playing in bands for the right reasons... Embrace must be thanked 'cause it's always good to have the enemy there to remind you how bad things could be if people weren't creating an alternative to the safe shit the mainstream try to feed us...
Oh yeah, back to that love hate question - I HATE Embrace and whoever lets them make records and those lazy journalists who give them so much space when there so many exciting things going on that more people should be allowed to find out about, and I love whoever put that gig on with The Write Offs and 17 Stitches (they were called The Vex then) and Speedurchin last year and I love the weird groupies at Marilyn Manson gigs - it's all in my eyes (it'll make sense to people who know me ...
Big thanks Happy Crew, grab your Organs and keep creating...and everyone who's reading this issue of Happy should write to at least five of the bands/zines featured and do some exploring and you'll find it's addictive and you're part of the scene, you'll be hooked in for life, end up running a zine, starting a label, it's far better than working for a living...
We've got mail order catalogues and a free CD Sampler called Radio Organ 4 featuring some of our bands and stuff from other labels like Words of Warning, Household Name...get in touch and we'll put you on the mailing list....
CONTACT AND SWITCH THE OTHER...
THANKS