From 1976 through 1985, an anti-record label called Stiff Records provided a
home for an abundance of punk and New Wave acts. Ian Dury and the
Blockheads, Madness, the Damned, Kirsty MacColl, Nick Lowe, and many others
recorded for the UK record company. These were wild, anarchic times, and in
this book, the entire era is captured on paper by author Richard
Balls.
Besides the marquee names listed above, Balls goes deeper in bringing new
facts, unheard anecdotes, and untold stories through a series of reveal
interviews with everyone from Graham Parker and Wreckless Eric to Lene
Lovich and Jona Lewie.
The label's most infamous slogan--"If it ain't Stiff, it ain't worth a
f--k," made famous by label owners Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera--said it
all. Stiff challenged the dominance of major labels by offering up a
collection of motley, rude, but very musical artists. Here you can read who
they were and how they did it.