Just ran across a blog with the history of Sheep Records, the tiny Zurich label I managed to get a number of really fun items from some years back. Turns out they did go under, and I decided to post the following message.
http://stereocandies.blogspot.comI was just thinking about Sheep Records earlier today, only to find they did in fact go under some years ago. I found them initially via a bar show at Philly's Silk City. The bands that night were The Omega Men (Lancaster PA) and The Space Cossacks (Washington DC). Also on hand was Art Borrasseau, owner of MuSick Recordings (who has since moved to California). He had a table set up where he was selling CDs and 45, and I made a point of buying one of everything he had! This included "PHANTOM RIDER" / "SPOOKY SHORE" by Zurich's own Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited. That was my intro to both one of my top favorite bands of the last 15 years, but also Sheep Records.
Later, I found Sheep's website (their first one) where I saw all sorts of fascinating, fun 45 jackets posted. The one that most grabbed my attention was "REVENGE OF THE BLIND MAN" by The Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Took me quite some time to get ahold of that. While S.S.S.U. can regularly be found on Amazon.com (which means you can get it just about everywhere), Sheep Records were-- were the most part-- maddenningly-- ONLY available direct from Sheep Records. And let me tell you, their website was NOT set up in a fashion that I could figure out. For the life of me!!
While I got a couple of their releases thru Double Crown Records (thank God for Sean Berry), a few others I wound up having to get direct from the owner of Sheep, who I contacted via e-mail because the Sheep website was impenetrable (or just couldn't be worked from America, I'm not sure which).
I published a comic-book with a limited print run, STORMBOY, and managed to get it into Amazon's "Advantage" program-- which meant, I later learned, it wound up being listed at COUNTLESS websites who were all linked to Amazon all over the world. It utterly baffled me that if I could do this, if I could figure this out, all on my own, HOW was it possible that Sheep Records never got their stuff into Amazon's system? If only for promotional purposes. I can't help but feel this eventually led, DIRECTLY, to their going belly-up.
Anyway, I did manage to get the first 2 Men From SPECTRE CDs, but also, a set of 45s which are simply among the "gems" of my collection. 2 M.F.S. singles, 1 by Lou Hoffner Trio Minus One, 1 by The Treble Spankers (picked up at that same Silk City show), 1 by Charlotte's Bionic Blimp (who remind me a lot of 80's E.L.O.), 1 by Los Banditos, and 1 by Spookysounds For Beige (really, S.S.S.U. under another name).
I put together a CD comp of these which I titled "ZURICH INVASION", and slapped the poster art from ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE onto it (the painting showing the battle atop Piz Gloria).
I think the world can always use another small label like Sheep, and bands like they put out releases by. The big "corporate" labels have managed to just about run the entire music business INTO THE GROUND (in much the same way as Marvel & DC have done with American comic-books). I say, UP with the "little guys"!!!
