Every music fan dreams of setting up their own record label. Anyone with even the slightest interest in the industry has yearned to be the next Alan McGee, Laurence Bell, Geoff Travis or Ivo Watts-Russell (of Creation, Domino Records, Rough Trade and 4AD respectively).
Every fan dreams of establishing a label that will influence future generations. In particular, it’s the dream of fans of lesser known artists. This is the reason some of us have fallen into music journalism, others into radio, and why some people pick up a guitar and put a band together.
The best labels more often than not feature people who share our passion. People like Bell, McGee, Watts-Russell and Travis. People who graft, people with enthusiasm, people with an unbridled passion for music.
Daragh Bohan and his collective partners at 1969 Records tick all these boxes.
Formed last year, the independent Irish label has got off to an encouraging start. It can be thanked for the re-emergence of former A-House front man Dave Couse and of the much acclaimed Thomas Walsh, aka Pugwash.
Both are Irish acts who have been around for a while, and have struggled to garner the attention their talents deserve. Crucially, they have just recorded two of the strongest Irish albums of recent memory.
“Quality is the key,” says Bohan, the label’s chief executive (and a qualified solicitor).“Both records are really well written, really well played, and really well recorded. That’s what it’s all about.”
Without the backing of a label such as 1969, national treasures such as Couse and Walsh could slip easily between the cracks, he says.
“They don’t necessarily fit within a certain trend of what’s happening at the moment, though both stand out as quality works on their own,” he says.
"The danger was that these are two records which could have slipped between the stools and could gone below the radar."
Behind 1969 is a group of professionals with no previous music industry ties or experience. Their backgrounds are in financial services, banking and law. Most are in their 30s and 40s. They grew up with bands such as The Smiths, A-House, Something Happens and The Waterboys. All, of course, are huge fans of Couse and Walsh.
“We’ve got help and advice from people within the industry and we’re learning, but essentially we’re all fresh and motivated by our enthusiasm,” says Bohan.
They are in no way wet behind the ears, however. The label believes hugely in its artists but does not, says Bohan, have its head in the sand.
“We’re well versed that this is a business," he insists. "Sure we have massive belief in these records. We wouldn’t be doing it otherwise.”
That said, 1969 realise it is necessary to turn a profit. “It’s not a vanity project. Quality is all important."
What motivates Bohan is the belief that 1969 will make a lasting contribution to Irish music.
"This is really about professional guys who have no previous experience of the music industry. We're learning, but essentially we're all fresh,” he says.
Budgets, naturally, are limited. Nonetheless, 1969 aspire to major label standards of artwork and packaging. “We’re putting the money where we think it should go,” says Bohan. “So far we’ve managed to get two singles and two albums out. It’s going well.”
One beneficiary of this is Thomas ‘Pugwash’ Walsh, who, since 1998, has released classic albums to little acclaim.
Walsh writes sophisticated, bitter-sweet pop that has been compared to the music of The Beach Boys. He is no Brian Wilson clone, however. On his first two records as Pugwash, Almanac and Almond Tea, Walsh demonstrated an entirely original grasp of the secret workings of the pop song. In a fairer world than this, both would have been chart-toppers.
The new record, Jollity, may finally be his breakthough LP.
“This album, on 1969, has already outsold both of the previous Pugwash albums. It’s not even out a month,” says Walsh, clearly surprised. “I think 1969 have landed on their feet in respect of two great records. Of course we’ve landed on our feet because we couldn’t ask for more.”
Dave Couse is also delighted to be on board. This is his third label, after stints at Warner and Setanta. He has released a record, Genes, on his own imprint but would not willingly do so again.
Having come close to international success with A-House, the experience of starting over at the bottom was, he admits, gruelling. Couse had thought that the A-House fanbase would support his solo foray. Many fans of the band seemed luke-warm. It was not, he says, an easy time.
“Releasing independently is a hard road,“ says Couse. “It’s a financial drain and it takes a lot of money to do it properly. It’s so difficult to survive because you’re doing everything from running around delivering CDs to RTE, to doing interviews and trying to write. You can’t do it all.”
Running an independent label is no breeze either, says Couse. “I’ve been a member of a family label before at Setanta and it’s the same as Creation or any other cottage industry label starting out,” he says.
“It’s all about like minded people with the one aim, which is to get music they strongly believe in out to the masses.”
One thing that distinguishes indies from majors is their willingness to give an artist space and time to develop, says Couse.
“I was signed to Warner and we [A House] were just the dog’s bollox at the time,” he says. “We were going to take over the world. When that didn’t happen, we were just completely forgotten. As soon as you are not seen as a viable financial proposition it’s all over. “
Was Couse apprehensive about working with a fledgling label?
“No, not at all. I think the bravest thing that 1969 did is take myself and Pugwash on as artists. It’s brave because everyone wants new blood.”
The louder and more obvious a band's sound, the greater its chances of signing to a major, he believes.
"Everyone wants 19 year old mental-heads that are going to throw themsleves out a window and turn their guitars up to 49. Go faster, go louder, go quicker!"
Mindless stabs at controversy help too, he says."Make ridiculous statements in the lyrics. People want that. Major labels want that."
On this point, Walsh is not as eloquent as Couse: “Apprehensive? No way. I’ll take anything at this stage. I’d take a blow job off a tramp.”