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Exclusive: Music journalist Pete Paphides launches new reissue label

By Paul Sinclair

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Inaugural releases: Stephen Duffy and Ian Broudie reissues • Paphides discusses the new initiative with SDE • SIGNED exclusives on the SDE shop

SDE can exclusively reveal that music journalist and broadcaster Pete Paphides has started a new record label called ‘Needle Mythology’ that will offer high quality vinyl reissues of albums that have been previously unavailable on the format. Titles from Ian Broudie and Stephen Duffy are confirmed, with bonus tracks available on both. Expanded CD editions are also available.

The initiative came from Paphides’ desire to see some of his favourite albums available on vinyl that have never been released on the format. This frustration at this lack of availability, combined with his renowned passion – and in some cases personal relationships with the artists in question – have resulted in him creating Needle Mythology and undertaking a series of reissues which not only have the full blessing and cooperation of the artists in question, but offer up some remarkable bonus content.


Needle Mythology’s reissue of I Love My Friends boasts new artwork

Stephen Duffy’s 1997 album I Love My Friends (produced by Stephen Street) is not only issued on vinyl for the first time, but reverts to the songwriter’s initial vision – the original track listing and running order (altered at the insistence of the label) that doesn’t include the the pair of Andy Partridge produced tracks. Those two songs (‘You Are’ and ‘What If I Fell In Love With You’) are still included, but form part of the content of a bonus seven-inch EP. A two-CD edition offers a remarkable bonus disc of unreleased I Love My Friends-era demos.

A remastered and repackaged version of Ian Broudie’s only solo album Tales Told (from 2004) will be available on vinyl for the first time and come in a gatefold package (featuring an alternate cover photo) with a seven-inch EP of bonus tracks. The same content is also being issued on CD.

Fans of either artist should head over to the SDE shop, which is exclusively offering SIGNED editions of both titles on CD and vinyl. Interview with Pete Paphides below.

SDE spoke to Pete Paphides about Needle Mythology and began by asking him why he started the label…

Pete Paphides: Because I wanted to buy these records, and they didn’t exist in the form that I wanted to own these records. Literally, all I could do was dream about owning them, because they didn’t exist in real life. I think any record collector has probably had that same fantasy. So, that was the long and short of it really. I couldn’t sit around waiting for someone else to do it any longer.

SDE: Can you explain where the name ‘Needle Mythology’ came from?

Pete Paphides: So, ‘Needle Mythology’ comes from a Stephen Duffy song. It comes from a song from the album called Duffy which came out prior to the one that we’re putting out, which actually did come out in limited quantities on vinyl.  So, the song is called ‘Needle Mythology’, and it’s actually a song about someone who’s addicted to hard drugs, and addicted to the romance of hard drugs. So yes, we’ve kind of hijacked that phrase, and made it mean something else. But I love it, because that’s what it’s all about really. There is this kind of mythology around a great vinyl record, so that’s kind of what we’re trying to ring-fence.

SDE: Good to see that you aren’t ignoring the humble CD.

Pete Paphides: No. My personal feeling is that the rumours of the CD’s demise are grossly exaggerated. CDs still sell more than records, when it all comes down to it. And in certain territories, Japan being the most obvious one, CDs are way more popular than vinyl. Just as those of us who like vinyl, love the look and feel of vinyl, obviously there’s a way of doing CDs which sates the same or equivalent impulses. So if there’s a demand for a CD version of the same thing, then who am I to ignore that?  And all we can do is try and make it look and sound as beautiful as possible, so that’s what we’re doing.

SDE: And the first two albums you are putting out will be Tales Told, Ian Broudie’s solo album from 2004 and the Stephen Duffy’s I Love My Friends from ’97. What do those two records mean to you?

Pete Paphides: Well I’ll start with the Ian Broudie one. That was a record that I heard back when it was released, when it was sent to me as a reviewer. And I’ve always loved Ian Broudie. I think Ian is actually a strangely misunderstood songwriter. I think there’s a kind of melancholy at the heart of what he does. I think the reason why a lot of people think ‘Three Lions’ is one of the best football songs of all time is because it’s really about disappointment, and about the tension between disappointment and that idealism that there might be a perfect moment out there, that is still attainable.

And actually, what Ian does, most of the time is, he does that when he’s singing about love.  Like a song like ‘Pure’ is a classic example of that. And the thing about ‘Tales Told’ is it’s an album about the flip side of that. What happens when real life gets in the way? And it’s an album that was written in the wake of… as a divorce was happening.  And it’s about uncertainty, and it’s about coming to terms with the fact that you can be a romantic idealist, and you can believe in forever love, and forever romance, but sometimes it’s not up to you. And so, it’s a very flipside of that. It’s an album he made when he wasn’t quite sure, he was pondering his options.  He wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do next.  But it captures this lovely moment.

He was producing The Coral, up in Liverpool, they were a new band, and he was just kind of showing them the ropes. And in his down time, back in the hotel, he was just writing these beautiful songs, just about his situations. And just on an ad hoc basis he was getting members of The Coral and The Zutons and a couple of other people to play on them. So, it’s quite an informal sounding record, but it’s a very raw one, the melodies are very beautiful. And so, I love that. And I met Ian, about ten years ago and I said “Look, one day, someone should put that record out on vinyl, and if no-one else is going to do it, I’d like it to be me.”  And he said “Yes, sure.”

And with the Stephen Duffy record… Stephen is probably my favourite, you know?  You know you have a songwriter who when all is said and done, they’re kind of your favourite, they’re the one you root for. Stephen is that songwriter for me.

I had interviewed him a few times; I’d met him a few times, by the time that he recorded this album. It’s his second album for Indolent. And so, he sent me a cassette of it, the week he finished recording it. And I played it, and I just couldn’t believe my ears, because it felt like the record I thought he was born to make. It was really confessional, it just sounded quite raw. But the arrangements were brilliant, the production was amazing – a classic Stephen Street production. And I just played it constantly in the car. That was just before Christmas 1996. Just after Christmas he called me again and he said “The label aren’t sure, they want me to go into the studio and record two songs with Andy Partridge producing, which they might be able to release as singles.”

And when I saw which two songs he had removed in order to make room for the Andy Partridge songs, my heart sank slightly. Because he had completely changed the entire balance of the album. It was still a good album, and got very well reviewed, but it wasn’t the album that I’d sort of fallen in love with. And again, years later, I thought well if I’m doing a label, then it’s time to really try and put out the album that Stephen had meant to put out all along.  So, that’s what that is.

SDE: And just to be clear, this new edition of the album has never been released in this form. It’s as he wanted it to be released?

Pete Paphides: Yes. So, there are two songs that have been restored to the album which are called ‘Mao Badge’ and ‘In The Evening of Her Day’. And in my view anyway, sky high highlights of his back catalogue. I’ll never understand quite why he saw fit to remove those when making room for the two Andy Partridge songs. They’re just so beautiful. Of course there will be people who bought I Love My Friends and are legitimately attached to the Andy Partridge songs. So, what we’ve done, what I’ve done is, I’ve put them on a seven inch single. And I feel that they go better on a seven inch single, because they don’t sound like Stephen Street productions, they sound like separate entities. So, it felt like the natural home for those songs, was a seven inch.

SDE: During your career you’ve obviously developed associations, relationships – friendships – with some of these artists.  So, do those relationships, that trust, effectively allow you to get access to material, that others might not be able to?

Pete Paphides: I hope so. I don’t know, but I certainly hope so. I’ve always tried to write about music in the way that corresponds the experience of a fan. I’ve never stopped buying records, and I think if you buy records, it keeps you connected to that mindset, and it keeps you excited. And so, I’ve just kept on good terms with the people whose records I’ve liked, and have been lucky enough to meet. I used to write fan letters to Stephen Duffy, before I was a music journalist, so with some of these artists, my relationship to them predates being a music journalist. So, it’s nice that I’m able to be a fan again, in a way, rather like I was in the first place.


“Ian looking you straight in the eye”. Revised artwork for ‘Tales Told’.

SDE: And like me, and like SDE readers, you obviously value the physical item and having a physical product?  Tell us a little bit about the packaging and the mastering and the attention to detail that has gone into that side of things?

Pete Paphides: Yes.  We’re just trying to create what we want to own. So, with regards to the Ian Broudie record, the first thing I had to do was meet Ian and say “Okay, well how are we going to replicate the artwork on a 12 x 12″ basis?” I looked through some photographs that Ian had from the sessions, and I found a really fantastic image blown up on photographic paper –  it was about maybe A3 size, maybe more – and it was from the same sessions, the same photograph session as the sleeve. But on the original sleeve of Tales Told, you’ve got Ian looking down with his fringe kind of obscuring his eyes.  This is Ian looking you straight in the eye. It’s the only photograph I’ve seen of Ian with his glasses off.  And it’s really powerful. It’s totally exposed, which is of course what the record is as well. There’s no production, to kind of conceal the kind of mood of these songs, it is just totally raw.  So, we both agreed that that seemed like an appropriate image for this release of it.  The original didn’t have lyrics, but we got the lyrics. And then, Ian kindly played me various alternate versions and outtakes and we chose four that we were both happy with. And I felt like a competition winner to be honest, you know? I’m in his house, he’s playing me stuff that he has never played me before, it was amazing.

And the same with Stephen. Stephen wanted brand new artwork. He had some photographs that had never made it out at the time, that he was very happy with. And then we’ve been working with a designer, who’s actually a really brilliant artist called James Gosling, he’s doing all the sleeves, and Stephen and James have just been collaborating the whole time on a set of images, and fonts, they both have. The discussion about fonts and alone was a fortnight long. And I’ve just been kind of gazing on excitably, as all these things have come together.

And in terms of the mastering, we had both albums mastered for vinyl. We went to Electric Mastering, which for vinyl mastering is just the best in Britain. Anyone in this kind of sphere or activity will tell you that if you can get Guy Davie to master your record to vinyl, then it’s going to maximise the kind of warmth and punch of that particular format. So, Guy did a brilliant job. And we’re using the old EMI pressing plant in Hayes, the Vinyl Factory pressing plant, which again is universally well regarded.

I’m just trying to make it beautiful in every regard and I hope people will agree that it is.

Both reissues are out on 10 May 2019. A limited quantity of SIGNED vinyl and signed CD editions of both I Love My Friends and Tales Told are available to pre-order right now from the SDE shop.

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66 Comments

66 thoughts on “Exclusive: Music journalist Pete Paphides launches new reissue label”

  1. I never knew there were so many Stephen Duffy fans out there. I always thought it was just me and it’s great to know it’s not just me! Any new material is ALWAYS welcomed so thanks a million to Stephen and Pete for putting this together and making it happen. Interesting to know about the adjustment to the track order.

    I hope the label goes from strength to strength. It’s a great idea and must be a fanboys dream to do (lots of hard work too I know but hopefully rewarding), so good luck with it Pete.

    My wishlist? I thought you’d never ask! Two words, Pete and Wylie.

  2. Good luck with the label – could not resist getting both CD editions via SDE. Anybody starting up a reissue label gets my vote of confidence. There is so much stuff out there that still has not seen a CD release or has been out of print- The Call comes to mind. Cherry Red and associated labels are doing well with reissue campaigns and so should you. Steven Duffy and Ian Broudie are certainly not a bad “place” to start out from. Again, thank you and here is to years of excellence to come.

  3. I’m going to echo a few comments here and say that it’s disappointing that this site never had much time for the Rubellan Remasters label. Their catalogue is very much in keeping with what gets covered here, and the sound and packaging for all the CDs I’ve bought from them has been superb.

  7. Fantastic news! And another vote for some Lilac Time reissues. Looking for a Day in the Night, Keep Going, and Runout Groove all need to be available on vinyl! Duffy’s underrated 2003 reunion with Nick Rhodes, The Devils, would be most welcome, too.

  8. I’m REALLY curious about the economics and logistics of setting up a reissue label – how much does a title cost to license?

    To master? To press (are there minimum print runs) and package? To advertise? To store (assuming the albums don’t all sell out on day one)?

    How do you gauge the public appetite for a title or artist?

    How do you decide on the split between CD and vinyl? (Or SACD? Or cassette?

    How do you MAKE MONEY or at the very least break even in a download world? (It’s obvious Pete is a fan first and this is a labour of love, but I’m guessing he doesn’t want to lose his shirt in the process…)

    1. Let me fill in some blanks for you. In the U.S. the cost varies based on many factors. For example, I licensed a title for CD release with a minimum unit order of 1000. It was a short album with no bonus material and the cost was $4 per unit, meaning $4000. That covered master and publishing rights, a new digital transfer of the master tape at my requested resolution, manufacturing and shipping of finished goods. I did my own artwork and remastering so I saved there. Advertising and distribution is entirely up to the third party label licensing the material.

      For a CD album of 1500 units including bonus tracks, the cost for all of the above is around $5.50 (or more) per unit, or around $8000. The most money made back is from direct sales. When using a distributor, you may get around 50% of the purchase price with payments received on a quarterly basis, but you get a wider footprint. If selling on Amazon, they will take a nice part of the final price as well.

      Like with most new businesses, you can expect to operate at a loss for a while until word spreads and sales increase, and if you can keep adding to your catalog because with each new title brings sales of previous titles. Since my label lasted less than a year, I operated at a big loss but my recoup wasn’t too bad and as stock continues to sell off I will eventually make my investment back and then some, but it won’t be anytime soon.

      My label decided on releases that I wanted to do. Some were vanity projects that I expected may take some time to move (Krisma, Trees), while others had more of a broad appeal by comparison and I expected would likely move fairly steadily (Danielle Dax, Visage). For me, it wasn’t about how much money could I make, it was to provide the best sound quality on a format I still enjoy, re-release albums that have been neglected, and maybe eventually grow my passion into a real business. Thanks to the majors now turning the little guy away and not allowing us a chance to grow, that last part isn’t going to happen.

      Downloads have definitely slowed down the demand for physical media, but hasn’t eliminated it. There will always be a group who still want to hold what they are paying for, even if they put the music on their phone and view the item as their backup. And there are those who like to collect things, so that niche is there as well.

      So I hope that helps. Though I’ve mastered for several reissue labels, no one would ever provide any insight into the cost or the licensing process, so I’ve been happy to share the details from my own experience for those curious because it would have given me perspective before I took the leap.

      1. Fantastic info, thanks, Scott!

        $4000 for the licence/production/manufacture of 1,000 CDs doesn’t sound TOO bad, but conversely it doesn’t leave much of a margin to turn a profit either when one considers the final likely sale price to the consumer (and the fact that any third party seller will want their own mark-up out of that).

        I’m guessing vinyl manufacture would cost more?

        1. Vinyl manufacturing is a considerably higher cost and adds about 3-4 months to the manufacturing time. $4000 is only for a bare bones CD reissue, and that’s the low end. Add another $1500+ for bonus tracks at 1000 units.

  9. Thank you so much to everyone who has responded so positively to this news, and obviously, to Paul for writing about it. I’m really overwhelmed by the reaction to the label so far. It’s been a proper labour of love but seeing all these comments has more than justified the increasing proliferation of 5am starts! Cheers! x

  11. Pingback: Ian Broudie / Tales Told reissue | superdeluxeedition

  12. Good luck to PP with this worthy, niche project of his – terrific news for vinyl fans and clearly product quality control is top of his priorities. I’m just about to buy the Ian Broudie album via SDE!!

  13. Ordered the Duffy on vinyl and CD. Great way to kick off a new label. ‘Keep Going’ needs a vinyl issue too. Beautiful record.

  14. I knew Pete was cooking up a label, but had no idea that one of the first releases was a personal fave: Duffy’s I Love My Friends, which has been crying out for a vinyl edition since it came out. Looks like a lot of love went into the attention to detail. And getting them signed is the cherry on top, so I’ve ordered both the CD and LP. Thanks very much Paul and Pete!

  17. Pete is a great music writer. Did he mention any other releases in the pipeline?
    He’s good mates with Bernard Butler I believe and he has just signed a new publishing deal so I wonder if there’s any link there.

    2. Hi Eamonn. Thanks so much for the kind words. Bernard is practically a neighbour and if he ever wanted me to put something out I’d be delighted, but we’ve had no conversations about any of that as yet!

      1. You’re the only journalist I’ve ever heard Bernard be fully comfortable talking to!(Tough in fairness he seemed to warm to Paul when SDE interviewed him for the reissue of the first record with Mcalmont)

        I loved that mini-series discussing follow-up albums to career/era-defining records you did on Radio 4 a few years ago. Such a great idea and I was thrilled that two of my favourite records, Dog Man Star and Don’t Stand Me Down, were featured. High time for a second series!

        To anyone who hasn’t heard them and who has any sort of interest in Fleetwood Mac, Suede or Dexys, I highly recommend a listen and believe they are still playable here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hl29f

  18. Superb! I bought the Stephen Duffy one on sight, although I’d rather have it on vinyl I ordered the cd for the extra demo tracks. Although maybe they’re available as a download with the vinyl are they?? Meh.

  19. I wonder if Pete could get the first two Neil Finn and the two Finn Brothers albums out. They have never had a vinyl release – and he is well connected to Neil . Perhaps do a 2Cd deluxe edition too ala the Crowded House reissues.

  20. To echo what others have said, I wish you would have done a similar promotion for the Rubellan Remasters label. They had a lot of faithful followers but had to stop because the major labels turned their back on labels like this. Those reissues were excellent in sound quality, bonus track selection, and albums released. Who would have expected reissues by Krisma, Trees, Mort Garson, SPK to go along with the more popular albums by Visage and Danielle Dax. The sound quality was impeccable and it’s so sad there won’t be any others. I hope someone reaches out to the label and gives them proper recognition, and maybe it can reignite some interest from the major labels and more albums will be given the RR treatment.

  21. I’ve been an avid reader of Pete’s writing so (with my very limited means), I’ve ordered both Steve Duffy and Ian’s CDs ; I want to thank Peter for issuing the albums in compact disc versions as well; I’ve not and am not reverting back to vinyl.

  22. Pingback: Stephen Duffy / I Love My Friends deluxe vinyl and CD reissue | superdeluxeedition

  23. Not familiar with either of these artists or albums, but I appreciate the attitude behind these reissues enough that I’ll definitely check them both out on release. Here’s to hoping that this label is able to continue through more releases in the same spirit!

  25. Wow!
    While watching Neil Finn work on “Out Of Silence” on a Friday night, there’s Pete Paphides.
    While joyously absorbing the interviews as Paddy McAloon emerges from Andromeda Heights to promote “I Trawl the Megahertz” there’s Pete Paphides.
    Within the last month i’d set out my almost complete collection of Stephen Duffy and the Lilac Time releases to go over, and here’s Pete Paphides with a fresh “I Love My Friends” to top it off!
    He and i must continue to meet like this!
    My order is placed and my gratitude continues, Mr. Sinclair!

  26. I love my friends duly ordered – Stephen Duffy is a songwriting genius in my house despite being an Aston Villa fan.
    Pete Paphides should be supported in this project so that we get to see further releases.

  29. Great interview Paul!

    Just noted: “…will be Tales Told, Ian Broudie’s solo album from 20014 …” That’s some crazy retro technology they’re using in the future! :)

  30. Both records gladly ordered from here Paul.
    I have been eagerly trying to get pre-order details for these records since reading the Needle Mythology article in Long Live Vinyl magazine- should have known SDE would come through, (signed too, blooming ace!!).
    Thanks to Pete Paphides and all concerned with this concept.
    In conjunction with the artists, the careful thought and consideration to detail exhibited here is exemplary and the obvious shared love of the records is -even to this old cynic- heart warming and most welcome.
    I genuinely hope their new adventure is a massive success so that further treasures can be unearthed in the near future!

  31. Wow, that was a surprise! Stephen Duffy’s signed CD ordered!

    Not only surprised at this (the 3rd time I’m buying it, with the original (Japanese release for me with bonus track, unfortunately disposed of) and then the 2006 re-issue) but also amazed at the support that this unsung talented man seems to have, judging from the comments. Why is he not more recognized?? And I love all his work, from the pop “Kiss Me” and the fantabulous “Ups & Downs” album (I also have the one after, with classics like Julie Christie on) through the Lilac Time and his solo work. Something for all of my moods.

    Roll on good music!!!!!!

  32. Now I’ve composed myself I will try for something more insightful than just expletives.

    Andy Clark is right (waaaay below) this album limped out in 1998 after being stalled in 1997, this took in a change of label, Indolent to Cooking Vinyl. The track listing was already set by the initial release, of which only a few promotional CDs exist. And one wonders why Stephen couldn’t sneakily revert back to his preferred tracklist for the ultimate 1998 release. I suppose Cooking Vinyl had heard it as Indolent wanted and that’s what they insisted on too.

    One thing Stephen has always been strong with is B-sides right back to the days of “Broken Home” and “In This Twilight” 15 years earlier so it’s no surprise to hear that a couple of the era B-sides were intended for the album as many of his 1990s B-sides were stronger than some album tracks. In the Evening of her Day is utterly marvelous as is the duet version to be found on “Désir, Plaisir, Soupir” by Diane Tell. Back in the late 1990s I burned many Duffy B-sides CDs and you could fill a whole disc that was A* from first track to last. The fact that there are many new, unheard demos just blows my mind. It’s Christmas, not only do we get the original on Vinyl, we basically get a whole new album as well. 7 of those 12 I have never even heard of before and stuff like Suburban Symphony was extremely hard to get to hear back in the day.

    The first version of “17” which escaped from Indolent and was pulled before release has a collection of 9 fabulous B-sides, many of which are still unique to that release. It was a triple CD with pictures that interlocked. Barbarellas, A Darling that can’t wait to Taste You and Hey Kat are just three tracks that deserve to be heard. With those 9, and the unheard tracks here lets hope that another volume eventually sees the light as there must be 30-odd non-album tracks in total. Considering that this was exactly the same time that Stephen wrote “Sonny and his Sister” for Terry Hall he was being über productive and all of such quality. He just couldn’t stick with a label and get the rewards his songwriting deserved.

    To Pete Paphides, you have made my day, my month and my year. If there is a Volume two of the demos to come out with a re-issue of Duffy then I can die a happy man. This is my Bowie, this is my Beatles. Thank-you from an old fan right back to 1984 and the “She Makes Me Quiver” silver pen autographed 12″. Happy 6th form days in Birmingham.

    1. What Chris said. Another Duffy acolyte here (how are you Chris ? Not seen you since Hereford) and the 9 b-sides of the “17” single are all stunning – some ended up on the deluxe Astronauts reissue of a few years back – the rest, I guess, are here. “You Are” and “What if I fell in love with you” were my least favourite tracks on that album so the revised running order should be a real treat. Next up “Cocksure” ?

      1. Slightly off topic, please forgive the reminiscences of an old man.

        Ah, it was quite a club back in the day Dave, what with Stan’s wonderful “The Ups and Downs” magazine, Mari’s Japanese website and the yahoo community. It’s amazing how connected we all were in the days before t’internet made everything easier but less “Romantic” and far less fun. Dermot, Graham, John Milne (who sadly passed in 2011), Deirdre, Sabine, Paul W, Mark Hughes….what larks we all had.

        I still have my video of Hereford (somewhere) and the one I took at Queen Elizabeth Hall a few months later and I think the one that Pete Paphides organized at Cecil Sharp House in London about 15 years ago…. I was only relaying to the Editor the other day here how I took a very nervous Wazz at the urinal between Micky Harris and Michael Giri….should I have said something?

        I missed out on Port Eliot a couple of years back as I was unwell….

        Hopefully with what Paul W. says above it’ll be an Indian Summer for us Lilacs. Cocksure, the autobiography (finally), ILMF and a new Lilac Album. The ultimate would be if “The Hawks” album finally saw the light of day from about 1980ish. It does exist, I have a copy somewhere.

        Heady days indeed even if only half of it comes off.

  34. Wonderful to see I Love My Friends finally reissued.
    I’d love to have Looking For A Day in The Night by The Lilac Time on LP. Such a wonderful album… Lilac 6 is great too… Both of them were only available on cd on the Cooking Vinyl label (isn’t that ironic?)

  35. Great article and love the initiative. When I read the name of the label I feared it would only be vinyl but thankfully it’s not. I’ll buy both CD’s. The interview is a great read. Love reading how Pete is essentially reviewing these 2 albums. I’m going to google him and see if I can find more of his reviews. Good luck Pete and thank you for reissuing great music!!

  36. Paul, very fine you give some attention to a new reissue label. Wish you gave at least the same to Rubellan Remasters which had to stop very recently thanks to the non-cooperative policy of the big three record companies. That small US label didn’t only release great new wave albums of e.g. Visage and Danielle Dax, but remastered these also at an ‘audiophile’ way, so with a great care for a high dynamic range and EQ – important variables during the godawfull loudness wars of today.

  38. Wow, good luck. It’s a hostile climate for third party labels these days. After less than a year in business, I had to announce the closure of my own label Rubellan Remasters because the major labels, at least in the U.S., are moving away from third party licensing and I couldn’t get any further approvals. I’m aware of several other labels having questionable futures as well. Sony sent out an email announcing they were going to cease licensing, Universal just stopped responding months ago, and all of the Warner titles I want require foreign office clearance and that’s been “on hold” for a year or so. But then, when the labels were responding to peons like myself, it usually took a thick skin and heavy persistence to get anywhere. So unless you are a well established high volume reissue label, don’t expect much respect from the major labels. They want to focus their attention more on streaming and less on physical product. Boring…

  40. Do Excuse me……… I apologize in advance.

    Fuuuuuck fuck fuck fuuuuckkkkkkkkkkkk nooooooooooooooooo yesss!

    Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.

    21 years I have been waiting for this. “I love my friends” is a stellar album.

    Once again Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

    1. This is fantastic news. “I Love My Friends” is a great album which I’ve owned since it limped out in 1998. I’m not familiar with the Ian Broudie album but loved “Four Winds”, the Lightning Seeds album from 2009 so am definitely getting this one as well. Hopefully “Four Winds” is on the future release schedule as it’s a very under-rated album.

      And Nuno Bento – I agree! “Everybody Loves A Happy Ending” in particular needs a proper release on vinyl (and on properly mastered CD).

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