From Potatoe Print to Rock Em Dead Records – A Spud-Shaped History of My Little DIY Label

What does a sprained toe, a potato and the British punk rock scene have in common? They’re all part of the unlikely history of Rock Em Dead Records! In the first instalment of his new blog series for Rocking Fox Radio, Mark ‘Rock Em Dead’ takes us back to the late 1990s to tell the story of how his independent DIY punk record label began life as Potatoe Print Records. From underground punk bands and vinyl releases to the determination needed to run an independent record label, Mark shares the stories, characters and music behind more than 25 years of keeping the DIY punk spirit alive…

How Potatoe Print Records Began

Let me start with a confession. My record label was born of a sprained toe. Not a burning desire to change the world, not a manifesto scrawled on the back of a fag packet… a sprained toe. Laid up with my foot in the air and too much time on my hands, I did what any sensible Punk would do. I decided to start a label.

And yes, I know how it’s spelt and it isn’t like this… Potatoe Print Records, with the superfluous “e”. The name came from Rich Perri of SPEEDOWAX RECORDS and the IGNITE record store in Birmingham, a legend of UK pop-punk and hardcore. We were talking about the DIY nature of Punk labels and Rich was giving me tips on how to make releases cheaper. Why pay for printing centre labels, he reckoned, when you could knock them out kids’ style with a potato print? Quicker than writing the details out by hand, anyway, he joked. The name stuck. The potatoes, I’m sorry to report, never made it anywhere near a record. The first two releases went out on plain white labels. Not a spud in sight.

DIY Punk Records in the 1990s

That was around 1997/8. There was no “add to basket” back then. I sold records by mailorder, from stalls at gigs and on the back of flyers. Anyone remember those? Photocopied, cut and pasted, shoved into a leather jacket pocket only to turn up three weeks later, mangled, in the wash. That was our internet and it worked just fine.

The Birth of Rock Em Dead Records

In 2000 I retired the spud and became Rock Em Dead Records. Different name, same DIY ethos, a more professional product.

What I’m proudest of is how the records got made. I’ve put out 7″ and LP vinyl and CD on my own, but often as part of a co-op with other labels – Punk Shit, Weird Records, Deadlamb, Dirty Old Man and more. Pool the pennies, share the risk, get the record out. Nobody gets rich. Nobody was ever supposed to. I have a product to release… I’ll ask others if they want a minority piece of the action and vice versa. The bands have complete control over the music and artwork and they get paid in a percentage number of units of the final product.

Independent Punk Bands From Around the World

And the bands! Oh… some of those bands!!!

Funbug (early tour mates of Green Day – the first UK band to sign to Lookout! Records…. And the first band to be thrown off the label… reasons unknown), the Celtic-Punk of GREENLAND WHALEFISHERS (they’re from Norway not Greenland and they don’t hunt whales), Italy’s Punk Rock’n’Roll heroes… PEAWEES, China’s version of Dropkick Murphys – SMZB, BLISTERHEAD from Sweden. The label zigzags from Oi to Anarcho to Pop-Punk to Hardcore without once apologising for it. Call the label a “broad church”!

More recently I’ve been digging into the vaults, with EASTFIELD’s career defining Compilation, and Birmingham’s Ska-Punk anarchists SPITHEAD’s “SWAG” with its first vinyl release, and the record I think I’m most proud of… a first time on vinyl re-release of the only album by Houston, Texas legends, BLACK STAR BRIGADE.

And then there’s my radio show, here on Rocking Fox Radio to keep spreading a broader gospel than just of my first love…all things Punk.

Keeping the DIY Punk Spirit Alive

Over a quarter of a century on, from a sprained toe and a potato that never was, it’s still a labour of love. The kids aren’t going to stumble across labels like mine without a nudge, but the kids are missing out.

So here’s your nudge. Get on the website, find a band you’ve never heard of and buy the record. Trust me.

www.RockEmDeadRecords.co.uk

In the next ‘episode’ of the blog I’ll talk about the first three releases and the scary first dip into the shark infested waters.

The story of Rock Em Dead Records is a reminder of why independent record labels remain so important to punk rock and alternative music. From the earliest days of Potatoe Print Records to releasing music by underground bands from around the world, Mark ‘Rock Em Dead’ continues to champion the DIY ethos that has always been at the heart of punk. Discover the label’s releases at Rock Em Dead Records, listen to Mark on Rocking Fox Radio and keep an eye on our blog for Part 2, when Mark reveals the story behind his first three releases and his introduction to the record industry.

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