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Be Stiff: The Stiff Records Story Paperback – 30 Oct. 2014

by Richard Balls (Author)

4.5 74 ratings

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To celebrate 40 years of Stiff Records, we have given this book a new cover. It also contains a new foreword by Jona Lewie

Told here for the first time, the complete story of the legendary Stiff Records. Started in 1976, by maverick music entrepreneurs Jake Riviera and Dave Robinson, Stiff changed the landscape of a moribund record industry. Both men were involved in the pub rock scene and their genius was to take un-hip pub rockers, such as Ian Dury and Elvis Costello, and turn them into cool new wavers. It didn't stop there either, with Stiff releasing the first ever punk single (The Damned's 'New Rose'), in October 1976.

It all began in a small west London shop before going global during an eleven-year rollercoaster ride of rock n roll excess, fights, package tours and smash hit records. Stiff were amazing marketeers, with their fund of slogans, badges, use of coloured vinyl and different packaging for the same records, appealing to the completest market. Riviera left Stiff in 1977, taking Costello with him, but Robinson soldiered on, signing Madness and the Pogues, amongst others. The label went bust in the mid-1980s, but was resurrected in 2006 by Trevor Horn's ZTT operation and is still going to this day; witness their recent success with Sam And The Womp.

Richard Balls has interviewed over 50 people who were there both record company staff and artists. Rat Scabies, Lene Lovich, Jona Lewie, Shane MacGowan, Wreckless Eric and more, all share their memories in this celebration of all things Stiff. Richard wrote the bestselling biography Sex & Drugs & Rock N Roll: The Life Of Ian Dury for Omnibus in 2001, so has a passion for this era, which he transfers to the reader. Read this fascinating book and remember when rock was fun.

Print length

248 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Soundcheck Books
Publication date

30 Oct. 2014
Dimensions

23.5 x 15.88 x 3.18 cm
ISBN-10

0957570066
ISBN-13

978-0957570061
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Product description

Review

'Comprises fresh interviews with the main acts, excellent levels of research and conveys the sheer absurdity of this mad label s brilliance.' - Q Magazine

'A passionate and detailed book that s simply a must-read. Stunning.' (10/10) - Vive Le Rock

'Stiff aficionados will appreciate this.' - --Classic Pop

'Coming into being just as Pub Rock was giving way to the rumblings of Punk, Stiff operated more or less as a guerilla outfit, being capable of signing an act on a whim...Be Stiff is a fabulous account of heady times and a perfect Christmas present for gentlemen of a certain age.' - The Herald

'Richard Balls has fond memories of his first encounter with the musical maverick spirit of Stiff Records...Thirty-three years later the cousin of Ed Balls, Shadow Chancellor and Labour MP for Morley and Outwood, has published a history of the label he became such a fan of in his teens.' - --The Yorkshire Post

'The story of inspirational independent Stiff Records has been Malcolm Wyatt's music book of 2014.He spoke to author Richard Balls about this legendarily chaotic yet influential label.' - The Lancashire Evening Post

Be Stiff was featured in a Newstalk interview by Tom Dunne with Ken Sweeney, who writes for the Irish Sun (5 January 2015)

'Richard Balls' new book Be Stiff: The Stiff Records Story is half great because it serves as a series of biographies outlining the early careers of such significant artists and half great because it s so fun to read about all the outrageousness of and surrounding Stiff.' -Psychobabble

"It s an instructive music-industry story told insightfully by the author, who digs deep and often with the help of former label staff and music acts, some of whom don t hold back in biting the hand that once fed them." - --The Irish Times

About the Author

Richard Balls was a news journalist for 20 years and now works in communications. At 14 years old, he went to his first gig - Madness supported by The Belle Stars - an event that sparked a lifelong love of Stiff Records. His acclaimed first book, Sex & Drugs & Rock N Roll: The Life Of Ian Dury, was published in 2000 by Omnibus Press. He spent three years researching and writing Be Stiff, interviewing more than 50 people along the way. Richard lives in Norwich with his wife Anne, daughters Katherine and Jessie, two cats and a dog.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soundcheck Books (30 Oct. 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 248 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0957570066
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0957570061
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 23.5 x 15.88 x 3.18 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,271,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 930 in Punk Music
- 990 in Music Business
- 2,079 in Music Reference

Customer reviews:
4.5 74 ratings

About the author

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Richard Balls

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Richard Balls is the author of three books: A Furious Devotion: The Life of Shane MacGowan; Be Stiff: The Stiff Records Story, and Sex & Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll: The Life of Ian Dury. He was a news journalist for 20 years, starting his career in local papers in London before moving to Dublin, where he wrote for a range of national papers including the Sunday Press, Sunday Times and Irish Times. In 1999 he joined the Eastern Daily Press and was appointed news editor of the Norwich Evening News before moving into communications. He lives in Norwich with his wife and two daughters.

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Geog On

Dick Balls Be Stiff is a Classic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2023

What is not to like about Be Stiff by Dick Balls? A pleasurable read, really grew on me

Helpful

Kay Smillie

Reasons to be cheerful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 May 2017

Verified Purchase

A very well researched look at the rise and fall of Stiff Records. Read about Jake Riviera and Dave Robinson. How they released the first punk single and first punk album (Damned). Why they lost Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. The success they had with Ian Dury and Madness. Just how many duff records they produced. It was sad when Stiff went down the pan, but they gave the record industry a bit of a shake up when they existed. Granted the label was reborn in 2006, but the late 70s and early 80s was when they shone.

Ray Smillie

One person found this helpful

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DF

and a great read. If you love British music you should ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 March 2015

Verified Purchase

A well researched book, and a great read. If you love British music you should read this book. Stiff is legendary and those driving the label introduced some truly legendary artists into the mainstream and gave many an opportunity they would never had without them.

3 people found this helpful

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mr r j johnson

Excellent account of how to run an excellent proper rocknroll record label

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 January 2021

Verified Purchase

This is a great book about the wonderful Stiff Records. This is the way to do popular music.

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Amazon Customer

Book arrived in good time packaged well although there is a bit crease ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2016

Verified Purchase

Book arrived in good time packaged well although there is a bit crease down middle. Happy to keep as good price.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2019

Verified Purchase

A great read, well researched by the author and brought back some fantastic memories. Recommended to anyone that wants to read how a small record label took on the majors.

One person found this helpful

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Gman

Stiff records

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 December 2020

Verified Purchase

Excellent book full of information

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B. Rose

Brilliant account of an amazing record company that broke all ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 December 2014

Verified Purchase

Brilliant account of an amazing record company that broke all the rules in the music business.
Found this hard to put down - great read if you are a fan of the likes of Ian Dury, Elvis Costello etc

5 people found this helpful

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Be Stiff: The Stiff Records Story Paperback – 30 Oct. 2014

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Be Stiff: The Stiff Records Story Paperback – 30 Oct. 2014

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About the author

Richard Balls

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