Red Eye (record label)
Encyclopedia
Red Eye Records is a Sydney
-based Australia
n independent record label
started in 1985
by graphic designer John Foy. Its debut release was a solo single from ex-Hoodoo Gurus drummer James Baker issued as The James Baker Experience. It also ran two other spin off labels Black Eye Records and Third Eye.
The label went on to release The Cruel Sea
, John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong, The Bhagavad Guitars
, The Beasts of Bourbon, The Crystal Set
, Steve Kilbey
, Curious (Yellow)
, Deniz Tek
, Robert Frost, Growl, The Clouds
, Drop City
, The Scientists
and Kim Salmon and the Surrealists
. In 1990 the label was distributed through Polydor
who later acquired Red Eye closing it as an imprint moving some acts across to Universal.
Two branches of Red Eye Records operate in Sydney today(at 143 York St and 370 Pitt St). They retain the name and logo but are involved in music retail only and are not involved in the operation of the Red Eye Records label.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
-based Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
started in 1985
1985 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV...
by graphic designer John Foy. Its debut release was a solo single from ex-Hoodoo Gurus drummer James Baker issued as The James Baker Experience. It also ran two other spin off labels Black Eye Records and Third Eye.
The label went on to release The Cruel Sea
The Cruel Sea (band)
The Cruel Sea are an Australian indie rock band from Sydney formed in late 1987. Originally an instrumental-only band, they became more popular when fronted by vocalist Tex Perkins in addition to Jim Elliott on drums, Ken Gormly on bass guitar, Dan Rumour on guitar and James Cruickshank on guitar...
, John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong, The Bhagavad Guitars
The Bhagavad Guitars
The Bhagavad Guitars are a Sydney-based indie-rock band formed in the late 1980s featuring John Kilbey , Jeremy Butterworth, Adrian Workman and Matt Kerr...
, The Beasts of Bourbon, The Crystal Set
The Crystal Set
The Crystal Set was a Sydney-based Australian indie rock band formed in the early 1980s featuring Russell Kilbey , Phillip Maher , Davey Ray Moor and Tim Seckhold ....
, Steve Kilbey
Steve Kilbey
Steven John Kilbey is the lead singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for The Church, an Australian rock band. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter....
, Curious (Yellow)
Curious (Yellow)
-Members:*Mike Caen *Phil Hall *Karin Jansson *Michael Knapp *Violinda *Les White -External links:* *...
, Deniz Tek
Deniz Tek
Deniz Tek is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and a founding member of Australian group Radio Birdman who broke up, for the last time, after their last European tour in 2007...
, Robert Frost, Growl, The Clouds
Clouds (Australian band)
The Clouds are an indie rock band from Sydney, Australia formed in December 1989. The core of the group consisted of frontwomen Jodi Phillis and Patricia "Trish" Young . The line-up of The Clouds has changed several times with different drummers and lead guitarists...
, Drop City
Drop City
Drop City was an artists' community that formed in southern Colorado in 1965. Abandoned by the early 1970s, it became known as the first rural "hippie commune".-Establishment:...
, The Scientists
The Scientists
The Scientists are an influential post-punk band from Perth, Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as Exterminators and then Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydney/London-based swamp rock band of the 1980s...
and Kim Salmon and the Surrealists
Kim Salmon and the Surrealists
Kim Salmon and the Surrealists were an Australian indie rock band formed by Kim Salmon in 1987 when he was living in Perth between the final two tours by The Scientists...
. In 1990 the label was distributed through Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
who later acquired Red Eye closing it as an imprint moving some acts across to Universal.
Two branches of Red Eye Records operate in Sydney today(at 143 York St and 370 Pitt St). They retain the name and logo but are involved in music retail only and are not involved in the operation of the Red Eye Records label.