Pour yourself a "stiff" drink, whether it be a Wrecking Eric, a Double Dury, or a whole cannister of instant coffee, and enjoy the "One Hundred and Tooth" episode of Only Three Lads...wherein we celebrate one of the seminal indie labels of the O3L era, STIFF RECORDS.

 

During Stiff's initial run between 1976-86, the London label released a slew of classics by Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Madness, The Damned, The Pogues, Motorhead, Devo, The Go-Go's, Lene Lovich and so many more that it would make your mind melt. (Perhaps literally, so don't say we didn't warn you.) The label possessed a wicked sense of humour, as exhibited in their clever marketing and often outrageous taglines, and an inventive flair for graphic design.

 

One of the incredible groups on the Stiff roster was ANY TROUBLE, whom Melody Maker called "the most exciting band since The Pretenders" in 1980 and AllMusic today calls them "an underappreciated bright spot on Stiff..." For our Stiff celebration, we are very fortunate to welcome Any Trouble's singer, songwriter, and guitarist extraordinaire CLIVE GREGSON as our Third Lad. Clive recounts his memories of the label, and shares his favourite Stiff singles with us.

 

Need more Clive? Check out our bonus episode, featuring nearly a half hour of additional audio from our chat with Clive Gregson. You'll get more insights about Stiff Records, as well as Clive's very prolific music career beyond Any Trouble - from his acclaimed folk-rock duo Gregson & Collister right up to the staggering EIGHT albums that he released in 2020 alone!

 

For more information on Clive Gregson: https://clivegregson.com.