Morgan Khan

A Hong Kong-born Indian who grew up in London, Khan had worked in the UK record industry since the mid 1970's, working for such names as PRT Distribution (a division of Pye Records) and R & B Records, for whom at the time Imagination were the up and coming stars of the day. Khan founded the independent Streetwave record label during 1981 to specialise in releasing electro and hi-NRG releases. Within a year of creation, Streetwave began the Street Sounds series of albums; compilations created from some of the hottest 12" imports of the day. These releases made available a selection of the most contemporary dance floor hits within the financial reach of those wanting to hear the freshest sounds. In the early 1980's a 12" single was priced around £2 and you would pay over £4 for an import 12". The Street Sounds series offered usually 8 to 12 full-length 12" mixes for under a fiver. Understandably, the Street Sounds series was met with considerable enthusiasm and, some might say, mighty relief. This series would run for over 6 years and contain over 50 albums. By far the most coveted of the Street Sounds releases were the Electro series. These albums introduced the UK to the developing hip-hop scene from America — a stroke of genius that brought electro and early hip hop from the underground to the UK high street and, one could argue, helped in the creation of the UK's hip-hop scene. Listed below are labels set up by Morgan Khan: Streetwave / Street Sounds / Westside Records / Hardcore / Radical Records / World Dance Records / Pisces Productions Limited. He also funded Hardback.