Stortbeat Records

UK In 1978 a group of individuals from local bands inspired by the DIY ethic of punk started their own record label. They were Richard Holgarth and Billy Meadows from The Gangsters, Kevin Jones and Shane Roe from The Sods (2) with Colin Babb who did the accounts. Stortbeat began life in 1978 with a £1000 overdraft from a bank. The first release was "Record Company"/"Harlow Town" by The Gangsters. It got good reviews and was played by John Peel on his Radio 1 show. The main venues in the area were The Triad in Stortford and The Square in Harlow. In a couple of months the initial pressing had sold out which enabled more releases to be made. The Harlow Playhouse bar on Saturdays became Stortbeats central meeting point. Gordon Wilkins and Pete Lawrence later compiled a collection of Stortbeat recordings for Handsignal Recordings.