Kissing Spell

UK label who specialize in "rare folk and psychedelia." Also known as "Kissing Spell Records" Founded circa 1989 by a homeless teenager living in a barn in Suffolk who, in trouble with the law, managed to get a Conservative Government Business Initiative scheme instigated by Margaret Thatcher to finance the label. All artists were paid advances of between £1000-£4000 for licenses. The label sprang into life almost accidentally. Initially self distributed then signed with Caroline Distribution (Caroline was Richard Bransons first company, later becoming an export division of Virgin) and Greyhound Distribution. A very few releases were without artists permission when they proved untraceable, but they were paid retrospectively when later being discovered (eg Moths, Jessie Harper). One LP by Axe caused some controversy because it remixed elements of the recording and added phasing, extending the running time - this was done because Caroline Distribution thought it was too short and should be classed as an EP, at the time there was media controversy over the fact that cds were too short and could store much more music. The remix was done with the approval of Anthony Barford of Axe, it later offended purists - notably the remix has nearly 1 million views on Youtube whereas the original mix has a few thousand. The label pioneered the release of archival Progressive Rock and issued over 100 albums at affordable prices. Nearly every cover used art licensed from British Galleries including The National Gallery, the Tate, and many Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces were licensed from the Walker Art Gallery collection. Kissing Spell paid between £200-£400 for reproduction rights. Copyright notices for the paintings used is usually shown on the back sleeves in small print. The labels success created some jealousy amongst the record dealer community exacerbated by the owners misanthropic nature. The label issued so many unknown LPs, a rumor emerged that Mourning Phase, Wicked Lady, Dancer etc. were modern studio creations springing from a studio owned by the label. The idea still persists but has been debunked as the original artists came forward in later years. Kissing Spell issued many lps in a short time period, then was put on ice for 2 or 3 years for unknown reasons at the height of its commercial success, and sold to new owners circa 2000. It is thought the label was almost given away as the founder had lost interest in it. The owner abandoned all personal possessions and vanished, but orchestrated the final few releases at that stage eg. Dancer (via Anthony Minghella the Director of the English Patient, who was a band member of Dancer) and arranging the completion of the Holyground Series in collaboration with Mike Levon( RIP, the founder of Holyground). Later releases (post 2001) such as Cottage reissues and Baby Whale were the work of the new owners, who were old hands in the music business, primarily in music law. The Kissing Spell label was one of the few pioneering archival Progressive labels to be legitimate and to pay artists, with contracts drawn up by Harbottle and Lewis, industry experts in music law. Kissing Spell licensed rights to Loudest Whispers LPs and acted for Loudest Whisper when Background Records bootlegged Children of Lir, seizing every copy and destroying them, and obtaining financial damages from Background for copyright infringement. This act may have ended the Background label and added fuel to the idea that the owner of K.Spell was a Psychopathic megalomaniac (much like many other label bosses). On the other hand K.Spell made Dark's million pound masterpiece accessible to the world for £9 on CD, when the previous edition had been a nominal £100+ on Swank (usa). Form your own judgement. The publishing rights in the label were sold by the founder to the famous london publisher Bucks Music. The label continues to exist under its current ownership and may hold full copyrights in many lps such as Stone Angel. When the label was sold Master Tapes and Artwork were transferred to the new owners.