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| Fiction Records | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1978; 47 years ago (1978) |
| Distributor | Virgin Music Group |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Official website | fictionrecords |
Fiction Records is a Britishrecord label founded byChris Parry[1] in 1978, owned byUniversal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home ofthe Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part ofPolydor, but in January 2014, Universal restructured Fiction as a standalone label, removing it from Polydor's corporate affiliation. Fiction repertoire is now released internationally throughVirgin (ex-North America).[2]
Fiction Records was founded in the late 1970s byPolydor A&R man and longtimethe Cure manager Chris Parry,[3] alongside music publisher Fiction Songs Ltd, who went on to foundRadio X (then XFM). Both were subsidiaries of Polydor Records, and based in London at 97 Charlotte Street and eventually maintained a satellite office inNew York City at 850 7th Ave. Fiction was also home to UKdance label Desire, re-launched in 1988 as Fiction'shouse subdivision, and Non Fiction Records, Fiction's specialty label forspecial editions. Fiction was best known for the Cure's releases and achieved its first UK No. 1 album in 1992 with the Cure'sWish; the album'slead single "Friday I'm in Love" also toppedBillboard's Modern Rock chart. Additionally, Fiction was home to other artists who signed to the publishing company as well as the record label and released a number of acclaimed albums includingEat'sSell Me a God (Fiction/Polydor) in 1989,the God Machine'sScenes from the Second Storey (Fiction/Polydor) in 1993 andDie Warzau'sEngine (Fiction/Wax Trax!) in 1995. Other artists who were part of the Fiction roster and publishing catalog during this time includedBilly Mackenzie & the Associates, Candyland,[4]the Purple Hearts,Cult Hero andthe Passions.
Starting in 1995, Fiction became dormant as a label, apart from the occasional Cure release, and focused exclusively on Fiction Songs, who partnered withBertelsmann Music Group to form ajoint venture publishing company and moved their New York offices to the Bertelsmann Building at 1540 Broadway in Times Square in 1994; Fiction's headquarters were unchanged. However, BMG eventually acquired Fiction Songs and its catalog in 2001. Besides being the publisher for the Cure and other Fiction artists, Fiction Songs was also home tohip hop/electronic artistsStereo MCs, producer and songwriterCameron McVey, theJungle Brothers,Primitive Radio Gods, and NY Loose.
In 1992, the Fiction headquarters at Charlotte Street served as the first home to XFM co-founded by Parry. A benefit concert called Great Xpectations[5] was held in support of the station on 13 June 1993 atFinsbury Park in London. A live album of the concert titledGreat Xpectations Live[6] was released in July 1993 on Fiction and included performances by the Cure,Damon Albarn andGraham Coxon,Belly, andCatherine Wheel.
In January 2004, Joe Munns,Paul Smernicki and Beastman revived Fiction to "give Polydor a bit more of a guitar stronghold",[citation needed] as their roster then consisted mostly of pop acts. The first release on the "new" Fiction was theSnow Patrol single "Run",[2] which entered theUK singles chart at No. 5. The subsequent Snow Patrol album,Final Straw, went on to sell over two million copies worldwide.[citation needed] In January 2014,Universal Music Group restructured Fiction as a standalone label, removing it from Polydor's corporate affiliation.
The current Fiction stable includesTame Impala,Steven Wilson,the Mysterines,Death from Above 1979,the Maccabees,Spector,HEALTH,Mini Mansions,Fryars,Kate Boy, Meanwhile,Palace,the Amazons,Another Sky,the Big Moon,Liana Flores,Billie Marten andKaiser Chiefs.
Fiction has also released records bythe Naked and Famous,Kate Nash,Athlete,Elbow,White Lies, Yuksek,Stephen Fretwell,Ian Brown,Jacknife Lee,Delays,Alberta Cross,Guillemots,Yeah Yeah Yeahs andCrystal Castles.
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