HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY

I’m a week late with these birthday greetings as it was Thursday 6 February when Chemikal Underground Records turned 30 years of age.  The celebration was low-key, just these few lines via social media.

Thirty years ago today copies of ‘Monica Webster’ started to fly out of a small kitchen on Cartside Street in Glasgow, Scotland. This was the debut single of a fresh-faced new band, The Delgados, and the maiden release of Chemikal Underground, a brand new independent record label. Three decades, many seminal LPs, and a multitude of hangovers later, it seems only right to mark this landmark milestone with a few bits and bobs over the next 12 months. Keep your eyes peeled (sign up to our mailing list) for announcements over the coming weeks…

Those of you who have been following this blog over the years will be well aware that I’m of the view the label is the singular most important thing to have happened to the Scottish music scene in my lifetime.  Things have slowed down a little bit in recent years, but the release of excellent albums from Broken Chanter and Chrysanths during 2024 illustrates their ongoing commitment to working with talented artists.

The recording studio, Chem 19, located on an unassuming industrial estate in Blantyre, a small town some 15 miles south-east of Glasgow, has been the location where some of the best and best-selling music to come out of Scotland in the 21st Century has been and continues to be made.  There are still many chapters to be written in the Chemikal Underground in the years to come.

If you do want to take up the suggestion of signing to the mailing list, the best way would be to head over to the website.  Click here.

In the meantime, I’ve pulled together my own small tribute, with a mix of songs that have been released on the label over the 30 years.  It’s just under an hour long, but if you hang on till exactly the hour mark, you will come across a hidden track.

Enjoy!!!

mp3: Various – Happy 30th Birthday C.U.

Human Don’t Be Angry – H.D.B.A. Theme
Zoey Van Goey – Foxtrot Vandala
De Rosa – All Saints Day
Miaoux Miaoux – It’s The Quick
The Phantom Band – Throwing Bones
Mother and The Addicts – Oh Yeah, You Look Quite Nice
Arab Strap – The Shy Retirer
Emma Pollock – Parks and Recreation
Cha Cha Cohen – A=A
Malcolm Middleton – Loneliness Shines
Lord Cut-Glass – Look After Your Wife
Aidan Moffat and The Best-Ofs – Big Blonde
RM Hubbert – Buckstacy
The Delgados – Everybody Come Down
Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat – The Copper Top
Broken Chanter – So Much For The End Of History (I’m Still Here)

JC