Bingo Records news
Latest from the label and its community.
Hi everybody.
Bingo Records turned seven years old since my last mailout. I’ve tried to take some time to think about that.
Bingo Records started as an idea I dreamed up while driving around in the Lake District working as a reporter on a local newspaper. I was driving between violent court cases in Barrow to sheep dog trials in Ambleside and thinking about how I could turn myself into the likes of Alan Horne (Postcard), Bob Last (Fast), Clare Wadd (Sarah), Tony Wilson (Factory) etc. Then I met Ben and Zac in Ben’s old art shop in Lancaster (which, to the detriment of his business, became our social club where people would turn up on Saturdays with cans of lager) and we decided to have a go. We had absolutely no clue how to do anything and about £600: enough to press that first record, but not enough to make the sleeves - we had to wait until we earned some money back from pre-sales to do those. It would be self-aggrandising to claim we now stand among those aforementioned people, but I am proud of the label and how it’s survived when most our size and at this time have not.
We’ve remained committed to taking punts on new artists we believe in, largely ignored in-vogue concerns like profitability and streaming/social media figures, and stuck to our guns with how we do things even if at times it’s seemed at odds with how things are ‘supposed’ to happen in the music industry. There’s a lot I really dislike about the music industry so it feels good to try and operate away from it in some ways, ignoring the structures it imposes as much as possible. Many independent labels now wait until a band has ‘proven’ itself as a viable prospect, with a well-selling album or two and healthy streaming numbers under their belt before stepping in and offering to boost them further for their second or third release. We wanted to keep up the tradition of finding bands at their beginning and being there to help right from the off, simply because we thought the music was worth documenting. If they go on to bigger things, with tours and long-established larger labels and the rest of it: amazing. If it doesn’t: also great, we’re taking some good ideas and making them into something other people can enjoy.
That’s enough horn-tooting. Perhaps one day there’ll be some kind of record of the label - I know Tom has tonnes of film footage dating back to the very first whole-label package tours and DIY festivals in fields in the Lakes. That’s something to look forward to/dread.
Here’s what’s going on now.
Photo at the top is by Tom, taken at out (sort of ) seventh birthday party - more on that later.
New Music
Good News put out another single in July (New Dawn), and then a third on August 14 (Can’t Afford). This is all in the run up to their debut album ‘Small Forms’, which comes September 13. The records arrived today, which is fun, and I’m really pleased with the package we’ve (mainly Ben) put together. It’s quite Fast Product-esque, which I love and happened without Ben knowing about Fast and their design styles, which is pleasing. you can order the record here.
Events
This newsletter if more event-focused as it’s summer, when releases are few and far between. Here’s what we’ve been up to in the in-person arena:
We’re getting back in the promotional saddle after I’ve spent a bit of time focusing on my new day job at the Music Venue Trust. In September we’re putting on Pale Blue Eyes and British Birds at the good ol’ Delicious Clam in Sheffield.
Other music you should listen to
This is a blanket recommendation, with a dash of context. In the first weekend of August, roughly coinciding with our seventh birthday, we held the third iteration of our annual festival, Bingo Fest, in the South Lakes. Some of you were there: thank you for coming and well done for digging the information out! It’s a tiny festival (sub-200 cap) and we don’t advertise it at all, just allowing the news to spread by word of mouth - it’s not a business venture and the secrecy helps to retain some mystery and makes it feel dead special. It takes place across a field, an orchard, a yard and a very, very old barn where Esme built a stage. We bus up the PA from Delicious Clam in Sheffield and a lighting rig from a TV studio in Leeds, and off we go. Above is the line-up from 2024, and I really recommend you listen to every band on there as they were all brilliant.
I think that’s all for this time. Bye.
P.s. It’s nice to see that, as far as I can tell, nobody immediately unsubscribed from this after my initial email. I won’t let it go to my head. For those of you who missed the last one - this is the new platform for all news Bingo related, ported over from the Bandcamp mailing list. If you do want me to piss off, you can unsubscribe below; you’ll stay on the Bandcamp list for the auto-notifications they do when we add new stock etc.