…BELIEVE IN MAGIC: HEAVENLY RECORDINGS, THE FIRST 30 YEARS | BOOK REVIEW
Robin Turner (White Rabbit)
The highs and lows of both the Factory and Creation record labels are well documented and celebrated in the form of books, films, compilations and probably tea towels, but if there was ever another British independent that should be regarded as the unruly child of both of those, it would be Heavenly Recordings. Label founder Jeff Barrett previously worked for both Factory and Creation, and whilst Heavenly did as much partying as Factory and Creation combined on Monday nights, the quality of their musical output has remained consistently high over three decades.
Scanning the album artwork displayed at the back of …Believe In Magic, it’s amazing how many of these slabs of vinyl have made a big impact – not just purely through sales, but how much love they have garnered. That magnificent Doves debut album, those early Manic Street Preachers singles, Don Letts’ first reggae compilation, Saint Etienne, Mark Lanegan, The Vines, Magic Numbers, Beth Orton, Duke Garwood, Martin Craft, and most recently Working Men’s Club and Unloved. “Stylistically it may have looked chaotic and disconnected to the outside world, but that was the point. The sheer difference of the artists was its strength,” writes the Manics’ Nicky Wire in this book’s foreword.
Robin Turner spent a good few years at Heavenly doing press for the label, so he is well placed to write this book. The Heavenly story is told through 30 vignettes that include contributions from Don Letts, Doves, Beth Orton, Edwyn Collins, Confidence Man, James Dean Bradfield and Mark Lanegan. The legendary Heavenly Sunday Social club nights also get a good airing, as do good friends of the label such as the sadly departed Andrew Weatherall.
What makes …Believe in Magic better than many previous record label biographies is that the balance of artwork and history is bang on. Other books have been filled with too much sleeve art and not enough history, or vice versa. Being immersed in Turner’s book is like hanging out at the Heavenly office with all the maverick artists and characters passing through, raiding the fridge for booze, exchanging ideas, telling stories and blowing the speakers of the office hi-fi playing hot off the press tunes that would soon become iconic milestones. A fitting tribute to a legendary label which continues to this day to enthusiastically release great music.
Price: £29.99. Info: here
words DAVID NOBAKHT