“There are plenty of [mod] bands out there with a decent following and no record deals. We can pick up the best of them. What we want is our own label as part of Stiff.” This proposal by Maxine Conroy, Eddie Piller and Terry Rawlings, as described in the must-read memoir Clean Living Under Difficult Circumstances, led to Countdown Records. Highlights of their releases were already collected on CD in 2003, but Acid Jazz now presents a new vinyl compilation marking the 40th anniversary of their group label.
Young and eager acts like Makin’ Time, The Prisoners, The Kick, Long Tall Shorty, The Scene, Fast Eddie, The All-Jacks, The Combine, The Ambassadors, The Kick, and The Daggermen epitomized the flourishing mod revival, an exciting and danceable melting pot of influences from rhythm and blues, new wave, pub rock, power pop, soul, jazz, and ska. It’s hard to sit still and not be cheered by the thirteen tracks on this record.
5,4,3,2,1… The Countdown Records Story – 1985-88 is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Acid Jazz Records.