Even very talented artists...
...who got as far as signing deals with major labels were often under-promoted in their time.
This usually occured when their music was perceived to be out of step with prevailing fashion, in opposition to the mood of the times or deemed uncommercial for radio play.
Small pressing runs compounded the problem and diminished their media coverage, suppressing their record sales to create a downward cycle which ultimately accelerated their exit from the music scene.
Spoke Records have high quality reissue 45 singles lined up for 2011 including previously unreleased recordings.
Following six months of independent enquiries we have already sifted through hundreds of excellent demo recordings by artists from the 60's, 70's and 80's who got their act together in the studio but never pushed their material any further.
Having already uncovered some superb music, we would like to hear more.
...when the manager rang to tell us the bad news.'
It's a familiar story from back in the day when the success or failure of a band hinged on being 'signed' to a record label.
Fate was often more prosaic too. The lead guitarist would maybe have an affair with the singers girlfriend just before the first major tour resulting in a splintered Les Paul, minor bruising, wounded egos and cancelled gigs.
Occasionally the artists creative muse would blossom and fade less dramatically:
'Aged 19 in the summer of 1981 after working long hours to create an LP's worth of shimmering synth pop songs; he lost his job and had to sell his drum machines and keyboards. The tapes he made are still in the attic.'
'We wrote and recorded some great material and built up a good local following but then the lead guitarist decided to go to university and we lost the the bass player when he finally managed to get a girlfriend.'
If you know of any artists or bands who wrote and recorded original material on actetate, cassette, CD or reel-to-reel...
...simply forward one or two songs which clearly represent the very best demonstration of the type of music the artist was making.
In keeping with our carefully selected reissue 45's we're constantly searching for great music, regardless of genre.
Spoke Records would love to hear from you if you have access to original material from artists who created great demos but never managed to get their material committed to vinyl.
