Magpie Records

Magpie Records is a British specialist record label founded in 1976 by Bruce Bastin. The label was established around the reissue and preservation of historically important blues and jazz recordings, with a particular emphasis on material originating in the pre-war and post-war periods. Rather than functioning primarily as a contemporary artist-development imprint, Magpie Records operated as an archival label: its value lay in making older performances available to later listeners through curated reissues. The label was owned by Interstate Music, a British music company associated with the distribution and presentation of specialist recorded-music catalogues. Within that setting, Magpie Records formed part of the market for historically oriented blues and jazz releases, serving collectors, researchers, musicians, and listeners interested in recordings that might otherwise have remained difficult to obtain. One of the label's notable series was Piano Blues, which gathered recordings centered on blues piano and related traditions. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz characterized the series as being of considerable jazz interest, an assessment that reflects the label's relevance beyond a narrowly commercial reissue catalogue. Magpie's work therefore sits at the intersection of record collecting, music history, and archival publishing. Available reference material does not establish a current operating status, a complete corporate history, a present-day website, or a detailed account of later ownership changes. Magpie Records is consequently best described as a historically documented British specialist label whose principal identity is connected with the reissue of blues and jazz recordings. Its significance rests less on mass-market scale than on the preservation and circulation of recordings from important earlier periods in American and related musical traditions.

Magpie Records was established in Britain in 1976 by Bruce Bastin. Its founding placed the label within the specialist reissue sector rather than the mainstream contemporary music business. The label's stated focus was the reissue of blues and jazz recordings made before and after the Second World War, giving it an archival role in the preservation and redistribution of older recorded music. The label was owned by Interstate Music. This ownership connected Magpie Records to a broader music-company structure while allowing it to retain a distinct specialist identity. Its catalogue was directed toward listeners seeking historically important performances, including collectors and audiences interested in the development of blues and jazz traditions. The label's purpose was therefore not simply to release new recordings, but to recover, package, and circulate existing recordings for later generations. Among its identifiable catalogue initiatives was the Piano Blues series. The series is significant because it demonstrates the label's interest in a specific performance tradition rather than only in broad genre branding. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz described Piano Blues as being of considerable jazz interest, providing independent recognition of the musical and documentary value of the series. The available record does not provide a complete discography, detailed release chronology, information about individual artists, or evidence sufficient to determine whether Magpie Records remains active. It also does not document a current headquarters, website, public listing, or subsequent corporate transactions. The known history therefore supports a focused account: Magpie Records was a British label founded in 1976, owned by Interstate Music, and devoted principally to the reissue of pre-war and post-war blues and jazz recordings. Its enduring historical importance is associated with specialist catalogue curation and the preservation of recordings that contributed to the documented history of blues and jazz.

• 1976

  Magpie Records is founded

  [1]Magpie Recordsen.wikipedia.org

  Bruce Bastin establishes Magpie Records in Britain as a specialist label for reissuing blues and jazz recordings from the pre-war and post-war periods.

A specialist archival and reissue label focused on historically significant blues and jazz recordings, particularly pre-war and post-war material.

• Archival blues and jazz reissue series

  Piano Blues

  Piano Blues is a Magpie Records series devoted to recordings associated with piano-led blues and related jazz traditions. Its archival orientation reflects the label's broader mission of bringing earlier blues and jazz performances to later audiences through specialist reissues. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz regarded the series as being of considerable jazz interest, indicating that it had value not only for blues listeners but also for jazz historians and collectors.

• Blues and jazz reissues · 1976

  Magpie Records archival reissue catalogue

  The label's broader catalogue consisted of reissued recordings from the pre-war and post-war eras of blues and jazz. These releases served a preservation and access function, making historically significant older performances available in a specialist record-label format. The supplied references do not provide enough information to enumerate the full catalogue or identify every series and release.

1. 1Magpie Recordsen.wikipedia.org