No Future Records

No Future Records was a British independent record label founded around 1980 by Chris Berry and Richard Jones, reportedly with the aid of a £1,000 bank loan. Based in Malvern, Worcestershire, the label emerged at a moment when the first wave of British punk had already been absorbed by major labels and the scene's initial energy had faded. No Future, along with contemporaries such as Riot City and Secret Records, was formed to give a new generation of young punk and skinhead bands an outlet for their music. The label's approach was direct and scene-driven: it placed an advertisement in the music newspaper Sounds asking punk and skinhead bands to send in demo tapes. This led to the signing of a roster that would come to define the second wave of UK punk, often tagged as 'Oi!'. Among the most notable signings were Blitz, The Partisans, Peter and the Test Tube Babies and Red Alert. Other acts such as Attak, The Insane and Blitzkrieg also passed through the label, and One Way System appeared on a No Future compilation 12" EP before going on to greater fame. No Future was remarkably prolific for a very short period, riding what the writer Ian Glasper described as the crest of punk's second wave with 'gleeful abandonment', and crashing to oblivion almost as quickly as it had ascended. During its brief existence its bands and releases dominated the UK Independent Charts and have remained hugely influential. Some of the label's bands made only a single record with No Future, while others continued for years afterwards, and several later reformed and released new material. The label is closely associated with the era documented in Ian Glasper's book Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984, which profiles No Future Records in detail. Today the name survives mainly through an unofficial fan website, nofuturerecords.co.uk, which preserves the label's history, discography and legacy. No Future Records is no longer an active commercial operation, but its catalogue is regarded as a cornerstone of early 1980s British punk.

No Future Records was formed around 1980 by Chris Berry and Richard Jones, reportedly with the help of a £1,000 bank loan. The two had met while working together at the Ministry of Defence in Malvern. Richard Jones already had a promotions company and, together with Iain McNay of Cherry Red in London, put on gigs at the Malvern Winter Gardens and sold records bought from Rough Trade in London on a stall there. Berry credited Jones with teaching him a great deal about music, and the pair decided to start their own label. The label emerged at a turning point for British punk. By early 1980 the leading punk bands such as The Clash, Angelic Upstarts and U.K. Subs had been established for several years and were signed to major labels, and punk rock had lost much of its initial passion and excitement. A number of smaller independent labels were founded to give young, up-and-coming bands an outlet and to revitalise what was seen as a stale scene. The two biggest of these were arguably Riot City and Secret, but No Future Records was another, and it had the distinction of appearing in the national charts. To find talent, No Future placed an advertisement in the newspaper Sounds asking for demo tapes from punk and skinhead bands. This led to the signing of a number of acts, notably Blitz, The Partisans, Peter and the Test Tube Babies and Red Alert, who were to spearhead the re-emergence of punk. The label also released records by bands such as Attak, The Insane and Blitzkrieg. One Way System's only appearance for No Future was on a compilation 12" EP, after which they became one of the biggest names in punk rock. No Future was a very prolific label for a very short time. As Ian Glasper wrote in Burning Britain, it rode the exciting crest of punk's second wave with gleeful abandonment and crashed to oblivion almost as quickly as it ascended. During its existence its bands and releases dominated the Independent Charts and have remained hugely influential. The roster's trajectories varied: some bands made their only recordings with No Future (for example Attak); some made further recordings with other labels before disbanding (for example The Insane); some continued recording for many years, with a few still active (for example Peter and the Test Tube Babies and Red Alert); and there were later reformations and new releases (for example The Partisans and Blitzkrieg). The label's story is documented in detail in Ian Glasper's book Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984, which devotes a section to No Future Records. Today the label is no longer active, but its history and catalogue are preserved by an unofficial website at nofuturerecords.co.uk.

• 1984

  End of the era documented in Ian Glasper's Burning Britain; No Future ceases activity.

• 1980

  No Future Records founded by Chris Berry and Richard Jones, reportedly with a £1,000 bank loan.

• 1980

  Advertisement placed in Sounds newspaper seeking demo tapes from punk and skinhead bands.

• 1980

  Signing of key bands including Blitz, The Partisans, Peter and the Test Tube Babies and Red Alert.

• 1980

  No Future releases begin to dominate the UK Independent Charts.

Independent punk and Oi! label of the early 1980s UK second wave, known for charting on the Independent Charts and for launching several influential bands.

• Blitz releases

• The Partisans releases

• Peter and the Test Tube Babies releases

• Red Alert releases

• Attak releases

• The Insane releases

• Blitzkrieg releases

• One Way System compilation 12" EP appearance

1. 1Unofficial No Future Records Websitenofuturerecords.co.uk
2. 2Burning Britain Extractnofuturerecords.co.uk
3. 3No Future Recordswikidata.org