Author and Island Records former head of press Neil Storey has promised his new book tracing the illustrious history of Island Records is as “definitive as can be”.
Hitting shelves this month, the first volume of the Island Book Of Records documents every album released on the label between 1959 and the end of 1968, with insight coming from a host of names including the legendary Chris Blackwell.
Very much an essential for vinyl lovers – not least because the hardback book is vinyl-sized – each Island release is fully illustrated to include labels, booklets, die-cut covers and foreign editions as well as “scheduled but ultimately unreleased LPs”. This is on top of a 20-plus page illustrated discography of 45s and EPs, subsidiary label LP releases, gig adverts, record release flyers, magazine covers, concert tickets, Island’s LP adverts and much more.
The book marks the first volume in a project that will seek to “represent the entire analogue compendium of Island’s records from 1959 to when Chris Blackwell sold the label in 1989”, with Volume 2 (1969–1970) planned for publication in 2024.
The Island Book of Records brings the early years of this iconic record label to life. A fifteen-year labour of love, the volumes will fully document the analogue era of Island. Offering a comprehensive archive of album cover design and photography, together with the voices of the musicians, designers, photographers, producers, studio engineers and record company personnel that worked on each project, the volumes show in unique depth the workings of the label, covering every LP.
Featuring material from recent interviews and from media interviews of the time, and each including a comprehensive discography of 45s, the books are lavishly illustrated with gig adverts (very many at venues which no longer exist), concert tickets, flyers, international LP variants, labels, LP and 45 adverts and other ephemera.
These LP-sized editions are a collector’s dream, offering a truly unparalleled resource for those interested in music history and a perfect gift for any music lover.
‘It’s like entering the record shop of your dreams.’ – David Hepworth, author, podcaster and Radio Times columnist
‘Eyewitness accounts underpin a vault-load of memorabilia across 390 elegant pages where the footnotes are as fascinating as major events in what is an exemplary piece of musical archaeology.’ – Phil Alexander, MOJO
The Fat Angel Sings 