Nude Records

Nude Records was a London-based independent record label, set up in August 1991 by Saul Galpern, who had previously worked with artists such as Simply Red, The Fall, Julian Cope, The Triffids, The Slits and Au Pairs.

History

The label's first success was with Suede, whose debut album, Suede (1993), debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart, and was the fastest-selling debut album since Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Welcome to the Pleasuredome almost ten years earlier. The band went on to win the Mercury Prize that year, and received five Brit Awards nominations. They had three No. 1 hits in the UK Albums Chart. Other artists with chart success signed to the label included the Scottish band Geneva, who had Top 20 success with their debut album Further; Black Box Recorder who also achieved a Top 20 hit single and album with The Facts of Life (2000); plus chart album hits for Ultrasound, Lowgold, and Billy Mackenzie.

The label had a UK distribution deal with 3mv/Vital (later Pinnacle distribution) and an international licensing arrangement with Sony, which ended in 2000, before moving to PIAS. Subsequently, the label hit financial difficulties in 2000. In December 2001, after losing their distribution deal with Sony. Another new label saving deal with Zomba fell through at the last minute. The collapse of the label led to delays with Black Box Recorder's second album, Passionoia, which was not released until 2003. It was believed Suede would be unaffected by the closure of the label as Nude's international partner label Sony would release their next album, A New Morning.