Or so twitter would have it:

Peter Guyþ@Getintothis

Indie label @KwareRecords - responsible for releasing Prefab Sprout, Editors, Karima Francis, Sirens etc - has ceased service after 29 years


Presumably was the cost of recording Paddy's last 37 abortive albums did for them.

I hope it's just a Twitter rumour. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if it's true. Their recent idea of marketing bands with silence has not proved very popular.

Have heard this from several sources so assume it's true...

Martin Stephenson's take on the news is below, a tremendously perceptive analysis and quite moving in a bitter sweet way. I think anyone looking at KW as a management company would agree with RM that marketing with silence is not a viable strategy, and they did virtually nothing to secure or enhance the legacy of their artists post 1990, but then again Paddy is unlikely to sign up with anyone else so that's probably it for any future recordings, sadly. Time to shut up shop and move on to new things for everyone I suspect.

Kitchenware died really by 1987, as its spiritual gift and intelligence ceased to flow, the bands became more separate as it brought in Majors to cope with needs for financial development, sadly that was the demise of Postcard as the bands flew very quickly to Majors and abandoned Alan Horne, Kitchenware remained as a label but was funded by London Records, CBS, Arista etc, the first time I felt t...he death was when Hurrah & the daintees were told we couldn't go into the office as Prefab Sprout were looking at their sleeve artwork, it sounds trivial now but we were so young and I know both Hurrah and the Daintees were very hurt, as all that was promoted up to that point was this family thing, that was my main motivation, so when that broke down I lost my sense of belonging, this actually broke me as a young person and I was confused all the way through the 80's, so hearing about the demise of Kitchenware now seems weird almost like something to do with Alan Sugar, it doesn't make sense to me as cannot relate to it, Im sure these changes are natural, but I know deeply that Hurrah were like the Daintees in their hearts. From 1982 to 1985, Kitchenware Records were a beautiful label, manager Keith Armstrong was at best genius of a manager, he was my brother, thats all I know, everything else turned alien, and Im still out there slightly confused... nobody brings you in and debriefs you, you got to figure it out
Much love xxm

(meanwhile, anyone living nearby might fancy wandering over to the offices and checking any skips or bins ;) )

Where's the Martin Stephenson text from, br?

Although it seems very unlikely that Paddy would ever sign on to another manager besides Keith Armstrong, I seriously doubt he would cancel all projects just because Kitchenware is in the can. Being the ever optimist, I'm darn sure Tom Dolby or Calum Malcolm would be able to help him out.

But yes: even an optimist like myself has to acknowledge defeat, and this certainly won't bring us any closer to a new release. It was, after all, Keith who secured the release of LTCWWM. Perhaps this really is the end...

I'm sure Keith Armstrong will stay on as Paddy's manager, no doubt providing another venture/platform to get PS albums released.

I agree that Keith Armstrong will stay on as Paddy's Manager and will look outside of the UK for a label company. Some place like the U S of A. Plenty of record companies looking to promote artists with a good track record in sales.
With the fact that there is an influx of past artists making new albums in the USA with much success it makes sense for Paddy to find his niche in America. He doesn't need to tour just some heavy media blitzes and I think he'll do well.

I guess one had to be there to fully appreciate the emotional impact of being asked not to interrupt someone else's decision making process. I don't want to come across as "snide," but calling this incident "the death" of a record label doesn't seem exactly "tremendously perceptive" to me. That this is still on his mind in 2012 is very depressing.

Rae I agree with your comments...its a bit like still being bitter cos you couldn't quite get in to the football team at school...

...although to be fair if Paddy and Co were considering the sleeve for FLPTM its a shame they weren't disturbed....

On the other hand, he was actually part of the situation, which gives him a better starting point for comments than those who weren't. The Kitchenware ethos wasn't exactly evident post 1986, unless I've missed something.

I have to say too that someone saying they're detached from a label because of an event in the past is hardly obsessed by it.

:lol:

Spot on the money, BR

Well, it's interesting news and thanks for making it available, bisonrav.

I don't know the first thing about "the Kitchenware ethos," I wrote that "one had to be there" (which I surely wasn't), and I didn't use the word "obsessed." I think "tremendously perceptive" sets the bar quite high, though, and Stephenson's statement strikes me as rather fuzzy.

Considering the problems Paddy McAloon has had recording and releasing albums in the last 20 years with Kitchenware intact, can it really get that much worse after the demise of the company? And if Kitchenware has been dead for twenty-five years, what difference does it make to begin with?

I hope that imarcopolo will be right.

It's amazing the scrutiny a throwaway use of words gets here. "Well articulated" perhaps better.

I think it's perceptive anyway. There's a point where a gang becomes a business and some people get left behind. Kitchenware did that and lost focus. MS is pointing to the incident where he realised that, and in retrospect he was spot on. Kitchenware had essentially zero impact on Prefab Sprout post Steve McQueen, anything that was being done was from CBS.

Doubtful that anyone would invest money recording Paddy without much hope of a result. Sad but true.

LCTWWM was produced with funds from Shamrock Solutions (as a lot of independent artists do these days) and I vaguely recall someone say that they gave enough money for another record to be made - but don't quote me on it.

Although these days - you can record an album for not that much money. If KW has bitten the bullet, with such a big name act as PS, it maybe that they take Paddy back into the main Sony family.

There are one or two artists I can think of who are on major labels but seem to be there for name only: John Cale being one of them. He has been with EMI for years but he barely sells anything. Elvis Costello criminally undersells in the UK now (but always hits the Top 20 in the US) but he's signed to Universal.

Failing that, there would be plenty of minor labels in the UK who would do a better job than Sony / KW ever could.

I emailed Nicki at Kitchenware to ask if Kitchenware had died. Unsurprisingly, no reply.

Well, Wendy Smith tweeted this MusicWeek link ten minutes ago:

http://t.co/YSkqif4A

Thanks for Martin Stephenson remarks, bisonrav. Very poignant.

Disregard, wrong thread!

See my Newsletter 5 for my perspective on the happenings at Kitchenware
John

I'm assuming that Keith Armstrong must have recently been to see Paddy and inform of his decision to close. Makes you wonder if Paddy said to him - was this because of me?

Then again, if most bands on Kitchenware's roster (are there such things these days) are licensed to major labels - will the bands just move on to them?

I think it's amazing that there's literally no news at all about this on Kitchenware's own website. They still don't understand the Internet.