Robert Vickers and #1 Records

The American underground was on fire in the early 90s. Information was hard to come by, so all I knew about #1 Records at the time was:

• they were named after Big Star's debut
• all their releases were worth picking up

I was quietly pleased when my favourite label of that era, Bus Stop, put out records by 2 of the same bands on #1 Records: The Streams and The Hello Strangers.

American pop historians might have a different chronology, but that's the order they appeared in my record shop's import racks in 1992.

What I knew about #1 Records years later:

• 5 releases wasn't enough
• Robert Vickers ran the label

A friend in the pub told me that Vickers ran the label, and at a Forster/McLennan gig in about 1996 someone shouted for Robert Vickers. Forster replied that he was releasing 7" singles in New York City.

Vickers played in one of the bands, Big Louise:

The two releases that hit me hardest then and still do today are those Streams and Hello Strangers singles. There's a separate post to be written about The Hello Strangers.

I know, you can't wait. Go to Spike Priggen's site for all the information - Spike played in Big Louise, The Streams and The Hello Strangers (and that's where I got the Big Louise photo).