Go! Discs

Go! Discs
Parent company	Independent (1983–1996, 1999–present) Universal Music Group(1996–present; back catalogue)
Founded	1983; 1999 (relaunch)
Founder	Andy Macdonald, Lesley Symons
Defunct	1996
Status	Dormant
Distributor(s)	Chrysalis Records(1983–1996) Mercury Records UK(back catalogue, 1996–2013) Virgin EMI Records(back catalogue, 2013–2020) EMI Records(back catalogue, 2020–present)
Genre	Various
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Location	Hammersmith,London

Go! Discswas a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road,Shepherd's Bush,by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer atStiff Records,and Symons provided the seed funding. The first signing to the label wasBilly Braggand early releases also came from Sheffield band The Box and Hull bandThe Housemartins.Records by the latter's spin-off groupThe Beautiful Southwere subsequently issued. Key staff contributors, following a move toHammersmith,included comedianPhill JupitusandCathal Smyth(Madness' Chas Smash).Go! BeatRecords was launched as a subsidiary for artists likeBeats International,GabrielleandPortishead.In 1992,Paul Wellersigned for the main Go! Discs label.

In 1996, Macdonald resigned whenPolyGramacquired a majority stake in the label, which folded not too long afterwards. However, Go! Discs' dance offshoot Go! Beat Records continued and became a unit in the PolyGram group. In 1999, Go! Discs was revived, but it is now in dormancy along with Go! Beat.

The Go! Discs catalogue now operates underEMI Records,a division of theUniversal Music Group.It was rebranded fromVirgin EMI Recordsin June 2020.

Andy Macdonald and Independiente

After the purchase of Go! Discs by PolyGram, Andy Macdonald startedIndependiente Records,and continued his involvement with the recording career ofPaul Weller.Independiente is also the home ofTravis,Roddy Frame,Embrace,Aaliyah,So Solid Crew,Howling Bellsand Malian desert blues bandTinariwen.

Artists

• Anna
• Apollo Landing
• The Bathers
• The Bic
• The Beautiful South
• Billy Bragg
• The Blue Ox Babes
• Boothill Foot Tappers
• The Butterfield 8
• David Holmes
• Drugstore
• Father Father
• The Frank and Walters
• The Housemartins
• The La's
• Madness
• Paul Weller
• Portishead
• The Southernaires
• The Stairs
• Trashcan Sinatras

See also

• List of record labels