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Heavenly Records
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heavenly Records
Founded 1990
Founder Jeff Barrett
Distributing label EMI
Genre Indie
Country of origin UK
Official website http://www.heavenly100.com/

Heavenly Records, aka Heavenly Recordings, is a London-based record label, distributed by EMI. Founded by Jeff Barrett, a former press officer for Creation Records and many successful indie bands of the time including Happy Mondays, Heavenly Recordings' first releases were 7" singles for bands Barrett had discovered. The label's early releases included singles and albums by acts such as Flowered Up, Saint Etienne, East Village and Manic Street Preachers. Their most significant early release was Saint Etienne's Foxbase Alpha album, released in 1991 to widespread critical acclaim.

In 1992 Barrett partnered with former East Village lead singer/songwriter Martin Kelly who had given up making music to manage bands. Together they brokered a distribution deal with BMG which enabled them to sign Beth Orton, The Hybirds, Northern Uproar, Monkey Mafia, Dot Allison, Q-Tee and Espiritu. Beth Orton's first album Trailer Park was well received by critics and sold modestly well. It won her two BRIT Award nominations and a Mercury Music Prize nomination. She won the BRIT Award for Best British Female in 2000 for her second album, Central Reservation. In 2000 Heavenly Records sought a new distribution deal with EMI and soon signed Manchester band Doves, 22-20s, and singer/songwriter Ed Harcourt. Beth Orton was dropped from the label in 2005 but continues to make records for EMI. Doves became a great success for the label, scoring three hit albums in a row with Lost Souls (2000), The Last Broadcast (2002) and Some Cities (2005). Some Cities gave the label its first #1 album. In 2004 the label signed brother/sister quartet The Magic Numbers. The Magic Numbers debut album went on to out-sell anything else the label had ever released, quickly becoming one of the biggest British bands of 2005 and earning them a BRIT Award Nomination in 2006 for Best British Newcomer.