Red was an associate of Soho independent Fresh Records. It would seem to have issued more than a dozen singles, some of them 12" only, using an RS-000 numbering series for the 7" ones. The only ones to date from the '70s were 'On The Air', by Post-punk band The Lines (RS-001; 1979) and a 12" by Chrome, 'Read Only Memory' (RS-12-002; 1979). The Lines had previously put out a single on Linear records (q.v.) with a rather different line-up; they went on to issue several more records on Red, and of late they have started to gain belated recognition, with several compilation CDs appearing. People in the know have put them in the same file as Wire, Talking Heads and Television. Red appears to have operated from 1979-83. Thanks to Simon Hughes for the first scan, and to Robert Bowes for the second, which dates from 1980.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.