One of the early DIY Punk labels, Refill was owned and run by the Desperate Bicycles, and it served as an outlet for their recordings from 1977-80. It put out six 7" records and one LP, which were numbered in an RR-0 series. The first two singles, 'Smokescreen' (RR-1; 4/77) and 'The Medium Was Tedium' (RR-2; 7/77), were distributed by Lightning from August 1977; the third release, an EP featuring 'New Cross New Cross' and five other tracks (RR-3; 2/78), was handled by Rough Trade. The 'Evening Outs' of RR-5 are reported to have been the Desperate Bicycles under a pseudonym. Refill proved to be a fairly basic operation, but the fact that it existed at all was an inspiration to many other people, who rushed out and set up their own labels in imitation. File under 'Ephemeral But Notable'. Thanks to Steve Hill for the scans.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.