The second Wessex of the '70s was an independent company from Portsmouth. Wessex has been described as a 'DIY-friendly' label, but one article (by a member of The Thought Police) claims that the company's input was negligible and that that band's single was DIY in all but name. Be that as it may, Wessex issued several now-collectable singles by New Wave and Rock 'n' Roll Revival bands. It operated from 1979-80; its catalogue numbers started at WEX-261 and reached WEX-276. The first, fairly basic, label design (1) was replaced by a much more ambitious one (2) with WEX-264. Several of the company's records were recorded at Telecomms Studios of Portsmouth. The pressing marks on many of the singles suggest that Linguaphone was the manufacturer.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.