Stairway to Avon

Record label Sarah was almost militantly sensitive. The next logical step after Postcard Records' "worldliness must keep apart from me" defiantly innocent ethos, its roster (The Field Mice, Heavenly, The Sea Urchins) had a quietly punk-fuelled ethos - feminist, socialist, anti-capitalist - yet was widely mocked and disparaged by the music press. Located in the heart of Bristol, Sarah were as far removed from "baggy" and Britpop as you could get. Jane Duffus, author of a new book about the label's enduring legacy, explains its appeal in the introduction below, then selects 14 "hits" from its catalogue.

- Jane Duffus

Based in Bristol, between 1987 and 1995 Sarah was the most independent of indie labels. Co-founders Clare Wadd and Matt Haynes were driven by feminism, ethics and a passion to truly embrace the DIY attitude of the postpunk scene. Wadd and Haynes were not concerned with forming a capitalist monolith to rival Virgin or EMI. Instead, they eschewed the posturing and vanity of the pop charts and focused on promoting the kind of bands the major labels would be too scared to touch.

Fans were drawn to the label from day one. I've even seen copies of two handwritten letters from a certain Polly Jean Harvey in Dorset wanting to buy a copy of the Shadow Factory compilation ("or, as you informed me of its proper name, L'Usine des Ombres") back in February 1990. I hope she still has it in her collection because those early Sarah records are worth a pretty penny these days.

Record Collector readers looking to cash in should bear in mind that the most valuable Sarah records are generally the early ones (given they had relatively low pressings) and the later ones (for which the pressing quantity was split equally between 7" and CD single, making the vinyl now much harder to come by). But you should also remember that Sarah singles were purposely sold cheaply to make them accessible and affordable, which means that selling them on for big bucks isn't really in the spirit of the endeavour...