Two-fisted tales from the vault

A Sid Griffin archive revamp is in the offing, and RC asked him and Cherry Red archivist Steve Hammonds to tell us what’s in store

- Steve Hammonds

How did the catalogue deal come about?

Steve Hammonds: I’ve known Sid for a long time, going back to my Sanctuary label days, and I always had a good relationship with him. A mutual friend, Toby Holdsworth, suggested that I get in touch with him, to see what I could do to help with The Long Ryders’ catalogue and his solo material. We did a deal for a box set and drew up a plan for expanded editions of two of the Long Ryders albums, licensed from Universal. Following that, we put the last studio album out in conjunction with Omnivore.

Sid Griffin: In my role as leader of The Long Ryders’ European Theatre Of Operations, I’ve had many contacts with Cherry Red over the years. Up to this point, there were already three Long Ryders box sets on Cherry Red, each helmed by Steve and myself. They take about 18 months from start to finish, so, by the release date of the first one, I knew that I could easily work with Steve and the Cherry Red team and that we were a good fit. During this time, I’d also agreed with Long Ryders drummer and Warner Chappell publishing mogul, Greg Sowders, to sign a deal for a new album with Cherry Red.