Very sad. Blood & Fire really revolutionized the re-issue business. One of the few labels who treated the music with the respect it deserved. Also, their message board was a fantastic source of info and knowledge- no idea how much longer that will be around. They will be missed.
Well Vanguard, strictly speaking there is no-one at B&F. Bob Harding resigned in June and Dom and myself were paid our last wages in July.
The office in Manchester is closed, all the remaining stock is in storage, and the company has ceased trading, apart from the accountant collecting monies still owed to B&F, and paying it out again to those who the company owes.
This forum is still here, though I don't actually know who is paying for the bandwidth or whatever it needs to keep going.
I assume the website is being paid for by the accountant, but I don't actually know for sure. I've only been able to get back on here by re-registering. I'm assuming that the website will continue in some way or other.... As far as the company goes, it has been reported elsewhere that myself and the Simply Red people are talking to a couple of 'interested parties', but as all those people are now on holiday, not a lot is happening. We had a couple of meetings, both positive, but who knows.
If a deal can be struck to continue the label, it will carry on. If not, that's it for the label.
I'll post any further developments as soon as I know them....
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...yes, thanks for the support. Personally I really hope a way can be found to keep the label going. Same applies to the forum. Anyway, I remain optimistic about the future, with the proviso that if B&F does actually finish completely, I'm sure I can still find something to do. The precarious nature of this business has meant that I do have a couple of fall-back postions to take up, with Hot Pot and Equalizer [about to finally release the 'very long time coming' Gen Echo set] It's not as if I've got a pension, but at least I am still where I was [geographically speaking] when we started B&F in 1993. As a matter of fact, I'm almost exactly where I was born 60-plus years ago. I knew I should have taken those elocution lessons.....
I'll certainly raise that question, ie about charging users a small fee to keep the forum going - when I next meet with the Simply Red MD. They already run a music portal called 'Drowned in Sound' anyway, so it should be easily viable for them to set up something for the B&F forum to continue.
Blood and Fire reinvigorated my love of reggae music 10 years ago, and i have been devoted to it again ever since... whatever happens to B&F, i thank them itinually for charging up my reggae spirit...
Without saying too much, I've been in touch with Steve Barrow lately and it's not totally over yet, there's still a chance for something to happen next year, so let's all keep hope
"We had a couple of meetings, both positive, but who knows.
If a deal can be struck to continue the label, it will carry on. If not, that's it for the label."
Can anyone confirm.............. is Steve Barrow the bloke that used to run the original Daddy Kool Records shop in Hanway Sreet London in the early 70s
