ZTT Records
| ZTT | |
|---|---|
| File:ZTT logo from sleeve.png | |
| Parent company | SPZ Group |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Trevor Horn |
| Status | active |
| Genre | various |
| Country of origin | UK |
| Location | London |
| Official website | http://www.ztt.com/ |
ZTT Records is a record label founded in 1983 by NME journalist Paul Morley, record producer Trevor Horn, producer/engineer Gary Langan and businesswoman Jill Sinclair. The label's name was also printed as "Zang Tumb Tuum" and "Zang Tuum Tumb" on various releases.
History of the label
ZTT is an initialism of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's sound poem "Zang Tumb Tumb". The word "Tuuuum" is also featured on the cover of the original publication of the poem in book form.
The majority of the creative team at ZTT had first assembled when Horn produced the acclaimed album The Lexicon of Love for New Romantic band ABC.
A precursor to ZTT was the short-lived Perfect label, spun-off of the newly founded Perfect Songs publishing subsidiary of Trevor Horn and Jill Sinclair's company. Perfect Recordings only released the Buggles' Adventures in Modern Recording and the singles derived from it.
ZTT enjoyed considerable success in the 1980s with the composer Andrew Poppy, bands such as Propaganda, Art of Noise, and the chart-topping Frankie Goes to Hollywood. In 1989, both Propaganda and Frankie Goes to Hollywood frontman Holly Johnson went to court to be released from their contracts, and won. In the Holly Johnson case, the court chastised Horn for production cost over-runs. It has since become common knowledge that Horn's perfectionism can be expensive. (The sleevenotes of the Pet Shop Boys’ Discography compilation make good natured references to Horn's methods).
In the 1990s, ZTT became a successful dance label once again, with major names on their roster including Seal and 808 State.
Over the years, the label has continued to dip into its well of 1980s material by constantly reissuing material by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Propaganda and Art Of Noise in various formats - from remix albums, to straight reissues.
ZTT Records is now owned by the SPZ Group, which stands for Sarm Perfect ZTT: Sarm Studios, Perfect Songs publishing and ZTT records. From the beginning, the majority of ZTT releases were published by Perfect Songs and recorded at Sarm Studios.
Acts on the ZTT label
| 1980s | 1990s | 2000s |
|---|---|---|
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† as one-time UK distributor for Tommy Boy Records
Action Series
As part of ZTT internal cataloguing of releases they maintained two series; the Action Series and the Incidental Series. The Action Series was issued mainly to singles and albums by a majority of the labels artists. However to confuse matters the series also contains a booklet and a concert.
The Incidental Series seemed to follow even less logic, and indeed individual releases and even actors in videos and voiceovers received their own IS number. In fact, even oddities like the day Relax was banned and Holly Johnson's walking stick had Incidental Series numbers.
The series was further complicated by having some singles released with an ZTIS catalogue number. The Incidental Series seemed to mirror the FAC numbering system used by Factory Records, where a cat was famously called FAC 191.
The Action series was discontinued by ZTT in 1988.[1]
- AS1: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax
- AS2: Propaganda - Dr. Mabuse
- AS3: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Two Tribes/War
- AS4: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome
- AS5: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - The Power of Love
- AS6: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - And Suddenly There Came A Bang! (Booklet)
- AS7: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome (single)
- AS8: Propaganda - Duel
- AS9: Roy Orbison - Wild Hearts
- AS10: The Value Of Entertainment (concert)
- AS11: Art of Noise - Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise
- AS12: Propaganda - p:Machinery
- AS13: Propaganda - A Secret Wish
- AS14: Various - The Shape Of The Universe
- AS15: Glenn Gregory & Claudia Brucken - When Your Heart Runs Out Of Time
- AS16: Grace Jones - Slave To The Rhythm (A Biography)
- AS17: Andrew Poppy - The Beating Of Wings
- AS18: Various - Zang Tuum Tumb Sampled
- AS19: Anne Pigalle - Everything Could Be So Perfect...
- AS20: Propaganda - Wishful Thinking
- AS21: Propaganda - p:Machinery (Reactivated)
- AS22: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Rage Hard
- AS23: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Liverpool
- AS24: Das Psycho Rangers - Starve God There's Choice
- AS25: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Warriors of the Wasteland
- AS26: Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Watching the Wildlife
- AS27: Andrew Poppy - Alphabed (A Mystery Dance)
- AS28: Act - Snobbery And Decay
References
- ^ "BBC - h2g2 - ZTT Records 1983-1988". Retrieved 2007-08-19.
External links
- "ZTT Records". Retrieved 2007-08-19.
- "The Alternate Boards - Index". Retrieved 2007-08-19.
- "Zang Tuum Tumb and all that - Home". Retrieved 2007-08-19.
- "ZTT". Retrieved 2007-08-19.
- "ZTT Stuff". Retrieved 2007-08-19.