Louder Than The Music

Sunday May 6th 2018 is a significant day for UK independent Christian record label Plankton Records. It marks the 40th anniversary of the release of their first ever title. Simon Law, Plankton Records founder and also leader of the band featured on that first release, explained how things started:

“Plankton Records was formed to plug a gap in the record market - and here we still are 40 years later!

It all started when SEA STONE, an East London based Christian Rock Band in which I played guitar, sang and was a songwriter, was formed towards the end of 1975 after I had played in the British Youth for Christ sponsored band “Really Free”. The band gigged extensively in 1976 in schools, colleges, youth clubs, church halls and pubs always with the view to communicating the Gospel of Jesus through blues/rock. The band was constantly asked about making a record by the audiences at these gigs as they wanted something to take away with them. So, during the summer of 1977 we made some recordings in the newly opened Soundtree Studio under the watchful eye of Brook Trickett. By this time the band had already established its own publishing firm, Sea Dream Music, so that the copyright of the original songs we wrote in the band was safe and ours, and not left ‘up for grabs’ by unscrupulous areas of the music industry. Then, I took on the task of hawking the material around to the record labels. But, it was described by them all as too Christian by the regular labels, and too secular by the Christian labels - who at that time were mainly putting out folk music and worship songs (with one or two notable exceptions!).

So, the band decided to go it alone. The mechanics of the business had already been established through setting up Sea Dream Music, so all that was needed was a name for the label. During the recording session in Biggin Hill myself and the rest of SEA STONE were helping out at a Christian Youth Camp/House Party in a place called Limpsfield. A lad called Phil in my dormitory was involved in a discussion about putting out an album and the fact that the band’s name and publisher had connections with the sea, when he said, “I suppose you’re going to call the record label ‘Plankton’!” And that is exactly what happened - thanks, Phil!

And so it was that Plankton’s first album “Mirrored Dreams” by SEA STONE was released on the 6th May 1978, at a SEA STONE gig at All Souls’ Clubhouse in the West End of London. Remarkably, sales of the album made a profit and so it was decided to plough the money back into the record label. This financed a single: “Summer Fever/Blow On By” in 1980 and an EP “Against The Tide” in 1982. Still in profit, the label decided to look around for other Christian bands and artists, who had something positive to communicate (rather than just ‘Ooh Baby, I love you, yeah’), and try to help them to get some material out to the public.

Forty years on and we’re still in business - having put out albums, EPs and singles on vinyl, cassettes, CDs, digital and then last year with Nine Beats Collective back to vinyl again! We, Keith Dixon and I - the partners of Plankton Records, are currently in the early stages of looking at ways we can mark the anniversary during 2018. I’m a Rev now looking after 2 churches and a large family in Essex and Keith, who looks after all aspects of the day to day running of Plankton Records now, is also working part time for Youth for Christ (full circle!?!) so for us these things take time!

Plans for the future? We keep saying when we get really big we are going to change the name to “Whale Records” - because the biggest of whales only live on plankton!”

SEA STONE “Mirrored Dreams” is available on all major digital music sites Worldwide.