BOMP! Records

Bomp! Records
Founded1974 (1974)
FounderGreg Shaw, Suzy Shaw
GenreProto-punk, punk rock, pop rock, indie rock
Country of originUnited States
LocationLos Angeles, California
Official websitewww.bompstore.com

Bomp! Records is a Los Angeles-based record label formed in 1974 by fanzine publisher and music historian Greg Shaw, and Suzy Shaw.

Magazine

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Who Put the Bomp
EditorGreg Shaw
CategoriesMusic
First issueJanuary 1970
Final issue
Number
1979
21
CountryUnited States
Websitewww.bomp.com

Who Put the Bomp was a rock music fanzine edited and published by Greg Shaw from 1970 to 1979.[1][2] Its name came from the 1961 hit doo-wop song by Barry Mann, "Who Put the Bomp". Later, the name was shortened to Bomp! Bomp!, and extended by Shaw to the record label Bomp! Records, which he headed until his death in 2004.[3][4]

Background

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The magazine was a departure from the mainstream and its writing style unique with its own opinion described as almost partisan.[5] The magazine was first published in 1970. It was created by Greg Shaw and his wife. The magazine chronicled bands that Shaw deemed worthy of covering. And he did it passionately.[6] Shaw made it known too that the magazine was not going to cater to nostalgia or be an info receptacle for fanatical collectors of obscure out of print records.[7]

A significant number of writers who wrote for the magazine went on to greater things.[6] Two journalists who had their careers launched via the magazine were Lester Bangs and Greil Marcus.[8]

Staff

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Ken Barnes who wrote articles like "10 Greatest Power Pop Songs" for Best Classic Bands, and other publications such as Fusion and Phonograph Record was once co-editor for the magazine.[9] Jay Kinney who was a key man in the underground comics movement in the late 1960s, served as art director for the magazine.[8]

Greg Shaw

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Shaw was one of the first and best-known rock fanzine editors. Active in science fiction fandom as a young man, he became familiar with fanzines. Shaw founded one of the earliest rock fanzines, the mimeographed Mojo Navigator and Rock 'n Roll News in 1966.

Record label history

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Suzy Shaw and Greg Shaw
Suzy and Greg Shaw
Mick Farren (left) with Patrick Boissel at the signing of the Bomp! book at Freakbeat Records in Sherman Oaks, California

The label has featured punk, pop, power pop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia among other genres. Its roster has included the Modern Lovers, Iggy and the Stooges, Stiv Bators and the Dead Boys, 20/20, Shoes, Devo, the Weirdos, the Romantics, Spacemen 3, the Germs, SIN 34, Jeff Dahl, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Black Lips.

Greg Shaw died from heart failure at the age of 55 on October 19, 2004. Bomp! Records is headed by his ex-wife, Suzy Shaw.[10]

Suzy Shaw and Mick Farren co-authored Bomp: Saving the World One Record at a Time, published by Ammo Books in 2007.[10] In 2009, Bomp! and Ugly Things published Bomp 2 – Born in the Garage, edited by Suzy Shaw and Mike Stax.

Roster

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Media and Popular Music, By Peter Mills - Page 10
  2. ^ Billboard Magazine, October 30, 1999 - Page 49 Koch Sees Personnel Shuffle; Bomp Records Turns 25 by Chris Morris
  3. ^ The Independent, October 28, 2004 - "Obituaries: Greg Shaw, Early promoter of garage rock, punk and power pop" by Pierre Perrone.
  4. ^ The New York Times, Oct. 27, 2004 - "Greg Shaw, 55, Rock Enthusiast Who Loved Underground Music, Dies" by Ben Sisario.
  5. ^ e-flux, Journal #63 - March 2015 - "Circulation and Withdrawal, Part II: Withdrawal" - Simon Sheikh.
  6. ^ a b Alexander, Jeff (June 25, 2014). "Label Spotlight: Bomp Records – Greg Shaw: Rock N' Roll Visionary Interview with wife Suzy Shaw". New Noise Magazine. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Between Montmartre and the Mudd Club: Popular Music and the Avant-Garde, By Bernard Gendron - 230 Chapter 10, The Birth of "Punk"
  8. ^ a b Frauenfelder, Mark (January 7, 2013). "Gweek 080: Interview with Anarchy Comics publisher Jay Kinney". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023.
  9. ^ Best Classic Bands - "10 Greatest Power Pop Songs" By Ken Barnes.
  10. ^ a b "BOMP : Saving The World One Record At A Time by Suzy Shaw & Mick Farren". Bomp Records. Archived from the original on December 5, 2007.
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