‘… an instant classic and a required part of the library of anyone fascinated with the record business.’ – Danny Goldberg, bestselling author of Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain

Chess Records tested their acquisitions out on people waiting at a nearby bus stop: if the crowd were bopping, they had a hit.

Sub Pop rejection letters start with the harsh, yet funny, ‘Dear Loser’.

Atlantic Records signed Led Zeppelin on Dusty Springfield’s recommendation.

Labelled with Love is an odyssey through your record collection and the world beyond it, from the Jazz Age to punk, the civil rights movement to Thatcherism, the Beatles to Britpop, and Ella Fitzgerald to The Ramones. Long-time music obsessive Andy Bollen tracks popular music through the influential labels that have shaped the last eighty years, chronicling each company with the passion of a fan but the eye of a satirist. This is an informative and revealing look at the leading labels, bands and music that rocked our worlds and shaped our lives.

‘In Labelled with Love Andy Bollen provides a unique encyclopedic and insightful overview of the culture of record companies over the course of the last several decades. Carefully researched but flavored with a sophisticated artist-oriented perspective, Labelled with Love is an instant classic and a required part of the library of anyone fascinated with the record business.’

As lifelong pop music fan, obsessed with records, Andy Bollen was a professional touring drummer, comedy writer and author. He was almost fated to write this book. That passion leaps off the page, full of humorous anecdotes which showcase his creative talents as an established, highly regarded comedy writer for some 26 years for TV, radio and newspapers in the Sunday Mail, Glasgow Herald and contributor to The New York Times.