Davros
The Whippet
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,387
This weeks one to start the weekend is the 1992 number 2 CLASSIC!... SL2 - On a Ragga Tip..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwD-qNgJVQk
Usually i have all the claptrap before the track, but The Bloke in The Pram Shop just told me an excellent story about this track, which mentions the track and the artist heavily, so it would have been no surprise...
"Basically the chaps behind SL2 hadn't got clearance for the sample but had made the track and pressed up 500 copies which had gone mental in the clubs and sold out in days. As the track got bigger and bigger, they got a deal with XL records and pressed up 100,000 copies which were all ready to hit the shops and the waiting punters. At this point the publishers of the original sample (representing the original artist - some massive West Indian dude) stepped in and demanded a meeting with XL and SL2. The woman who I met (the publisher) had a plan to bring along the big West Indian dude to intimidate the skinny white kids that were SL2 and the XL management team into handing over the lion's share of the profits. He (forget his name) was supposedly a gentle giant with a angry looking face but a nice laidback attitude. Anyway, this plan backfired as within minutes SL2 and this chap were ******* each others cocks, saying how much they liked eachothers work and would split the royalties 50:50 etc etc so she had to step in and turn nasty. She said she'd pull the whole record and deny clearance altogether if she didn't get what she wanted, as since she was the publisher and therefore owner it didn't matter what deal the artists were busy agreeing - she was in charge. Obvioulsy with 100,000 records already pressed up she had them over a barrell. To cut a long story short, the publishing company ended up getting 85% of all royalites on this record. SL2 ended up getting very little for a track that still gets a lot of play today. Your West Indian dude got himself a nice retirement package though....! "
Cheers Mr Pram man... green coming your way!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwD-qNgJVQk
Usually i have all the claptrap before the track, but The Bloke in The Pram Shop just told me an excellent story about this track, which mentions the track and the artist heavily, so it would have been no surprise...
"Basically the chaps behind SL2 hadn't got clearance for the sample but had made the track and pressed up 500 copies which had gone mental in the clubs and sold out in days. As the track got bigger and bigger, they got a deal with XL records and pressed up 100,000 copies which were all ready to hit the shops and the waiting punters. At this point the publishers of the original sample (representing the original artist - some massive West Indian dude) stepped in and demanded a meeting with XL and SL2. The woman who I met (the publisher) had a plan to bring along the big West Indian dude to intimidate the skinny white kids that were SL2 and the XL management team into handing over the lion's share of the profits. He (forget his name) was supposedly a gentle giant with a angry looking face but a nice laidback attitude. Anyway, this plan backfired as within minutes SL2 and this chap were ******* each others cocks, saying how much they liked eachothers work and would split the royalties 50:50 etc etc so she had to step in and turn nasty. She said she'd pull the whole record and deny clearance altogether if she didn't get what she wanted, as since she was the publisher and therefore owner it didn't matter what deal the artists were busy agreeing - she was in charge. Obvioulsy with 100,000 records already pressed up she had them over a barrell. To cut a long story short, the publishing company ended up getting 85% of all royalites on this record. SL2 ended up getting very little for a track that still gets a lot of play today. Your West Indian dude got himself a nice retirement package though....! "
Cheers Mr Pram man... green coming your way!