Native Records was one of Sheffield’s most successful independent labels of the late 1980s and 1990s, operating across indie, alternative rock and underground music. Founded in 1985 by Kevin Donoghue, Native was initially based in an old works office in Doncaster but relied heavily on Sheffield’s independent music infrastructure and developed from local roots into a nationally distributed label. Donoghue had served his apprenticeship in bands such as Native Europe and the Shy Tots. He also initially started out Native as a local distribution network called Strike Force handling indie releases for many labels, promoting them and selling stock into the network of Yorkshire record shops.
Donoghue had previously worked with major-label and studio environments before establishing Native while involved with The Music Factory studio complex in Sheffield as an engineer and producer. Native initially operated firmly within the UK DIY tradition, using independent distribution networks such as The Cartel and Red Rhino, which linked regional indie labels and shops across Britain. After the collapse of parts of that network around 1989, distribution shifted through larger channels including Polydor and later Pinnacle.
Native became known for signing and developing indie and alternative acts rather than concentrating on one genre. During the late 1980s the label attracted considerable music-press attention and built a catalogue ranging from jangly indie pop to darker alternative rock and experimental releases. Artists associated with Native included:
The Darling Buds / The Snapdragons / They Must Be Russians / The Fireflys / Fatal Charm / Richard H. Kirk (of Cabaret Voltaire) / Midnight Choir / Dig Vis Drill / Screaming Trees / Treebound Story / UV POP / Steamkings / Greenhouse and others.
One of the label’s most intriguing episodes came in 1989, when Native briefly signed the future industrial giants Nine Inch Nails for the UK. The agreement was short-lived, however, although it helps explain why local Sheffield designers The Designers Republic were credited with NIN’s first single (and many of Native’s later sleeves). The band moved on when a larger American deal emerged through TVT Records. This near-miss later became part of Native folklore. Unlike Sheffield labels focused mainly on electronic music, Native occupied the city’s indie and guitar-music lane, roughly paralleling the rise of labels such as Creation and other UK independents while remaining rooted in Yorkshire’s regional scene. The label survived well beyond many contemporaries and was eventually sold to Cherry Red in 2009, with no consultation between the bands involved.
Native’s importance lies in proving that a Sheffield independent label could operate nationally while still retaining DIY values and artist development at its core, bridging the gap between local underground scenes and wider UK indie culture.
Simon Robinson worked as a freelance designer in Sheffield and did artwork for a number of the label’s early vinyl releases: “I really enjoyed this work. I think the connection was made over Nick Robinson’s band Dig Vis Drill, so I did the packaging for that 12″. Kevin then asked me to do further titles. Budgets were always very tight and 4 colour printing was mostly out, so I had to come up with covers which used maybe one or two colours max (except for Richard Kirk who demanded CMYK!). Deadlines were also often very tight, I recall Kevin asking me to come over as he needed an album sleeve for punk poet Henry Normal urgently. I put this together in a couple of hours in Kevin’s office, using the only promo photo he had and the office Xerox machine. Which was 100% in keeping with the album content and the times. Plus whenever I was delivering artwork boards to Doncaster, there were always quite a few promo records and shirts around which Kevin let me rifle through. I recall a ton of promo stuff for The Mission’s albums. I also did some photo shoots for a couple of the label’s acts. The work ceased when I started to struggle to get artwork bills paid and finally ended up taking Native to the small claims court! “
Sheffield Labels homepage
