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THE STORY SO FAR...
Rob da Bank founded Sunday Best in 1995 as a weekly Sunday night leftfield club at south London’s Tearooms des Artistes with an ethos based on an anything goes musical policy plus mind blowing hallucinogenic visuals, delicious food, beer and cocktails. It set the blueprint for what is now one of the most respected leftfield clubs and record labels in the UK, if not the world.
In 1997 Rob da Bank wanted an outlet for some of the amazing music he was hearing... and so Sunday Best Recordings was born. In the early days Sunday Best Recordings was best known for releasing groundbreaking eclectic compilations that introduced the world to then unknown artists such as Groove Armada, Lemon Jelly and Bent.
The following years saw the Sunday Best name spread slowly but surely ensuring a burgeoning word of mouth crowd and fan base. During those years Sunday Best became the first weekly chill out club in Ibiza at Coastline, it went to Prestatyn in Wales for the Bugged Out! Weekender, it took on Glastonbury, Creamfields, the Essential Festival and hooked up with Jon Carter’s tarted up boozer, the Lock Tavern, for a now legendary monthly London residency in Camden.
2003 saw Sunday Best return to Ibiza to put on some of the best parties the island has ever seen (and that’s saying something!). The 4 beach parties, hosted by Rob da Bank and The Cuban Brothers, were located on some of the White Isle’s most beautiful beaches with guest slots from the likes of Zero 7, Jose Padilla and Gilles Peterson. There was also another triumphant return to Glastonbury, with Norman Cook and The Cubans stealing the show once again, and few who were there will ever forget the incredible Jockey Slut party at Notting Hill Carnival where Sunday Best, with a little help from The Cubans and Jocelyn Brown, reduced grown men to tears of joy and laughter.
2004 was the year that Sunday Best Recordings kicked into gear as a force to be reckoned with! Most notably it saw the release of Grand National’s stunning critically acclaimed ‘Kicking The National Habit’ debut album. An album that Q Magazine described as “One of the years most innovative debuts” and the mighty NME called “stylish, deceptively complex, yet alive with the giddy freedom of Summer”.
Max Sedgley’s killer underground anthem ‘Happy’ soon followed. After almost deafening anticipation it hit the record shelves in early July, accompanied by mixes from Fatboy Slim, Spiritual South and Soul Mekanik, and found itself soundtracking Euro 2004 and climbing into the UK singles chart! Rob da Bank’s debut artist album, alongside Dan Carey, as Lazyboy. ‘Penguin Rock’ came later in the year featuring collaborations with Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Roddy Frame, Est’elle, Earl 16 and Cathy Battistessa. And Boomclick dropped 'Halfway Between Tomorrow and Yesterday' to round off a fine year for the record label.
And then came Bestival! To top off an amazing 2004 for Sunday Best, it staged its first 3-day Festival in the picturesque surroundings of Robin Hill Adventure Park on the Isle Of Wight in September 2004. The event, hosted by The Cuban Brothers and headlined by Fatboy Slim, Basement Jaxx, The Bees, Zero 7, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Mylo, was a huge success that saw it nominated as the Best New Festival and Best Small Festival in the UK Festival Awards and as Best Event in the Mixmag Dance Music Awards.
2005 kicked off in fine style with the release of Lazyboy’s acclaimed ‘Police Dogs Bonfire’ single – the track went on to soundtrack a Vodaphone commercial. Further singles followed from Max Sedgley, Howdi, Plastic Operator, Kish Mauve and Grand National alongside acclaimed artist albums (and singles) from Subway, Solid State Revival and Kompis.
Rob da Bank released the long-awaited 4th Sunday Best compilation in June entitled simply ‘Rob da Bank presents Sunday Best’. The album featured a prime selection of ‘Dusty Disco and Balearic Beauties’ while the 2nd bonus CD ‘Sunday Best – The Beat of 1997 ‘til Now!’ charted the history of the label thus far as well as showcasing tracks from newly signed artists. The album picked up great reviews across the board including Album of the Week in the Saturday Telegraph (“A summer soundtrack for the beer gardens’ of an alternative musical universe”) and praise from Time Out (“So many highlights to choose from”), Mixmag (“As refreshing as a carafe of fresh lemonade on the summer grass”), The Sun (“Effortlessly cool… refreshing”) and Blues & Soul (“It’s all simply gorgeous!”).
Bestival 2005 took place in September back on the beautiful Isle of Wight. Headlined this year by Röyksopp, The Magic Numbers, Mylo, Super Furry Animals, Saint Etienne and 2manydjs and again hosted by The Cuban Brothers, it was voted Best Medium-sized Festival & Most Innovative Festival in the 2005 UK Festival Awards. It also entered the Guinness Book of Records for the ‘Largest Fancy Dress Party in the World’ as over 10,000 people dressed up and partied on the Saturday night!
The Cuban Brothers showed what they were made of come 2006 with the release of their debut single ‘A Million Stories’ (produced by Tim Deluxe) and the first of our A to Z compilation series - where they were given free reign over 26 tracks as long as the artists and/or track names ran from A to Z. BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac then stood up to compile it’s A to Z follow up and she effortlessly showed why she has so quickly become a key player at the station with a brilliant selection of tracks from the past, present and future. “If you love great music, you'll love this compilation – just like everyone at IDJ!” 5/5 IDJ Magazine - Compilation of the Month.
Max Sedgley’s debut album ‘From The Roots To The Shoots’ also arrived and well and truly showed that he was no ‘Happy’ one-trick-pony with a deft collection of tracks showcasing his diversity. He also hit the road with his band The Shoots transforming the album into a funk-laden live bonanza.
A new exquisitely-packaged compilation entitled 'Folk Off - New Folk & Psychedelia from The British Isles & North America’ hit the shelves in July to wide-spread critical acclaim showcasing Rob da Bank’s ability to be one step ahead of the game as the new folk revival began to enter the nation’s psyche.
Another land-mark in the label’s history came when they signed up teenage Rockabilly siblings Kitty Daisy & Lewis after their legendary performance at Bestival 2005. Their debut single ‘Mean Son of a Gun / Ooo Wee’ was pressed up as a 78rpm record, as well as traditional CD and 7” formats, and flew out of the shops. And the bands live shows continue to blow everyone away with their precocious but very real ‘I can play and sing anything better than you can’ approach.
2006 also witnessed strong single releases from the ping pong obsessed Daisy Daisy, the simply beautiful This Is The Kit, the jagged electro cool of Kish Mauve, the poptastic Solid State Revival and the nothing short of genius Misty’s Big Adventure featuring Noddy Holder.
And, of course, Bestival 2006! Once again crowned ‘Best Medium-to-Large Festival’, it saw capacity increase to 18,000 with headline sets from Scissor Sisters, Gogol Bordello and Pet Shop Boys, plus around 500 other live acts and DJs, and firmly set itself as the festival that everyone was talking about.
Sunday Best Recordings celebrated its 10th birthday in 2007 by signing up the mighty Dub Pistols. Their album ‘Speakers and Tweeters’ saw key players Barry Ashworth and Jason O’Bryan unleash the esteemed vocal talents of Terry Hall, Rodney P and Blade across an outstanding album that drew influences from hip-hop, dub, techno, ska, punk and beyond.
Grand National’s enviable back catalogue (their ‘Hidden Gems'), was pulled together for the ‘B-sides, Remixes & Rarities’ album in preparation for their new material which is due early 2008. We couldn’t resist digging through the rest of the label’s heritage while we were at it and so budget-priced album’s entitled ‘Sunday Best loves Rough Trade’ and ‘Sunday Best’s Spring Cleaning’ hit digital stores packed full of some of our finest moments to date.
Resolutely refusing to be tied down to any genre or preconception, Sunday Best’s output continued to startle, surprise and excite with diverse singles from Sportsday Megaphone, Simon Saunders, The Hat, Fear of Theydon and Alice McLaughlin. Plus fresh takes on Max Sedgley’s ‘Happy’, with Ashley Beedle, Go Home Productions and Mr Dan taking the classic into new territories, and of the Phil Oakey and Giorgio Moroder Balearic classic ‘Together in Electric Dreams’, with cool new versions by Kish Mauve, Le Vicarious Bliss Pop Experience featuring Headbangirl, Daisy Daisy, Subway and Lali Puna.
Bestival 2007 sold out 4 months before the event and saw the mighty Beastie Boys, Chemical Brothers and Primal Scream, not to mention the Pirates, Wizards, Kings, Queens and Wenches, descend onto the Isle of Wight for another spectacular weekend. It also spawned the next instalment of our acclaimed compilation series – The A to Z of Bestival 2007, compiled by Rob da Bank, brought together the cream of the line-up over 2 CDs and encased them in a beautiful hand-drawn Josie da Bank package.
A to Z: Kitty Daisy & Lewis ‘The Roots of Rock’n’Roll’ followed quickly in its wake, bringing together a finely honed selection of Jump Blues, Swing, R'n'B and Rockabilly gems from the 1940s and 50s, showing that these kids don’t only play this sort of music but that they live it too. Their debut artist album is due early 2008 and, trust us, it's sounding incredible!
2008 will also see new albums from established Sunday Best artists Grand National and Max Sedgley lined up alongside material from new guns in the form of Christopher D Ashley, Kid Carpet, Sportsday Megaphone, Bastila, Alice McLaughlin and Nic Dawson Kelly. Plus the introduction of a new festival called Camp Bestival in July. Exciting times!
October 2007
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