Thirty years

Jeffrey Lewis will, if you give him two minutes and seventeen seconds, bring you up to date with the history of Rough Trade records:

Rough Trade want you

I'm not sure that Rough Trade are quite a desperate for new acts as NME.com makes it sound:

Rough Trade label chiefs make demo plea

It's just they're sticking out a box for bands to drop CDs into at the Jarvis Cocker powered 30th anniversary shows - which seems to be a gesture, rather than a plea.

Everything will be listened to, it's promised - although they carefully don't say they'll listen all the way through.

Let him waste your time. Well, not waste, more pass. In a pleasant way.

Jarvis Cocker is headed out on tour:

Sheffield Academy (November 25)
London Shepherds Bush Empire (26)
Edinburgh Picture House (28)
Manchester Academy (30)
Birmingham Academy (December 2)

The plan is, apparently, for support to come from various of Jarvis' Rough Trade colleagues. As in his record labe, not that sort of rough trade. Although the two might not be mutually exclusive.

Rough Trade swerves out of Universal's clutches

Sanctury Records have flogged their 49% stake in Rough Trade ahead of being taken over by Universal. Beggars Banquet have snapped up the portion, bringing the group into a family already including some of the more prestigious indieish labels in the UK, including Too Pure, 4AD and Wiiija.