Legendary London independent label ACE RECORDS celebrates its 50th Anniversary this summer with a series of events, releases and even a pop-up version of their flagship Camden Town shop, Rock On.
The UK's longest-running independent, the label was formed out of Ted Carroll's Soho record stall as Chiswick Records, it's first releases coming from greasy r'n'b band The Count Bishops, Joe Strummer's 101ers and 50s rocker Vince Taylor's 'Brand New Cadillac', a reissue pointing the way forward for the label.
Going on to release new music from the likes of Motorhead, The Damned, Dr Feelgood and Radio Stars, the label expanded via Ace's series of reissue imprints to cover rare catalogues in the genres of punk, rockabilly, r'n'b, soul, jazz, funk, psych and more.
The Anniversary's main event will be series of gigs at Camden's historic KOKO venue from the 4th to the 10th of August, featuring artists from the label's storied catalogue.
The week begins with two nights (Mon 4th & Tues 5th) headlined by Hammond maestro Booker T Jones (pictured) of Stax Records house band Booker T and The MGs. On Thursday 7th August, NYC funkers The Fatback Band take over, while Friday 8th sees a rare London performance from hugely influential US psych legends The Seeds, plus support from the capital's own The Sting-Rays (pictured), garage-psychobilly protagonists from Ace's Big Beat stable. The final night, Sunday 10th will be an all-day dancefloor celebration of northern soul and funk the Kent and BGP catalogues, with DJs including label curators Ady Croasdell, Keb Darge and Dean Rudland.
Mon 4th Aug Booker T Jones tickets
Tues 5th Aug Booker T Jones tickets
Thurs 7th Aug Fatback Band tickets
Fri 8th Aug The Seeds plus The Sting-Rays*
Sun 10th Aug Northern Soul & Funk All-Dayer*
Tickets available soon - check back here for more info.
In the same week, Ace will be opening a pop-up version of their Rock On store at 1 Adelaide Road, Camden Town stocked with Ace's extensive range of releases and other merch, soundtracked by instore DJs and served by original Rock On staff including Ted Carroll himself.
The label is lining up many other events and releases being lined up, including This Is Chiswick 1975-1978, a comprehensive triple-LP anthology of the original label featuring tracks from Motorhead, The Damned, The Meteors, Count Bishops, The Gorillas, Johnny Moped, Whirlwind and many more....