A peculiar label from the late '70s, based in Withington, Manchester. The three Absurd singles I've heard were distinctly off-the-wall, ranging from the minimal electronics of Gerry & The Holograms to the vaguely Ian-Dury-like Cairo record. The fifth release, 'The Emperor's New Music', took absurdity to its extreme - it consisted of old Rabid Records stock with new labels stuck on; the records were then glued inside paper sleeves, making them unplayable. The same method was adopted on the second release on Paranoid Plastics; reportedly the same man, C.P. Lee, was behind both singles. Initially marketing was by Rabid and distribution was by Rabid / Rough Trade; numbering was in an ABSURD-0 series. Pinnacle took over in 1980, when the prefix on the records changed to ASK; the covers seem to have kept the 'ABSURD' prefix. Several items were re-released in September 1982 through Rock Steady / The Cartel, keeping the same number but using an 'ABS' prefix rather than the original 'ABSURD' one. Manufacture was done in France, an option taken by several small independents around this time. Labels were mainly injection-moulded (1, 2) but there was one single with paper ones (3). The injection-moulded type came in several other colours, including lilac and blue; the 1980 issues were also injection moulded but they were red and were of a different design.
Copyright 2008 Robert Lyons.