A Rock 'n' Roll / Rockabilly label from Newport, Salop. Hot Rock only narrowly qualified for this site, as it released its first single in November 1979. The single in question was a three-tracker by legendary Rockabilly artist Mac Curtis, 'Hot Rock Boogie' b/w 'Half Hearted Love' and 'The Hucklebuck' (HR-001; 11/79). Curtis also supplied the company with its final single, 'I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday' b/w 'Goosebumps' (HR 45-010; 1981), and an album, 'Truckabilly', (HR-701; 1981). Hot Rock received its first mention in the Trade press in 'Music Week' of the 22nd of December 1979, which referred to it in passing as 'a new label'. 'MW' of the 19th of July 1980 observed that it had signed a five-piece band from Birmingham, the Rhythm Hawks, and that its records were available from Pinnacle - it seems to have handled its own distribution for the first two months of its existence. Happily 'MW' of the 9th of August 1980 was able to supply a little more information: it said that Hot Rock had been set up by Rock 'n' Roll / Rockabilly fan David Harris to co-promote and market American Rockabilly artists here but that it was not intended to be a strictly Rockabilly label. The article added that Harris had formed Rollin' Rock UK three years earlier (see 'Rollin' Rock'), and that Hot Rock's aim was to release another six to ten singles and two albums by the end of the year. It didn't quite meet that target, but it managed a respectable ten singles and an album in total before it expired, which it appears to have done in 1981. The majority of Hot Rock releases were its own productions, and most were by UK artists. The two Rhythm Hawks singles were produced by Iain and Gavin Sutherland, of the Sutherland Brothers Band. The first single seems to have been pressed by Decca, while the rest have the appearance of Linguaphone pressings. One label design served throughout.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.