An offshoot of Chiswick Records (q.v.). Thrust received its only mention in the Trade press of the '70s in 'Music Week' of the 6th of August 1977, which reported that Chiswick had launched the new label and that it was aimed at 'more Pop orientated material'. According to the article the label had been planned for six months but had only become practical when Chiswick signed its recent pressing and distribution deal with Anchor (q.v.). Chiswick's Ted Carroll was quoted as saying that Thrust was "unlikely to be as active as Chiswick", and time proved him right. Thrust's first single, Lee Kristofferson's double 'A' side 'Dinner With Drac' b/w 'Night Of The Werewolf' (RUFF-1) came out in September 1977, with distribution by CBS - CBS pressed and distributed all of the Anchor labels at the time. After that, however, things seem to have ground to a halt.
The Kristofferson single was deleted on the 7th of February 1978 ('MW', 4th February). Over the following months it appears that Chiswick considered abandoning Thrust's original purpose and instead using it to re-release some of its old singles and EPs. 'ZigZag' magazine's 'Small Labels Catalogue 1978' had a note under its entry for Chiswick to the effect that when stocks of the records currently numbered NS-3, NS-10, NS-13, NS-25, NS-33, SW-1 and SW-6 ran out the company intended to reissue them on Thrust, and the note under Thrust describes it as 'A projected label to reissue Chiswick back catalogue'. In the event, nothing came of the plan. Thrust remained on the shelf, and such reissues as there were came out on the Big Beat label (q.v.).
Happily that wasn't quite the end for Thrust. In the early '80s it resurfaced, albeit briefly, in its original form as a 'Pop' label. Some four-and-a-half years after 'Dinner With Drac', 'Your Love Is Slippin' Away' b/w 'That's What You Told Me' by The Flames (RUFF-3; 4/82), came out. By that time Anchor had closed down and Chiswick appears to have been concentrating on its 'Ace' (q.v.) reissues business. The final Thrust record came out three months later, in July 1982; it was a 'split' release with 'Cuddly Bear' by Tyke & Tina Trucker on one side and Narvis Reptile's 'Whoa Mule Whoa' on the other. That was numbered RUFF-4. Presumably RUFF-2, whatever it was, was projected to appear at some date between the Kristofferson and Flames singles, but googling doesn't provide any evidence that it was ever made.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.