History
Background
In the early part of 1974 The now infamous
Big Bad Fat Cat Benjamin (BBFCB) set up a small company known as
Kaput Publishing in Suffolk, England. This company started out releasing
works by relatively unknown local poets, and grew to be one of the major
players in the publishing game, with such acclaimed works as "The Clockwork
Banana", "My Old Man's A Waste Disposal Expert", "The New Chipping Sudbury
Dictionary Of English" and the controversial "Lady Foxglove's Satanic Spycatcher".
(Big Bad Fat Cat Benjamin)
In the dawn of 1989 BBFCB, pining for the
sea air, decided to move to Portsmouth, Hampshire. Little did he
know that this move would be the rebirth of not only his career, but also
the pioneering of a new music era.
In late March of that year he met the man who would help make his new ambition and project become not only a dream,
but also a reality. That man was Andrew Morrison, a small
time engineer and owner of a meagre studio setup in the suburb of Cosham,
Portsmouth. This was to become the base of perhaps the most influential
and controversial music label of all time.
(Andrew Morrison outside
the original Viewpoint Studios in 1991; and Viewpoint's high-tech
interior as it looks today.)
During the months leading up to September
1990, the two frequently visited local establishments and venues in the
Hampshire area. On September 11th, the pair drafted up a list
of bands to be auditioned that would be the core of what was soon to become
known as "Frostbyte Records".
The artists being honoured with the opportunity
to showcase their abilities were; The Splitting Headz, Disordered Mode
Shop, The Natural Technicians From Carpetland, M.C. Saint, Digital Thunder,
No One Knows We're Dead, Euthanasia, Trust No One, and the Direct Boys.
Out of these, six were successful; Disordered
Mode Shop, The Natural Technicians From Carpetland, Digital Thunder, No
One Knows We're Dead and Euthanasia.
On the 20th October, 1990, Disordered Mode
Shop entered Viewpoint Studios to begin the recording of the first material
for Frostbyte Records. They were a local "covers" band, who would
occasionally share gigs with The Natural Technicians From Carpetland (the
second band to record their album, eventually known as 'Shag Pile' in January
1991).