Mute Records

Zuleika Beaven is Senior Lecturer in Music Business and Arts Management at Middlesex University, UK. She is Programme Leader for the MA Arts Management, and teaches on the undergraduate popular music and music business degrees. Her research focuses on musician work and identity in the commercial space.Marcus O’Dair is Associate Professor in Music and Innovation at Middlesex University. He is the author of Different Every Time (2014).Richard Osborne is Senior Lecturer in Popular Music at Middlesex University, UK. Prior to becoming a lecturer he worked in record shops, held various posts at PRS for Music, and co-managed a pub. He is the author of Vinyl: A History of the Analogue Record (2012).

• List of PlatesList of FiguresPermissionsList of ContributorsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Mute RecordsRichard Osborne and Zuleika Beaven1. 'Let’s Make Love Before You Die': 'Warm Leatherette', Boredom, and the Invention of the 1980sS. Alexander Reed, Ithaca College, USA2. 'One Man’s Meat': Fad Gadget’s Social Commentary and Post-PunkGiuseppe Zevolli, King’s College, UK3. Fans of Faith and Devotion: Obsession, Nostalgia and Depeche ModeAndy Pope, Independent Researcher4. "Depeche Mode and Soft Cell": Redefining the Prologue of the Mute and Some Bizzare Record LabelsLeon Clowes, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK5. Throbbing Gristle’s Early Records: Post-Hippie/Pre-Punk/Post-PunkJohn Encarnacao, Western Sydney University, Australia 6. 'Join That Troubled Chorus': Nick Cave, the Bad Seeds, and the BluesRoss Cole, University of Cambridge, UK7. Mark Stewart: 'Somewhere'Eddie George, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK8. 'Sometimes, Always': Erasure, Mute and the Value of IndependenceBrenda Kelly, Independent Researcher9. Outside Mute? Ut, No Wave and Blast FirstIeuan Franklin, Bournemouth University, UK10. The Mash-up of Aesthetics, Theory and Politics in Laibach's Meta-soundAténé Mendelyté, Lund University, Sweden11. 'The Blessed Glow of Labour': Independence, Style and Process in the Music of SwansDean Lockwood, University of Lincoln, UK12. Moby, Minstrelsy and MelvilleRichard Osborne, Middlesex University, UK13. 'Country Girl': Rural Feminism in the Performance of Alison GoldfrappLucy O’Brien, University of the Creative Arts, UK14. Twist: Goldfrapp’s Genre PerversionGlyn Davis, University of Edinburgh, UK15. Arca: Mute’s MutantMark Waugh, Anglia University, UK16. Composing in Circuitry: Sonic Artist Dirty ElectronicsLourdes N. Crosby García, Full Sail University, USAIndex

There is plenty here to enjoy ... Among the best chapters by far are those flowing out of the stories of feminism, gay activism and sheer theatricality.