Radar was distributed in most of the world by WEA Records (now known as
Warner Music Group). In the United States, three Radar artists (
the Inmates,
Bram Tchaikovsky and
Yachts) were signed to
Polydor Records through a licensing deal.
Nick Lowe released both the first Radar single ("
I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass"/"They Called It Rock", ADA 1) and its first album (
Jesus of Cool, RAD 1). Lowe had previously been signed to
Stiff Records, as had several other Radar acts, including
Yachts,
Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and Radar's major act,
Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Costello and Lowe were brought to Radar by their manager
Jake Riviera when Riviera left Stiff, which he had co-founded. Other prominent Radar acts included
La Düsseldorf,
the Pop Group,
Loudon Wainwright III,
Pere Ubu,
Clive Langer and the Boxes,
999,
Wayne Kramer,
the Soft Boys,
Bette Bright and the Illuminations,
Tanz Der Youth,
Visage and
Métal Urbain. Several of Radar's early releases (including
Iggy Pop and
James Williamson's
Kill City,
National Lampoon's ''
That's Not Funny, That's Sick!'',
the Good Rats'
From Rats to Riches and
Pezband's
Laughing in the Dark) were licensed from independent American labels. Radar also released new albums by original 1950s
rockabilly singers
Ray Campi and
Mac Curtis through an arrangement with
Rollin' Rock Records. Some Radar releases were reissues of
garage rock and
psychedelic rock bands from the 1960s. Through its WEA connections, Radar was able to re-release recordings by the
Shadows of Knight (originally on the
Atlantic-distributed
Dunwich Records) and
the Electric Prunes (originally on the
Warner Bros.-distributed
Reprise Records). In addition, Radar licensed the
International Artists catalog, allowing them to reissue albums by the
13th Floor Elevators, the Lost & Found and the
Red Krayola. Radar also released new recordings by the Red Krayola's late 1970s lineup, which included the single "Wives in Orbit" b/w "Yik-Yak" as well as their album
Soldier-Talk. The label's two biggest commercially successful artists,
Nick Lowe and
Elvis Costello, jumped to
F-Beat Records (a new label set up by Lauder and Rivera) in 1980. The original Radar label put out its last release in 1981, but it was revived with a new roster between 1995 and 1998. Notable bands signed to the second version of Radar included
Midget,
Prolapse,
Acacia,
Morning Glories, Heave, Unsophisticates and Pure Morning, a precursor of
Clinic. == See also ==