CAPTAIN OI! RECORDS
Captain Oi! is a punk rock and Oi! record label based in High Wycombe, England. The company has released over 300 albums by many notable punk and Oi! bands of the late 1970’s and 1980’s. The label was set up by Mark Brennan, former bassist of The Business, who had previously co-run Link Records and the Dojo subsidiary of Castle Records. Brennan’s inspiration had been Ace Records, with Captain Oi! targeted at being “the Ace Records of retro punk rock”, reissuing material by classic punk bands. (More from Wikipedia)
Many rock critics were not ready for a “concept album” from a punk rock band, and the Wanderers were often dismissed as “the Sham Boys” or “Stiv 69”, though they did get some favorable notices (from Trouser Press, among others). Their label Polydor Records had expected more than a cult following and made only minimal efforts at promoting the Wanderers; in retrospective paranoia, this seemed like sabotage to Stiv Bators. Today, the original album is almost impossible to find, but a reissue in 2000 on Captain Oi! Records has brought the album to a wider audience. (“Oi!” refers to a working-class subgenre of British punk rock; Sham 69 was one of the first such bands).
(February 2011)
