Slaughter Joe

{{Short description|English musician and record producer}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Joe Foster | image =  | image_size =  | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Joseph James Foster Ruiz | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1960|08|09}} | birth_place = Bloomsbury, London, England | alias = Slaughter Joe | origin = | instrument = Vocals, multi-instrumentalist | genre = | occupation = Musician, record producer, record label owner | years_active = 1977–present | label = Creation Records, Rev-Ola, Kaleidoscope Sound, PoppyDisc }}

'''Joe Foster''' (born '''Joseph James Foster Ruiz''', 9 August 1960, often known as '''Slaughter Joe''') is an English musician and record producer, who, with Alan McGee and Dick Green, formed Creation Records in 1983.<ref name="All">"[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-foster-mn0000826383 Joe Foster Biography]", Allmusic. Retrieved 29 April 2017</ref>

Foster formed the Kaleidoscope Sound label in the mid-1980s, and Creation's subsidiary label Rev-Ola Records in the early 1990s. McGee, Foster and Green were also in the band Biff Bang Pow!<ref>Strong, Martin. ''The Great Indie Discography''. Canongate, 2003. p. 409. {{ISBN|1-84195-335-0}}</ref> He is a former member of the post-punk band Television Personalities.

==Career== Along with school friends at the London Oratory School Edward Ball, Dan Treacy, and John and Gerard Bennett, Foster was a member of The Television Personalities.<ref name="All" /> He went on to play in Biff Bang Pow!<ref name="All" />

He had two UK Independent Chart hits in the mid-1980s with "I'll Follow You Down" (no. 11, 1985) and "She's So Out of Touch" (no. 22, 1986).<ref>Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, {{ISBN|0-9517206-9-4}}, p. 208</ref>

As Slaughter Joe and the Modern Folk Quintet, he released ''All Around My Hobby Horse's Head'' in 1986 on Kaleidoscope Sound. 1990 saw the release ''Pied Piper of Feedback'' on Creation Records. In 2003, he put out ''Zé Do Caixão'' which is a compilation of his past work on Rev-Ola featuring Dave Musker (ex-Television Personalities and The Jasmine Minks), Tony Barber (ex-Buzzcocks) and Francis Sweeney (from The June Brides).

===Production work=== Foster is noted for producing The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, and My Bloody Valentine. He also produced records for many others, including the X-Men, The Jasmine Minks, The Loft, Felt, The Sea Urchins, The Bounty Hunters, Dave Kusworth, 18 Wheeler, Razorcuts, I, Ludicrous, Captain Soul, The Creation and Redlizzard.<ref name="Discog">{{cite web | url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/Joe+Foster | title= Joe Foster entry at Discogs.com}}</ref><ref name="All" />

===Rev-Ola Records=== Foster formed Rev-Ola Records, which primarily re-issues cult records by the likes of Fred Neil and Yma Sumac.<ref name="All" /> He continues to run the label, which is currently a part of the PoppyDisc group. He has recently worked with and has released records by Eugene Kelly, BMX Bandits, Norman Blake, The Fine Arts Showcase, Zoe, Control Freak, The Cake, Roger Nichols & The Small Circle of Friends, Evie Sands, The Wondermints, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, The Telescopes and The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Richard Olsen.

===PoppyDisc Records=== Foster's latest venture is the Glasgow-based PoppyDisc label, with artists including The BMX Bandits, St. Deluxe, Eugene Kelly, Jowe Head, Sean Jackson, and Norman Blake. In addition, RevOla is now a subsidiary of PoppyDisc.

===Sterling Songs=== Foster also runs the music publishing house Sterling Songs. Among its roster are Dead Skeletons, Helicon, Thomas And Richard Frost, FJ McMahon, Michaelangelo, and Sheer Taft.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== * {{cite book |last= Cavanagh |first= David |author-link=David Cavanagh |year= 2000|title=The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize|location= London|publisher= Virgin Books |isbn=0-7535-0645-9}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter Joe}} Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:English male musicians Category:English record producers Category:Creation Records artists Category:Creation Records