Sire Records is one of the iconic record labels of the 1980s. Formed in 1966 by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, the label released albums in the 1960s by British rock bands such as Tomorrow, Climax Blues Band and Focus. By the mid-1970s, Sire began signing punk and new wave acts and entered into a distribution agreement with Warner Brothers and were ultimately purchased by the giant record label. By the 1980s, the Sire roster included some of the biggest names in popular music such as Madonna, Talking Heads and Pretenders. Below is a sample of some of the successful and groundbreaking albums released on Sire in during the 80s.
The Beat / English Beat – I Just Can’t Stop It (1980)
The Ramones – End of the Century (1980)
Talking Heads – Remain in Light (1980)
Pretenders – Pretenders II (1981)
The Beat / English Beat – Wha’appen? (1981)
Modern English – After the Snow (1982)
Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues (1983)
Aztec Camera – High Land, Hard Rain (1983)
Madonna – Madonna (1983)
The Cure – The Top (1984)
Pretenders – Learning to Crawl (1984)
Modern English – Ricochet Days (1984)
Everything but the Girl – Everything but the Girl (1984)
Madonna – Like a Virgin (1984)
The Replacements – Tim (1985)
Talking Heads – Little Creatures (1985)
Madonna – True Blue (1986)
Pretenders – Get Close (1986)
Talking Heads – True Stories (1986)
Ministry – Twitch (1986)
The Replacements – Pleased to Meet Me (1987)
K.D. Lang – Shadowland (1988)
The Replacements – Don’t Tell a Soul (1989)
Morrissey – Viva Hate (1988)
Brian Wilson – Brian Wilson (1988)
Madonna – Like a Prayer (1989)
Lou Reed – New York (1989)
Deborah Harry – Def, Dumb & Blonde (1989)
Ministry – The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989)
