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La Di Da Productions
The label was based in Hove near Brighton on the English south coast and released mostly records by local bands. It was run by Grant and Terrie, the interesting thing here is that Terrie is Grant mother. It started with a flexi by Jason Smart and Fabulous News back in late 1987, this was release under the label name "Poptones productions" but for the next flexi, another split, this time by How Many Beans Make 5 and the Popguns they renamed the label to LaDiDa.

It was the next release which brought the label to my attention, the famous Hoopla-tape, unlike most of compilation tapes of 1988 and the following years the sound quality was very good and the selection of bands was excellent: With Bob, Reserve and The Siddeleys there were all three Sombrero bands, a bunch of great local bands: HMBM5, John Cunningham who before was in the band "The Curtain Twitchers" with Jane Fox of Marine Girls fame, Great Scott, Jason Smart (what happened to his 12" Queen Of Bees?), The Daisycutters, Crocodile Ride. Then some excellent bands as Riot Of Colour, Where Ether Fell and North Of Cornwallis, whom all released far too few songs. It even introduced me to Japanese popsters Lollipop Sonic, who later became Flippers Guitar and Cornelius etc. Someone should re-release the Hoopla-tape on CD!

Grant told me about how he got into music:
"I remember one day in 1979, I was twelve and were listening to John Peel for the first time. He played the Boomtown Rats, I thought, yeah that's great. When I was 13 I met Gordon who later did the Playroom Disc label and the Escape Club in Brighton. All the money the got for lunch and the bus from his mom he spent on records, he has an amazing record collection, not as good as John Peel's but he had to count in tons as well. He was the only person I knew, who was into the same music as I. Nobody else liked The Chameleons, Orange Juice or Josef K. It was through Gordon that I became a fanatic, I recorded every Peel Sessions and bought lots of records."

LaDiDa became bigger and instead on flexis and tapes they released 12" and CDs mostly by the local bands already featured on the Hoopla tape. With bands like Earwig the label moved into the Shoegazzing scene of the early nineties. I hardly have any of their later releases. My favourite remains the Hoopla tape while the Borobodur compilation was quite good too. The HMBM5 and John Cunningham LPs as worth a listen as well.

Grant had a small recording studio where he recorded most of his artists himself as well as some other pop bands.

Peter Hahndorf for the Shalala mailing-list in November 1998

Releases:
022 Earwig - Past (CD) 1992
Compilation (La Di Da 011, 017, 019)
001 Split-Release - The La-Di-Da Flexi (FLX) 1988
- How Many Beans Make Five - Another Friendly Face
- The Popguns - Where Do You Go
002 Bobby Scarlet - Bobby Scarlet (12") 1989
- White Pearl
- Mosquito
- Jessica Jayne
- I've Been Insulted By More Texans Than Anyone Else In The World
003 Various Artists - Hoopla (K7)
Re-released on LP by Accident Records in 2001
- Bob - So Far So Good
- Bobby Scarlet - 260p
- Crocodile Ride - Killers
- John Cunningham - Another Photograph
- Daisycutters - Friends
- Great Scott - You're off Again
- The Househunters - Don't Look Back
- How Many Beans Make Five - I Love You When You Do That
- Lollipop Sonic - Exotic Lollipop
- North Of Cornwallis - One 2nd Class Return
- Reserve - Last Train Home
- A Riot Of Colour - Swallow Me Whole
- The Siddeleys - Bedlam On The Mezzanine
- Jason Smart - Sarah Cuts Her Hair
- Where Ethel Fell - Drive Away Dull Care
004 Various Artists - La Di Da Sampler (7") 1989
- John Cunningham - Something You'll Never Know
- Said Liquidator - Say What You Feel
- Jason Smart - The Sea
005 How Many Beans Make Five - How Many Beans Make Five (LP) Oct 1989
- Learning To Keep My Mouth Shut
- Alison Says
- Lets Get This Thing Finished
- Blue In The Face
- Courting Disaster
- Suzanne
- Simon
- Unsent Letter
006 John Cunningham - Backwards Steps (LP+CD) 1989
- Backwards Steps
- Another Photograph
- Mean Old Heart
- Castles & Graves
- You'll Never Know
- In Wait
007 Jason Smart - Queen Of Beans (12") unreleased
008 Said Liquidator - Say What You Feel (12") 1990
- Say What You Feel
- House In Bohemia
- Surrendering
- Casting Too Many
009 Various Artists - Borobudur (LP) 26 July 1990
- All Over The Place - Sandstorm
- Bob - Daymaker
- John Cunningham - Red Stone
- Dead Famous People - All Hail The Daffodil
- Flipper's Guitar - Friends Again
- Heavenly - She Says
- The Hit Parade - I Get So Sentimental
- How Many Beans Make Five - I Could Well Believe That
- Liquid Faeries - Borobuwindsor
- The Parachute Men - Somehow Today
- The Penny Candles - No Doubt
- Jason Smart - Eleanor
010 How Many Beans Make Five - Sweet Torture (7") 1990
- Sweet Torture
- Grown-up Way
011 Earwig - Hardley (12") 1991
- Blind Stupid And Desperate
- Her Stupid Face
- It's The Waiting I Can't Stand
- Both Of Us Screaming
012 Liquid Faeries - Milkstar (12")
014 All Over The Place - Scattered (12") 1991
- Scattered
- Think Back On Me
- Strange (remix)
- Back To Square One
015 How Many Beans Make Five - One Last Look (Compilation) (CD)
016 Dead Famous People - All Hail The Daffodil (LP+CD) 1991
- With Wings We'll Soar The Heavens
- How To Be Kind
- Little Flashes Of Yesterday
- Wild Young Ways
- In Praise Of Right Now
- Postcard From Paradise
- Life Said To The Boy
- Gavin
- Left
- Go Home Stay Home
- All Hail The Daffodil
017 Earwig - Might EP (12") 1991
- Driving You Mad, Slowly
- Everything's Just Fine
- Sour Song
- You Don't Even Come Close
018 Various Artists - La-Di-Da so far (CD)
019 Earwig - Subtract (12")
020 John Cunningham - Shankly Gates (LP+CD) 1992
- Punch Drunk
- Hollow Truce
- Shankly Gates
- Spit And Polish
- Dim Crusade
- Red Stone
- Fold Down Graciously
- Comic Book Notions
- Five Minutes Too Late
- Marysport
- I'm Coming Home
- Master Grin
021 Earwig - Every Day Shines (12"+CD5)
023 Dreamscape - Cradle (12"+CD5) 1992
- Dreamssleep Eternal
- So Far From Belief
- Cradle
- Nine Times To Die
024 Earwig - Under My Skin I Am Laughing (LP+CD) 1992
033 John Cunningham - Bringing In Ths Blue (CD) autumn 1994
- Paradise Chosen
- Release
- Bringing In The Blue
- Unarmed
- Paris Green
- High Falling
- Remembrance Day
- Oblivious To Change
- Talktown
- Improve The Shining Hour
03x Beatnik Filmstars - Revolt Into Style (7") Apr 1993
 Beatnik Filmstars - Apathetic English Swine (7") 1994
 Beatnik Filmstars - Astronaut House (LP+CD) 1998
 Beatnik Filmstars - Laid Back and English (LP+CD) 1997
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