| Zoo Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder | David Balfe Bill Drummond |
| Defunct | 1982 |
| Distributor(s) | ABC-Paramount Records |
| Genre | Post-punk, alternative rock |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | Liverpool, England |
Zoo Records was a British independent record label formed by Bill Drummond and David Balfe in 1978. Zoo was launched to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool band Big in Japan (the label's first release being the From Y To Z and Never Again EP). The label also released two singles by Lori and the Chameleons, a Balfe and Drummond band which they formed after Big in Japan folded.[1] Zoo Records went on to release early work from The Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen. The label also released the first single, "Iggy Pop's Jacket", by the Liverpool band Those Naughty Lumps.
Only two albums were released on the label: a Scott Walker compilation put together by Julian Cope, called Fire Escape in the Sky, and a label compilation called To the Shores of Lake Placid. In 1990, British reissue label Document took various Zoo singles and tracks from To the Shores of Lake Placid and released a compilation titled ’The Zoo’ Uncaged 1978–1982.
Fire Escape in the Sky had the catalogue number Zoo Two, while To the Shores of Lake Placid had Zoo Four. Zoo One was scheduled to be the Teardrop Explodes album Kilimanjaro (later released on Mercury Records) while Zoo Three was to be the same band's album Wilder.