Founder Keith Cullen | ||
 | ||
Artists The Divine Comedy, Edwyn Collins, Richard Hawley, A House, Into Paradise Albums Casanova, A Short Album About Love, Gorgeous George, Fanfare for the Comic Muse, Fin de Siècle | ||
Setanta Records was a UK Independent record label. The label published indie Irish music in the late eighties and nineties.
Contents
History
Setanta Records was started in a Camberwell, London squat by former bicycle courier Keith Cullen.
Setanta's first success came when Dublin band Into Paradise received positive reviews from the British music press for their Setanta debut entitled "Under The Water". Major label interest followed and Into Paradise subsequently signed to Ensign Records retaining Cullen as band manager.
Shortly thereafter, Cullen signed the Cork trio The Frank and Walters, who wore orange shirts and purple flared trousers. As with Into Paradise, the band signed to Go! Discs retaining Cullen as band manager. The Frank and Walters achieved minor commercial success when their song "After All" peaked at Number 11 on the British singles chart.
Commercial success followed Cullen's signing of The Divine Comedy whose first three albums Liberation, Promenade, and Casanova were well received in the UK and Europe. The Divine Comedy also provided the soundtrack for the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted.
Despite label boss Cullen not thinking the song commercially promising, Setanta also had chart success with the Edwyn Collins (former leader of Scotland's Orange Juice on Postcard Records) hit "A Girl Like You" which went on to become successful in several national charts.
In the late nineties the label turned down The Magnetic Fields' album 69 Love Songs, which ended up being a critical and commercial success.
In 2007 Setanta signed London band The Tacticians. Their debut album "Some Kind of Urban Fulfilment" was released on Setanta Records in August 2007.
In 2012 Cullen announced that he was closing Setanta down.