Ben Wardle
“When I was at school, careers people would come round and say: ‘What do you wanna do?’ and I’d say: ‘Work in a record shop’. All I wanted to do was work in a record shop. Back then, the mines were still open and they’d say: ‘Have you thought about the pit?’” Sipping his first pint and enjoying the unseasonably clement weather, Jeff Barrett sits opposite LLV, perched comfortably on a table outside his own gaff. Next year, The Social – Barrett’s bar and venue, just round the corner from London’s Oxford Circus – will be 20 years old. His label, Heavenly, is just shy of 30. We’re here to celebrate the man’s life through vinyl, but initially at least, the past is not high on Jeff’s agenda: “We’re doing good now. We’re so strong now that I actually believe we’re as good as we’ve ever been… so looking back isn’t the thing, really – tomorrow’s more important.”
He’s right. Despite lamenting that he hasn’t had a band on BBC flagship music show Later… in 12 years, the month after we meet he’ll be sitting on the set watching Jools introduce his current signings multilingual singer Gwenno and Cardiff psych-rock fourpiece Boy Azooga, as well as globe-straddling early signings Manic Street Preachers. Past releases include Saint Etienne, Beth Orton, Doves and The Magic Numbers, who together have racked up millions of sales. Not bad for someone who sees his career in a very straightforward manner. “I just like putting out records. If every day allows me to put a record out and meet supremely talented artists, then… I’m a fanboy, really.