DEP International
Defunct British record label founded by the band UB40
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dep International was a British record label founded in 1980 by members of British group UB40.[1] It specialised in reggae and dub music. The label went into administration in October 2006 and into insolvent liquidation in April 2008.[2][3] It was based in DEP International Studios in Digbeth, Birmingham.
| DEP International Ltd. | |
|---|---|
DEP International logo | |
| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | UB40 |
| Defunct | April 2008 |
| Distributor | Virgin Records A&M Records |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | Digbeth, Birmingham |
History
DEP International was formed in 1980 by members of UB40 to keep control over their record output and to release tracks by other artists. A worldwide distribution deal was struck with Virgin Records in 1982.[4] It was the first label to release a dub album; Present Arms in Dub, which appeared in the British pop charts. They also had the first commercial application of a British method of mass-producing holograms with the limited edition version of UB44 having a hologram covering the record sleeve.[5] Although the label was wound-up in 2007, in 2011 five founder members of the group and directors of the label, had bankruptcy proceedings started against them relating to debts of the record label.[6] The five named were Robin Campbell, Brian Travers, Terence Wilson, Norman Hassan and James Brown.[7]
