Rham Records was a British independent record label based in Wallasey, Merseyside, England, formed Barry Lancaster-Smith and Peter Leay in 1987. Rham was launched as an offshoot of indie/rock label Skysaw Records to release dance music predominantly from the north west of England, with early releases mostly from Manchester based artists. Initially envisaged as a hip hop and street soul label. The label was most notable for discovering and releasing in 1988 early UK acid house anthem and Hacienda club classic "Voodoo Ray" by A Guy Called Gerald. The single spent 18 weeks on the UK Singles Chart eventually reaching number 12, and was awarded best selling independently released single of 1989 by Music Week and the British Phonographic Industry. Its eventual success was despite the collapse of the record's early distributor Red Rhino, which wiped out the label's finances. "Voodoo Ray" was also licensed for release in many other world wide territories. Warlock Records licensed the single from Rham for the U.S. - including a Paradise Ballroom remix by Frankie Knuckles. Rham Records' de facto in house A&R and production team for many of its releases were Manchester ensemble Chapter And The Verse. Aniff Cousins and Colin Thorpe also performed with A Guy Called Gerald on his Rham releases, and on the three song session recorded for the BBC Radio One's John Peel Show in 1989, which also achieved significant sales when released on Strange Fruit Records. They achieved a UK chart placing in 1989 as writers and producers of Kiss AMC "A Bit Of U2", sampling legally "New Year's Day" by U2. Chapter And The Verse subsequently released two albums influenced by soul, funk, jazz, hip hop & house, a melting pot of styles which preceded the acid jazz scene in the early 1990s. In 1989, the remixed version of the second A Guy Called Gerald single for Rham featured two Youth remixes of "Hot Lemonade", and was an early example of psychedelic trance house, made prominent a short time later by electronic dance music artists such as The Orb. Two albums were recorded and released on the label: Hot Lemonade by A Guy Called Gerald and Great Western Street by Chapter & The Verse. The comic art Rham logo was designed by Aiden Hughes of BRUTE!, who also designed cover art for KMFDM at the time for the label Skysaw Records. The original intended name for the label was Rockingham, inspired by the song "Hoots Mon" by Lord Rockingham's XI. "This is on the Rham label and basically it's another very good dance record. I like the mystery and anonymity that surrounds a lot of these records. Plus the fact that Rham are based in New Brighton. I spent a great deal of time there as a child and I think it's marvellous that there should be a record label there." Greg Wilson on "Voodoo Ray" "‘Voodoo Ray’ is one of the quintessential Manchester records, as well as being one of the key releases of the entire Rave era. It’s hard to believe that it’s now two decades since this unique hybrid groove entered the chart back in 1989, eventually climbing as high as number 12. I say hybrid because, although it’s generally described as a House track, you can clearly hear Gerald’s Electro and Jazz-Funk influences – it’s very much a British take on things, which nods to what was happening in Chicago and Detroit at the time without attempting to copy it. This is why it’s such an enduring classic – sounding like nothing released before or since."
