Sire

Sire on vinyl: from punk to Madonna

In short: Seymour Stein founded Sire in New York in 1966 together with Richard Gottehrer. Stein had an ear for the new: he signed the Ramones and Talking Heads and, in 1982, a young singer named Madonna. In the eighties Sire also brought British synth-pop to America. The Vinyl Room currently has 27 Sire records.

From our stock

First pressings

Synth-pop & house

Punk & hip hop

New in

→ Madonna · Ramones · Warner Bros. · How to spot a first pressing

What makes Sire special?

We have the Ramones with “Leave Home” and “Halfway To Sanity”, Madonna with “Like A Prayer”, “Express Yourself” and “Bad Girl” and early hip hop from Ice-T with “Rhyme Pays” and “I’m Your Pusher”. Tom Tom Club’s “Genius Of Love” is still a popular sample today.

In the US, Sire released many British bands: Depeche Mode with “It’s Called A Heart”, Erasure with “Wonderland” and “The Circus”, Yazoo with “Situation” and later Underworld. From the seventies Sire worked with Warner and later became part of the group.

FAQ

Who founded Sire? Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer in New York – in 1966 as a production company, from 1967 as a label.

Why did British bands come out on Sire? Sire released their records in the US – in our stock, for example, Depeche Mode, Erasure and Yazoo.

Does Sire belong to Warner? Yes – after a distribution deal in the seventies, Sire became part of Warner.

What do you have on Sire? Synth-pop, punk, house and hip hop, mainly from the eighties – 27 records in all.