In February 1994 fierce panda put out its first ever release, ‘Shagging In The Streets’ EP which sold out within a day. More records swiftly followed and, in fact, 1994 saw the label releaseno fewer than for more of those popular double vinyl EPs featuring then upcoming talent such as Supergrass, Ash, The Bluetones and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. The early years saw the label churn out early single releases by such notables as Placebo, Embrace, Idlewild, Ultrasound, Scarfo (Jamie Hince’s first band), Kenickie and even Coldplay and Oasis. By the close of the ‘90’s the label, embarked upon a worldwide joint venture deal with Mushroom Records, which ended in 2001, by which time the label had also dared to start releasing albums whilst continuing the fierce panda ethos of one-single release deals. The early part of the noughties saw album deals with the likes of Polyphonic Spree, Death Cab For Cutie and Keane. The second half brought a subtle-yet-massive change to the fierce panda A&R approach as they came to the sad but inevitable conclusion that they’d be perceived as nothing more than a Singles Club if we weren’t very careful and thus retired from the world of one-off 7″ releases and made ambitious plans to remould themselves a grown-up albums label. Over the course of the next few years to date they went on to release albums by The Raveonettes, Art Brut, The Hot Puppies, iLiKETRAiNS, The Blackout, Shitdisco, The Spinto Band, The Walkmen and White Rabbits amonst others. Most recently, they have set up both artist management and publishing arms to the business and, in 2014, fierce panda celebrates its 20th Anniversary.
To mark their 20th Anniversary, the fierce panda tlabel is ‘releasing’ a free 18 track digital compilation comprised of some of the weepiest tunes it has had the tragic pleasure to put out over the past ten years. The album is called ‘endangered: fierce panda 2004 – 2014’ and will be given away to anyone and everyone who buys a record from the online shop at www.fiercepanda.co.uk/shop.php
