Zoo Records was a British independent record label formed by Bill Drummond and David Balfe in 1978. Zoo was launched to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool band Big in Japan (the label's first release being the From Y To Z and Never Again EP). The label also released two singles by Lori and the Chameleons, a Balfe and Drummond band which they formed after Big in Japan folded. Zoo Records went on to release early work from The Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen. The label also released the first single, "Iggy Pop's Jacket", by the Liverpool band Those Naughty Lumps. Only two albums were released on the label: a Scott Walker compilation put together by Julian Cope, called Fire Escape in the Sky, and a label compilation called To the Shores of Lake Placid. In 1990, British reissue label Document took various Zoo singles and tracks from To the Shores of Lake Placid and released a compilation titled ’The Zoo’ Uncaged 1978–1982. Fire Escape in the Sky had the catalogue number Zoo Two, while To the Shores of Lake Placid had Zoo Four. Zoo One was scheduled to be the Teardrop Explodes album Kilimanjaro (later released on Mercury Records) while Zoo Three was to be the same band's album Wilder.

To the Shores of Lake Placid

To the Shores of Lake Placid was released in 1982 and was compiled by Bill Drummond and Mick Houghton.

Track listing (1982)

Release notes

The Zoo Uncaged 1978–1982 track listing (1995)

Lori and the Chameleons

Lori and the Chameleons were a short-lived new wave band that existed during 1979 and 1980. Formed in Liverpool by ex-Big in Japan's Bill Drummond (guitar) and David Balfe (bass, keyboards), and the singer Lori Lartey, they combined synthpop, and post-punk styles in their songs. Lori and the Chameleons released only two singles while together, in 1979 and 1980. The first, "Touch", was written over the course of a year by Balfe and Drummond, based on Lartey's holiday in Tokyo two years earlier. Tim Whitaker of Deaf School/Pink Military played drums on the single. "Touch" spent one week in the UK Singles Chart in December 1979, at No. 70. A second single, "The Lonely Spy" featured Gary Dwyer of the Teardrop Explodes on drums and Ray Martinez on trumpet. Lartey went to art school, while Balfe and Drummond began to work with the Teardrop Explodes, as keyboardist and manager, respectively.

Discography