Culture
29 Apr 22

Primal Scream sell rights to their back catalogue to BMG

The deal includes all of Primal Scream's 11 albums, from 1987’s Sonic Flower Groove to 2016’s Chaosmosis.

Scottish rockers Primal Scream have sold the rights to their back catalogue after reaching an agreement with German-based company BMG.

The music organisation has acquired a 50 per cent stake in the song rights of founding member Bobby Gillespie, guitarist Andrew Innes and the late Robert Young along with other related rights.

The deal includes all of their 11 albums from 1987's Sonic Flower Groove to 2016’s Chaosmosis, including the writers’ shares in hit tracks 'Movin’ On Up', 'Loaded', 'Rocks' and 'Come Together'.

The band was originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie - formerly of alt-rock outfit The Jesus and Mary Chain - and Jim Beattie.

Primal Scream signed to Creation Records and went on to become one of the most influential bands of the 1990s, with their third album Screamadelica winning the inaugural Mercury Music Prize in 1992.

In 1996, they produced the title track to the movie Trainspotting. Barrie Cadogan has toured and recorded with the band since 2006 as a replacement after the departure of guitarist Robert "Throb" Young.

Primal Scream had been performing live from 1982 to 1984, but their career did not take off until Gillespie left his position as drummer of The Jesus and Mary Chain. The band were a key part of the mid-1980s indie pop scene, but eventually moved away from their jangly sound, taking on more psychedelic and garage rock influences, before incorporating a dance music element to their sound with their 1991 album Screamadelica - which broke them into the mainstream.

In 1996 they produced the title track to the movie Trainspotting. The band have continued to explore different styles on subsequent albums, experimenting with blues, trip hop and industrial rock. Their most recent album, Chaosmosis, was released in 2016.

In May 2019, the band released a third compilation album, Maximum Rock'n'Roll: The Singles. The album contains seventeen tracks spanning the period from 1986 till 2016.

They are set to return to the live stage on May 28th at the Wide Awake festival in Brockwell Park in south London where they will play Screamadelica in full for the first time in 10 years.

Alistair Norbury, BMG president of repertoire & marketing UK, said: "Primal Scream are one of the most influential bands of the past 30 years with a cultural resonance which continues today.

"We are delighted to become custodians of their work."

BMG has acquired the rights to a number of international music stars, recently including Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood, Tina Turner, ZZ Top and Mötley Crüe.

The Scottish rock band are the first UK artists of their generation to strike such a rights deal.

According to the company, these acquisitions form part of a wider strategy to create a "21st-century home for the most iconic music rights in popular music history".

BMG's current roster of artists includes Kylie Minogue, YouTuber and rapper KSI and hip-hop act Run The Jewels.