Shed Studios - Shed Record Label

Shed Record Label

The "Shed" record label was launched and vinyl was pressed under licence by Gramma Records in Zimbabwe. There were a succession of hit songs and several albums. In 1985 the studios were approached by Owen Elias of Discafrique Records in the UK, to release a selection of African band music. A compilation of The Bhundu Boys and African Herb, an offshoot of Thomas Mapfumo's band, was released, and resulted in interest by the radio DJs John Peel, Andy Kershaw and Charlie Gillet. Shed responded in 1986 by licensing a compilation of Zimbabwean Bhundu Boys hits to Discafrique called "Shabhini", which took the UK world music public by storm. To the studio's disappointment, the band pulled out of the final months of their Shed contract when they were signed by Warner Bros.. A second compilation of Shed recordings was released by Discafrique called "Tsvimbodzemoto", which also sold well, but that was the end of the recording careers of The Bhundu Boys at Shed Studios. Following his move to UK in 2000, Steve Roskilly collaborated with Gordon Muir, the Bhundu Boys' manager, to produce a final compilation double CD called "The Shed Sessions", which reawakened the classic Bhundu music on CD again, including previously unreleased tracks.