4AD
1980–present·London, UK·1 band
Ivo Watts-Russell's London label. Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Pixies, Throwing Muses, Red House Painters, and The Birthday Party at their loudest. 4AD's aesthetic was beautiful-and-dark almost from the start — Vaughan Oliver's sleeve design gave it a visual identity nobody else could touch. The Birthday Party records are the label's ugliest moment and arguably one of its most important.