DIY Label Spotlight #8: Sad Club Records • Interview • DIY Magazine

DIY wouldn’t be what it is without buzzy bands and grassroots scenes, and independent labels are a crucial cog in that wonderful new music wheel.

Up next in our monthly feature spotlighting some of the very best in the biz, we chat to Tallulah Webb of Sad Club Records - the London-based indie championing the likes of Ellie Bleach, Kitty Fitz, Blood Wizard and more.

How would you describe, in less than 10 words, the ethos behind Sad Club?
Community, care, creativity, inclusivity, lots of love, and fun.

Why did London need a label like Sad Club? Tell us a bit more about why you decided to set it up.
I guess it’s all been about building a community, which I think is so important. I set it up when I was super young - I was 18 or 19 and just out of school. There were so many cool bands and I wanted to do something creative and fun to help build a community. It let me meet loads of people, help musicians I loved, and bring a little more love to the scene!

Sad Club started out as a cassette-only label, but you’ve since expanded into vinyl and CDs too. How did this change come about? Do you have a favourite format?
When I started I didn’t really know what I was doing, but what I loved (and still love) about cassettes is that they allow and encourage creativity, uniqueness, and limited runs, and remove all the pressures of vinyl. But, as the artists were getting bigger we had to make it happen with vinyl and CDs (and it’s kinda fun to make money, too). That step into vinyl was a massive deal for us!

It’s really nice that cassettes are played more and produced more now. When I started out, it got a bit cackled at, to be honest! I became the spokesperson for cassette sales for the BBC and ITV for a while though, which was pretty funny.

“I’m doing this because I love to do it and to make people’s lives better — and if it doesn’t fulfil either of those briefs, that’s a problem.”

What would you say is your proudest or most rewarding Sad Club moment?
I threw a Sad Club Christmas party at Rough Trade East last year which was awesome - it was so packed out and everyone was having such a good time. That might have been my proudest moment, along with a few other label events. Most of my label time is sitting on spreadsheets and stuff, so I guess the real life events just show you that what you’ve created is real!

I also love the indie label market days, when I have people coming up to me to talk about Sad Club. I had a lady ask if I was going to bring the compilations back as she thought they were super cool - little things like that make me SO proud. Also, all the success and happiness of the artists I work with is so rewarding. It’s all for them <3

What advice would you give to any artists working with an independent label like Sad Club?
That’s a hard one! Be true to yourself? Remember that we all want the best for each other.

What’s one piece of label-running advice you’d give your younger self?
Don’t take everything so seriously, follow the fun! I hold so much anxiety and dread inside me, but over the years I’ve managed to drop a lot of it. I’m doing this because I love to do it and to make people’s lives better - and if it doesn’t fulfil either of those briefs, that’s a problem.

What are you most excited about for the rest of 2025?
So much! We’ve got some gorgeous bits coming out towards the end of this year, including an EP called ‘Somehow You Grow’ from tall child, a beaut new signing. There are some lush Symbol Soup and Kitty Fitz bits, as well as launching a new artist! We’re planning some shows too…